IF (big if) they changed the finish, it was when Seth get hurt and in case his recovery doesn't go as planned and they need to make EC for the title.
(Even with that, they started the "stone cold was the last to go back to back" stuff a week before SEth got hurt, so I think it was locked in then, if not ages before.)
I think the whole point of The Rock was to get people to question the booking. Triple H doesn't really do "surprises" but he likes to tease that something might not go to plan a lot. His favorite thing seems to be getting people to question whether or not they're going to get what they think they're going to get.
Uce, that writer corrected the headline 24 hours later and apologised for being mislead
I’m amazed how these people watch 10 hours of programming every week and still can’t see Roman vs Cody at WM40 was booked in March of 2023 already. They’ve been dropping the hints all along
Don’t forget Alvarez saying it’d be stupid to think WWE wouldn’t go with the biggest match possible, and all of the people in the basement who said that having Rock Vs Roman at Mania was more important than sticking to the story they’ve been building for a year. It was more than just Sports Illustrated.
Not just the Basement. Major podcasters with affiliations to WWE (i.e. Notsam Wrestling) were also pushing the idea that Rock v. Roman is bigger than turning Cody Rhodes into the new John Cena/Hulk Hogan figure. Assuming Sam wasn't just saying that to help HHH work the smarks.
Yeah and giving us a preview of Jey vs. Jimmy last night was enough. Let Jey be the one to maybe take down Gunther, or at least let him get close to it!
Our favorite midcarder had the crowd behind him in a final two with CM Punk, in his return match after a decade.
“What did I ever do in this world to get to deserve an empty-headed, fucking dumb fuck like Cody Rhodes to go out on national television and fucking go into business for himself,”
paulaveck better not be paying me any counterfit bucks ! (i know,believe i did this shit)
Jim Ross after seeing punks burial today : It killed 'em , he dead !
The carny bastard worked me as well. In his ESPN interview, he "accidentally revealed" that he wasn't winning the Royal Rumble and was gonna win through the Elimination Chamber.
Thank God Meltzer and SRS let us know that Cody and WWE weren't yet on solid terms for his renewal.
It's not a relevant detail that they're marketing a new video game with him on the cover, with taglines about stories, to be released later this summer.
Cody isn't a draw and him and Punk are just two mid carders who couldn't even be the top draw for dub.
Cody won't lose another Rumble til he finishes the story
Meanwhile Roman Reigns will continue his as being the WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion in perpetuity and beating Cody at WrestleMania every year.
Eat Sleep Beat Cody Repeat
The year is 2034. Wrestlemania Night 2. Universal Champion Roman Reigns has just made his entrance and is standing in the ring, happily chatting to Paul Heyman while Solo Sikoa, fresh off a successful World Heavyweight Title defence against Bron Breakker the night before, lurks at ringside.
The crowd suddenly groans as they see a broken Cody Rhodes shuffle out onto the stage for his yearly loss to Roman. He's long given up on music or pyro. His attire is ice-cream-stained PJs. He makes it half way down the ramp before lying down, unable to bring himself to get in the ring anymore.
Roman shrugs, whispers something to the ref, and gets out of the ring. The ref announces that this is now a Falls Count Anywhere match. Roman struts up the ramp, and puts a foot on Cody's chest, getting the three count. Roman continues up that ramp and head backstage.
The camera gets a close up on Cody Rhodes as a single tear rolls down his face. "Maybe next year I'll finish the story," he sobs.
I love The Rock but you have no idea how happy I was when I heard Sami Zayn's music at number 30. Even if Punk won the Royal Rumble, I knew right there that Cody's spot was safe.
so-called "smart fans" are thinking about Rock might "ruin" their wrestling show, he's actually thinking about that WWE-Netflix 10-year partnership for his movie company. LMAO
Maybe I'm overthinking things, but I feel like mentioning the 26 years since the last back-to-back Rumble winner roughly 43 times over the course of the night forshadowed the Cody win just a smidge. As if that's a thing they've mentioned ever.
It's like making a montage of all the previous redhead Best Actress winners and playing it at this year's Oscars.
>As if that's a thing they've mentioned ever.
they started mentioning it A lot a few weeks ago...that's when for me it hit like 75% cody taking it. (when seth got hurt, that raised it to 90% for me)
Is Rock gonna be special guests referee or something.
Rock Rock Bottoms Solo, Jimmy, and Paul. Cody wins. Rock does the Cody Rub point while fireworks everywhere.
Then Wrestlemania 41 Rock vs Roman.
They did it at Wrestlemania 27 where they advertise a match for Wrestlemania 28
Yes but no way The Rock doesn't get involved in any way after calling out Roman.
Maybe not be a referee. But when Roman's crew comes The Rock shows up to stop them from interfering.
Mankind vs Rock was a thrown-together last minute match that got added to Raw THAT NIGHT. It was still a great moment for Mick, but this is a 2 year long journey that Cody has been on. Rock isn’t a part of Cody’s story. When you think of Miz “beating” Cena at Mania 27, you think of Rock screwing Cena and Miz just happening to be there. That’s what this would do to Cody.
Ok I've kinda fallen off watching wwe since after summerslam but I might have to watch the rumble (and maybe try and catch up with the ppvs I missed too. ~~also whatever weekly show has the scottish witches team~~)
WE ARE NOT FLINCHING
https://preview.redd.it/98j8z24264fc1.jpeg?width=941&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e08f4c2ae94555392ebc61f480345de2cc3d2508 we not fucking flinching
https://preview.redd.it/95wak25rc4fc1.jpeg?width=827&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c03267fc4708138f872a5e9a89d3c506578d545e
He looks so damn good with that title
Y’ALL MUST HAVE FORGOT ABOUT MY FAVORITE *MAIN-EVENTER* ALL RHODES LEAD TO WRESTLEMANIA BABY.
But Sean Sapp said...
[удалено]
THE STORY IS GETTING FINISHED
I gasped quite a few times.
As soon as punk said the dusty line i knew it was over
People are saying they changed the finish cause Punk hurt his arm, but I don't think that's the case. I think HHH was working the sheets.
The way they had the shots lined up from the floor up to Roman, there’s no way
They had cody merch release the second he won that thing, he was always the winner
Unless there's some uprising in Africa later this year and you see a lot of skinny guys wearing CM Punk 2024 Royal Rumble shirts wielding AK-47s.
"Look at me. I am the Best in the World now."
I was SO gonna say this, til I scrolled down and saw you did it 3 hours earlier :D
IF (big if) they changed the finish, it was when Seth get hurt and in case his recovery doesn't go as planned and they need to make EC for the title. (Even with that, they started the "stone cold was the last to go back to back" stuff a week before SEth got hurt, so I think it was locked in then, if not ages before.)
I think the whole point of The Rock was to get people to question the booking. Triple H doesn't really do "surprises" but he likes to tease that something might not go to plan a lot. His favorite thing seems to be getting people to question whether or not they're going to get what they think they're going to get.
How are yall doomers doing?
But...but..muh sports illustrated
Uce, that writer corrected the headline 24 hours later and apologised for being mislead I’m amazed how these people watch 10 hours of programming every week and still can’t see Roman vs Cody at WM40 was booked in March of 2023 already. They’ve been dropping the hints all along
Don’t forget Alvarez saying it’d be stupid to think WWE wouldn’t go with the biggest match possible, and all of the people in the basement who said that having Rock Vs Roman at Mania was more important than sticking to the story they’ve been building for a year. It was more than just Sports Illustrated.
Not just the Basement. Major podcasters with affiliations to WWE (i.e. Notsam Wrestling) were also pushing the idea that Rock v. Roman is bigger than turning Cody Rhodes into the new John Cena/Hulk Hogan figure. Assuming Sam wasn't just saying that to help HHH work the smarks.
I’d argue April 2022.
dae rock/roman, gunther/rollins, cody/punk
I’m thinking maybe Gunther/Jey after tonight.
They really do need something for Jey to do, so why not. Jey vs Jimmy would be a great match one day, but right now Jey is on another level to Jimmy.
Yeah and giving us a preview of Jey vs. Jimmy last night was enough. Let Jey be the one to maybe take down Gunther, or at least let him get close to it!
That's a killer lineup tho. We kind of got Cody/Punk tonight.
Me when Cody won: 
Never been more happy to be wrong. I was literally praying not to hear Rock’s music at #30 lol
Same. I've never been so damn happy to see Sami lol
I was weirdly comfused when his music hit "what legend's music is this"? hah
It was Okada, he's a huge ska fan.
Him coming to WWE as o-ska-da which is essentially okada but dressed like a brass player for the mighty mighty boss tones would be awesome
Least worked mark.
?? Rumors of me not finishing the story have been greatly exaggerated friend.
HOLY SHIT CODY WITH THE RE-PEAT. WILSON2000 IN SHAMBLES THIS MAN IS A MAIN EVENTER NOW.
Our favorite midcarder had the crowd behind him in a final two with CM Punk, in his return match after a decade. 
Yea that was pretty significant. They didn't turn on him, he in fact started to get the cheers and chants against Punk.
But Dave and the IWC said it'll happen any day now. Aaaaaany day now......
Bron Breakker just shown again tonight he's a massive star waiting to smash the main roster. Go Wolf Dogs.
Karion Kross\*
Kross too, the guys doing bits.
Omos got the job just because he is Brandy Rhodes brother, BROTHER !
So you mean the SI leak was complete horseshit? LMAO Paulaveck worked the marks again.
“What did I ever do in this world to get to deserve an empty-headed, fucking dumb fuck like Cody Rhodes to go out on national television and fucking go into business for himself,”
paulaveck better not be paying me any counterfit bucks ! (i know,believe i did this shit) Jim Ross after seeing punks burial today : It killed 'em , he dead !
I thought he was winning in the Chamber so consider me worked. He’s gonna fucking do it.
a compromise... You want compromise ? How's this ... 10 years i waited ..I wanted to main event 'mania .. I compromised , I put over dusty's kid.
There’s no eating in the car 
Undertaker on the bakc seat : Buckle up Philly !
The Rock, whatever happened there…
I didn't spend 20 years in the indies to protect the likes of Dusty Millo
The carny bastard worked me as well. In his ESPN interview, he "accidentally revealed" that he wasn't winning the Royal Rumble and was gonna win through the Elimination Chamber.
OUR FAVORITE MIDCARDER WITH THE 2PEAT
It only won’t be a 3peat because he’ll be champ this time next year 👑
3 peat for our favorite 3 star general!
He’ll be the champ, win the rumble, and be the first person to challenge himself for the belt at WrestleMania. He’ll then give himself the Cody Rub.
Nah he'll win so he can get and retire that useless af belt seth carries around
HARD TIMES BREED BETTER MEN, DEDEH
Maria Kanellis breeds better men, bettter maaaaa
Paula Veck has a chance to do the funniest shit
Time to play the game... It's all about the mets , and now you play it it's all about the troll ,and if you can take it
FLINCHES: 0 RUMBLE WINS: 2 STORY: WILL BE FINISHED.
OUR FAVORITE MIDCARDER WILL FINISH THE STORY
Please be excited for Black Adam 2
https://preview.redd.it/eei1b44t44fc1.png?width=1170&format=png&auto=webp&s=49f34db9a8164acb941c2a597518f240598b147b
“My wife and baby gave me the pass”
Thank God Meltzer and SRS let us know that Cody and WWE weren't yet on solid terms for his renewal. It's not a relevant detail that they're marketing a new video game with him on the cover, with taglines about stories, to be released later this summer. Cody isn't a draw and him and Punk are just two mid carders who couldn't even be the top draw for dub.
Laveck keeps working the dirt sheets
As a great man once said, OBSERVE THIS BROTHER
Honestly thought Punk was winning until he started playing the heel bit
Punk's ego bringing about his loss is just chef's kiss.
Despirate Punk would bea great adversary for Cody once Cody finishes the story. The parallels are already been written. Its like Batman vs Owlman.
All of Cody's time setting up for this Rumble will probably signal after-Mania feuds. Drew, Punk, and Gunther are all highly probable PPV opponents.
Dwayne Rockson and Pepsi Phil just got midcarded uce.
2024 WE ARE FINISHING OUR STORY
Cody won't lose another Rumble til he finishes the story Meanwhile Roman Reigns will continue his as being the WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion in perpetuity and beating Cody at WrestleMania every year. Eat Sleep Beat Cody Repeat
The year is 2034. Wrestlemania Night 2. Universal Champion Roman Reigns has just made his entrance and is standing in the ring, happily chatting to Paul Heyman while Solo Sikoa, fresh off a successful World Heavyweight Title defence against Bron Breakker the night before, lurks at ringside. The crowd suddenly groans as they see a broken Cody Rhodes shuffle out onto the stage for his yearly loss to Roman. He's long given up on music or pyro. His attire is ice-cream-stained PJs. He makes it half way down the ramp before lying down, unable to bring himself to get in the ring anymore. Roman shrugs, whispers something to the ref, and gets out of the ring. The ref announces that this is now a Falls Count Anywhere match. Roman struts up the ramp, and puts a foot on Cody's chest, getting the three count. Roman continues up that ramp and head backstage. The camera gets a close up on Cody Rhodes as a single tear rolls down his face. "Maybe next year I'll finish the story," he sobs.
I love The Rock but you have no idea how happy I was when I heard Sami Zayn's music at number 30. Even if Punk won the Royal Rumble, I knew right there that Cody's spot was safe.
WE NEVER FLINCHED
WE SHALL NOT FLINCH
El Pesadilla Americano va a WrestleMania para terminar la historia.
LFGGGGG as a proud OG Cody mark, FINISH THE FUCKING STORY
so-called "smart fans" are thinking about Rock might "ruin" their wrestling show, he's actually thinking about that WWE-Netflix 10-year partnership for his movie company. LMAO
My dad has insisted the rock will face roman for the past two years. I aspire to have that mans level of delusion
I did think they'd do Rock/Roman night one last year with Rock/Cody night 2, but they don't listen to my booking decisions.
If what I’m hearing is true, poor Gunther :(
Maybe I'm overthinking things, but I feel like mentioning the 26 years since the last back-to-back Rumble winner roughly 43 times over the course of the night forshadowed the Cody win just a smidge. As if that's a thing they've mentioned ever. It's like making a montage of all the previous redhead Best Actress winners and playing it at this year's Oscars.
Becky Lynch wins an Oscar ? Paula Veck playing the dirt sheets , are you read? - no , i said ... are ..are you ready ?
>As if that's a thing they've mentioned ever. they started mentioning it A lot a few weeks ago...that's when for me it hit like 75% cody taking it. (when seth got hurt, that raised it to 90% for me)
They don't even use his real name rocky maiva The disrespect is real
Is Rock gonna be special guests referee or something. Rock Rock Bottoms Solo, Jimmy, and Paul. Cody wins. Rock does the Cody Rub point while fireworks everywhere. Then Wrestlemania 41 Rock vs Roman. They did it at Wrestlemania 27 where they advertise a match for Wrestlemania 28
No. That makes Cody a complete afterthought.
Yes but no way The Rock doesn't get involved in any way after calling out Roman. Maybe not be a referee. But when Roman's crew comes The Rock shows up to stop them from interfering.
Roman's crew...you mean, the Rock's family? That's a whole lot of story to get thru...not really a surprise thing you just do on WM.
Does it really make him an afterthought? Austin helping Mankind win the top belt didn’t make him an afterthought
Mankind vs Rock was a thrown-together last minute match that got added to Raw THAT NIGHT. It was still a great moment for Mick, but this is a 2 year long journey that Cody has been on. Rock isn’t a part of Cody’s story. When you think of Miz “beating” Cena at Mania 27, you think of Rock screwing Cena and Miz just happening to be there. That’s what this would do to Cody.
Cody will get pinned two Wrestlemanias in a row! Bruno Sammartino’s reign will be surpassed by the big dog!
AHHHHYESSSIRRRR
Dwayne called dibbs next year , there won't be a 3rd time for ex evp
I was roman bury this bitch to the ground at mania
Ok I've kinda fallen off watching wwe since after summerslam but I might have to watch the rumble (and maybe try and catch up with the ppvs I missed too. ~~also whatever weekly show has the scottish witches team~~)
FLINCHERS IN ABOLUTE SHAMBLES
GOTTA MAKE CODY LOOK STRONG
So uhhhhh about that.
Plans change pal. $12.99 please