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The Rock recently made his massive return to WWE TV on SmackDown. Besides joining TKO's Board of Directors, he is seemingly set to challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed Universal Championship at WrestleMania 40. The Great One's comeback hasn't received positive reactions from many viewers, including wrestling veteran Vince Russo.
Cody Rhodes was set to challenge Roman Reigns for the second year in a row after winning the men's Royal Rumble match last month. However, instead of announcing Reigns as his opponent, The American Nightmare laid the foundation for The Rock's return on last week's SmackDown.
On the blue show, Rhodes made it clear that he wasn't coming after The Tribal Chief's gold at The Show of Shows. This led to The Great One confronting Roman Reigns after months of speculation. Since many expected the RAW Superstar to finish his story by defeating Reigns at 'Mania, the new creative direction was met with largely adverse reactions from the fans.
On Sportskeeda Wrestling's Legion of RAW, Vince Russo said he understood why The Rock was chosen as Reigns' next challenger over Rhodes. However, he also pointed out that the company might not get the rub they were hoping for as The People's Champion was not as big a star as he used to be:
“I don’t think people understand, but, you know, outside of wrestling, I’m talking about that casual fan base now, bro. [The] Rock has lost his luster with a lot of people, and if you don’t believe me, look at the box office for Black Adam, okay,” Russo said. (29:37 - 29:53)
Russo further mentioned that the political choices The Great One recently made did not endear him to the casual fans. It will be interesting to see if WWE acts on the negative reaction from the viewers or continues to book the rumored match between The Rock and Roman Reigns.
Who do you think should face Roman Reigns at 'Mania? Let us know in the comments section below.
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EC3 believes Goldberg could face a former WWE Intercontinental Champion someday. You can check out his full comments in the exclusive video below:
