10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About WrestleMania 40
If Cody Rhodes finished the story at WrestleMania XL, these are the lost chapters...
It's hard to knock WrestleMania XL.
Sure, it felt like a decade earlier when WWE was doing everything possible to not give fans the star they wanted, in favour of a Hollywood actor coming back for a short run, but like at 'Mania XXX, fans were heard and plans changed.
It's hard to argue that XL isn't the best Showcase of the Immortals since X-Seven. With The Rock having his first real match in 15 years, Seth Rollins risking his World Heavyweight Championship to finish the story of the Shield with Roman Reigns, and Rhea Ripley walking out with the same Women's World Championship she won at the Grandaddy of Them All a year earlier, the card was stacked with moments that fans won't soon forget. That's without even mentioning the Money in the Bank cash-in; it really was a big show!
But it wasn't the perfect event it could've been. The Rock being forced into a heel turn wasn't the kick-off that WWE has hoping for, much less the enormous pivot to having Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns main event both nights.
Conveniently, there's another nine moments along with that which WWE would prefer you swept under the rug when you rewatch the main event and get teary-eyed seeing Rocky, John Cena, and The Undertaker remind you why you love this business so much.
10. Brock Lesnar Cancelled
Brock Lesnar was meant to be at WrestleMania XL.
Multiple reports noted that the Beast Incarnate was supposed to be in the Royal Rumble match, get eliminated by Dominik Mysterio, then squash him at Elimination Chamber on the way to a showdown with Gunther at 'Mania. Unfortunately, he was implicated in the sex trafficking lawsuit against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE, so his number was quickly deleted from Triple H's phone.
Fans had been asking for Lesnar/Gunther for a while, so with the Ring General in the midst of a recording breaking Intercontinental Championship reign, it felt like the stars were about to align and give the WWE Universe a dream match. Brock's last televised run for a secondary title was against Rob Van Dam in 2002, when he lost by disqualification. Lesnar has famously only held world championships in his career, so the idea of him dethroning Gunther was an intriguing one, even if it seemed unlikely.
At least fans got to see Sami Zayn get a big singles win at WrestleMania instead.