WWE WrestleMania XL: Behind the Curtain
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00:00WrestleMania of all time 40 years in the making.
00:00:05The pressure of it being WrestleMania is overwhelming.
00:00:10This card for WrestleMania penciled in on a piece of paper.
00:00:15It's a picture of what WrestleMania is going to look like.
00:00:20It's a picture of what WrestleMania is going to look like.
00:00:25It's a picture of what WrestleMania is going to look like.
00:00:28Penciled in on a piece of paper was probably 80% done in October.
00:00:33Along the way, a lot of things happened.
00:00:36Finally, The Rock has come back home.
00:00:41People wanna see Cody Rhodes versus Roman Reigns.
00:00:46Absolute anarchy in Bedlam.
00:00:49That is complete and utter bullshit.
00:00:52Something magical will come out of this chaos.
00:00:54I'll see you at WrestleMania.
00:01:24Few roads we travel in life are straight.
00:01:36The journey lies in how we navigate the turns and forge the paths before us.
00:01:41The path to WrestleMania 40 has had more curves and corners than anyone imagined.
00:01:49At the helm of this multi-million dollar venture is WWE head of creative, Paul Levesque.
00:01:55That man, Triple H, is a 14 time world champion.
00:02:00The guy at the top has been there.
00:02:02He's been to the top, knows what it takes, and has an open mind.
00:02:07I look at creative like a GPS, right?
00:02:10I put in the destination.
00:02:11And if you do that, then the GPS just tells you the turns to take along the way.
00:02:16But you know what your north star is.
00:02:28For Cody Rhodes, the journey starts in his home state of Georgia.
00:02:32For nearly two years, Rhodes has made it his mission to win the WWE championship.
00:02:38A promise he made to his father, the late, great Dusty Rhodes.
00:02:45I'm going to give the distinction that my family has long since been denied.
00:02:50And I am going to do it for the American dream, Dusty Rhodes.
00:02:58Will Cody Rhodes finish the story?
00:03:02A year ago, Cody took on the head of the table,
00:03:05the undisputed WWE universal champion, Roman Reigns, for the title at WrestleMania 39.
00:03:14No!
00:03:15Spare!
00:03:21The moment the referee's hand hit three at WrestleMania 39,
00:03:25when Roman Reigns successfully defended the title,
00:03:28the audience was clamoring for the rematch.
00:03:31Despite the loss, Cody remained focused on finishing his story.
00:03:39I've spent an entire two years fixated on the title that Roman has.
00:03:42People kept saying, you know, finish the story.
00:03:44I was saying, finish the story.
00:03:46But there's plenty of things that could stop me.
00:03:49You don't always get the fairytale ending, as we already found out.
00:03:52But we're still going to try.
00:03:55The intent was to give Cody a hot year.
00:03:58Rhodes to the top!
00:04:00The undisputed tag team champions!
00:04:05And we get to WrestleMania 40 with Cody Rhodes versus Roman Reigns.
00:04:09We had that story and that match planned out.
00:04:12But there was another story.
00:04:15A blockbuster story.
00:04:17We had been talking about it for years.
00:04:19It's just a matter of finding the right opportunity in which to tell it,
00:04:23Roman Reigns and The Rock.
00:04:27We had an opportunity to create another main event in The Rock and Roman Reigns.
00:04:32Something that fans have been waiting for for years.
00:04:34Something that we have been building to adjacently, but quietly, for years.
00:04:40I remember having my first conversation with Nick Khan about it back in December of 2021.
00:04:45I had dinner with Nick and his sister, Nanachka.
00:04:49And we were talking that night at dinner about us being kids in Hawaii,
00:04:53going to my grandmother's wrestling promotion.
00:04:55Polynesian law wrestling!
00:04:58Nick also presented me with some really cool gifts
00:05:01from the Polynesian Professional Wrestling Days.
00:05:04And we were also talking about what could WrestleMania look like?
00:05:09Nanachka, who was the creator of our show Young Rock,
00:05:14we actually even teased it on the show.
00:05:16Acknowledge me!
00:05:18By the way, that's my cousin Joe,
00:05:20who would later go by Roman Reigns, future WWE champion.
00:05:24Come on, Duie, let's wrestle!
00:05:26No.
00:05:28The world's not ready yet.
00:05:30The world's not ready.
00:05:32A match that big can only happen at WrestleMania.
00:05:35We started looking at the roadmap to WrestleMania,
00:05:39this idea of Rock and Roman,
00:05:42the biggest main event of all time.
00:05:45But the deal wasn't quite there,
00:05:48so we decided to shoot for WrestleMania the following year,
00:05:51which, of course, was WrestleMania 40.
00:05:54Then, in September of 2023,
00:05:56it felt like the pieces were finally falling into place
00:05:59and our endeavor acquired WWE.
00:06:02Let's get the opening bell.
00:06:04It's newly formed Sports & Entertainment Company TKO Group.
00:06:09We were coming off of the high of TKO
00:06:12and the acquisition of WWE,
00:06:14and it all started to converge and dovetail really nicely.
00:06:18Ari Emanuel has been a very close business partner of mine
00:06:21for over 20 years.
00:06:23He's a man who I consider my big brother, which is always funny.
00:06:26We had discussed, myself, Ari, and Nick,
00:06:28what kind of value can I begin to bring the company?
00:06:31Just a few days later,
00:06:33The Rock would meet up with WWE President Nick Khan
00:06:36for those discussions
00:06:38and appeared on The Pat McAvee Show in Boulder, Colorado,
00:06:41revealing to the public for the first time
00:06:43the possibility of the dream match.
00:06:46Rock and Roman, SoFi, was that close?
00:06:48All right, so The Rock headlining WrestleMania
00:06:51with Roman Reigns, SoFi Stadium,
00:06:54that was locked.
00:06:56We got really, really close,
00:06:58but we couldn't actually nail what that thing was.
00:07:01So we decided to put our pencils down,
00:07:03and then we agreed, hey, listen,
00:07:05there's a merger coming up.
00:07:08Eventually that will happen.
00:07:10There's WrestleMania in Philadelphia.
00:07:14That's a potential two-step.
00:07:17So what happened after that?
00:07:20SmackDown was just down the road in Denver,
00:07:23and I showed up.
00:07:27The Rock and the people were having fun, baby!
00:07:31Had an amazing time.
00:07:33It was electric.
00:07:34It was a really beautiful homecoming on SmackDown,
00:07:37and the feeling was really, really good,
00:07:39and all the pieces were coming together,
00:07:41and it felt like everything was making sense,
00:07:44and that roadmap to WrestleMania
00:07:46started to become even more clear.
00:07:50The Rock's story had unfolded,
00:07:52and it was time to reveal it to his fans.
00:07:55It was time to reveal it to his people.
00:07:59Day one, January 1st, 2024.
00:08:01Let's go to San Diego.
00:08:03Let's cut a promo.
00:08:04Let's kick the New Year off right.
00:08:14Oh, shit!
00:08:16Oh, shit!
00:08:20Yeah, dude!
00:08:22Yeah, go have fun!
00:08:24Yeah!
00:08:28How are you, brother?
00:08:30Good to see you.
00:08:32Hey, you too, as always.
00:08:37We were discussing what WrestleMania could look like.
00:08:43On paper, that main event was Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes,
00:08:48and that was something, as we all know,
00:08:50the company has been working towards
00:08:52for the past couple of years.
00:08:53We also knew that we had an opportunity
00:08:55to create another main event.
00:09:11Absolute pure electricity!
00:09:15There is no one on the planet like The Rock!
00:09:24You can only go around so many times before
00:09:26you have to test the waters,
00:09:29and that testing of the waters
00:09:31was a recommendation that I had that afternoon.
00:09:34When The Rock goes out to get something neat tonight,
00:09:37should The Rock sit in a booth,
00:09:40or should The Rock sit at the head of the table?
00:09:47Okay, that changes some things.
00:09:50It's like, all right, gets people talking.
00:09:53Oh, my God, are we getting it?
00:09:55Finally, The Rock has acknowledged Roman Reigns.
00:10:00The match for the head of the table,
00:10:02which is Roman and Rock.
00:10:04Rock versus Roman Reigns.
00:10:06It's the idea that in some ways seems like the dream match.
00:10:09For 1,161 days,
00:10:14Roman Reigns has been champion.
00:10:17A champion in modern times of almost four years
00:10:21when no one has even come half as close in 40 years?
00:10:27That's an iconic run that Roman Reigns
00:10:30has been on and continues to be on.
00:10:33The tribal chief is head and shoulders above everybody!
00:10:40So when The Rock came back,
00:10:42that just presented us with a million other options.
00:10:46One option was not going to the rematch of Roman Reigns
00:10:50defending the title against Cody Rhodes,
00:10:53but Roman Reigns versus The Rock.
00:10:56You can make an argument that is that bigger than Cody and Roman
00:11:00from an outside-of-our-world standpoint?
00:11:03You certainly can, right?
00:11:04If you think bigger picture, that certainly could be.
00:11:07Could be.
00:11:08While Roman versus Rock had box office potential,
00:11:13the WWE landscape was shaken up even further
00:11:17as the man himself, Dwayne The Rock Johnson,
00:11:20joined the TKO board of directors.
00:11:29I started to think about what this company means to me,
00:11:33our business and life of WWE.
00:11:36This is the thing that I love the most right here.
00:11:41The benefit of me being on the board and being a director
00:11:44is that I've been there and I've done that,
00:11:46and I know what it's like to have that DNA
00:11:48having grown up in professional wrestling.
00:11:52I love all this.
00:11:54This is the one.
00:11:57Can I pick it up?
00:11:58Yeah.
00:11:59That's the back of it?
00:12:00Yeah.
00:12:03You know what we should do?
00:12:05If you're cool, I'd love to take a picture of me and you
00:12:08and me and all this.
00:12:09Yeah.
00:12:10Okay.
00:12:18What an opportunity that I have as director of the board
00:12:22to create greater opportunities for our talent,
00:12:26but also help create and shape a culture
00:12:29that not only can they thrive in it,
00:12:31but their relationships at home can thrive.
00:12:35That's incredible.
00:12:41Yeah.
00:12:42Thanks for that, man.
00:12:50It was really a very, very special morning,
00:12:52special announcement.
00:12:53We could possibly put on the greatest and the biggest
00:12:56WrestleMania of all time.
00:12:59We had a lot of conversations along the way with Rock.
00:13:03What we agreed upon between myself and Nick and Triple H
00:13:08is let's continue to adjacently run the storyline
00:13:12of Cody and Roman, because that's important,
00:13:15but also let's start to explore what this other main event
00:13:19could look like.
00:13:20So we're rolling into the Rumble.
00:13:22It's sort of all happening in real time.
00:13:25Four days after The Rock joined TKO's board,
00:13:29the Royal Rumble.
00:13:31Before the doors even open,
00:13:33the media all wants to hear from one man.
00:13:38Does finishing the story have to happen
00:13:40at WrestleMania for you?
00:13:41I don't think I have a definitive answer,
00:13:44but I will tell you, I think it does.
00:13:48The year I've had, it feels like it has to be
00:13:52at WrestleMania.
00:13:54This time around, we've been on the journey,
00:13:57including the hardest of hardships together.
00:14:02Going to the airport, TSA guys saying finish the story,
00:14:05doing the press event this morning,
00:14:06and everyone having that deep connection to,
00:14:08hey, I hope you get it.
00:14:10And that's just really touching.
00:14:15I sat with Cody at the Royal Rumble
00:14:19in the afternoon and told him
00:14:22it was becoming more of a reality
00:14:24that the match of Roman and Rock
00:14:26could take place at WrestleMania.
00:14:29And I don't think anybody knew a thing
00:14:33outside of Cody.
00:14:35And I'm sure that was a brutal day.
00:14:39The stakes are high.
00:14:41The winner of the Royal Rumble
00:14:43faces the champion of their choice,
00:14:45Seth Rollins or Roman Reigns,
00:14:48at WrestleMania.
00:14:51The American Nightmare is here!
00:14:55The American Nightmare is setting St. Pete on fire!
00:14:59Looking for the God of Sleep,
00:15:00Cody though able to catch him.
00:15:01Not does this kid anymore!
00:15:04Cody Rhodes is going to WrestleMania!
00:15:09Here is your winner of the Men's Royal Rumble,
00:15:16The American Nightmare!
00:15:21My gut was that if Cody fails here,
00:15:25it damages him.
00:15:28We gotta have him win the Rumble.
00:15:30We gotta see what the reaction is.
00:15:32And then go from there.
00:15:35If it all ends tomorrow,
00:15:36it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
00:15:40But it's not gonna end tomorrow
00:15:42because we still gotta finish the damn story.
00:15:46Cody Rhodes already knew the story was shifting,
00:15:49but had to put on a brave face for all the fans.
00:15:54The last 48 hours of my life
00:15:58has been rather challenging.
00:16:02Everything is good, all is well.
00:16:05But on Saturday,
00:16:08you will never know how much I needed you.
00:16:15Most people who ask me about what's going on,
00:16:19I've had to tell them I really don't know how I feel.
00:16:21Because I don't want to be angry,
00:16:24I don't want to be overexcited,
00:16:25I don't want to be...
00:16:26I don't know how I feel.
00:16:28I've gotten to the point now
00:16:29where I really don't believe anything
00:16:32until I'm standing in the ring and it happens.
00:16:35Let's make WrestleMania 40 official!
00:16:40Burn it down!
00:16:44Wait a minute!
00:16:45The World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins!
00:16:47Seth Rollins' initial match for WrestleMania
00:16:50at that moment in time was CM Punk.
00:16:53The Royal Rumble, CM Punk gets injured.
00:16:56I hope I'm wrong.
00:16:58I'm gonna turn my tricep.
00:17:00It changes everything.
00:17:02Now, both title matches on the men's side
00:17:07are sort of up in the air.
00:17:09So as we're starting to look at the Rock Cody thing,
00:17:12we gotta look at the Seth thing.
00:17:13So Seth kind of fits into that.
00:17:15If you choose to fight Roman Reigns at WrestleMania,
00:17:19you're making a mistake.
00:17:22What's that?
00:17:26I think you should fight me instead.
00:17:31I've been a part of some chaotic builds
00:17:34to WrestleMania in the past,
00:17:36but this one has been the wildest,
00:17:39I would say, so far.
00:17:41If you sort of relax and let the process take place,
00:17:45something magical will come out of this chaos.
00:17:48That chaos leads to greatness,
00:17:50but you have to have the patience
00:17:52to let it play out.
00:17:56A few days later on SmackDown,
00:17:59Cody must come to terms
00:18:00with hitting a roadblock in his journey.
00:18:03This is a heavy situation.
00:18:06We're gonna really clear up
00:18:08what WrestleMania 40 is going to be.
00:18:13And...
00:18:16forgive me if I don't seem...
00:18:20overly enthusiastic.
00:18:22The moment has arrived.
00:18:25Who will Cody Rhodes challenge
00:18:28at WrestleMania?
00:18:30I want that title.
00:18:35But not at WrestleMania.
00:18:40I took a great deal of counsel this week
00:18:45Roman, one of the individuals I talked to,
00:18:50he knows you very well.
00:18:53And yes, he does!
00:18:58The most electrifying man in entertainment
00:19:03is here on SmackDown!
00:19:06Cody! Cody! Cody!
00:19:10The place went crazy.
00:19:12We had a nice moment with Cody and I
00:19:14inside the ring.
00:19:15Then Roman and I just had our stare down.
00:19:17And now, essentially, you're looking at
00:19:20the new main event for WrestleMania 40.
00:19:24Cody! Cody! Cody!
00:19:27Cody! Cody!
00:19:30Let's go!
00:19:31Let's go, Cody!
00:19:33Let's go, Cody!
00:19:34Let's go, Cody!
00:19:35Let's go, Cody!
00:19:37Let's go, Cody!
00:19:39Let's go, Cody!
00:19:41Let's go, let's go, let's go.
00:20:03It was cool, because our fans have been
00:20:06clamoring for this for a long time here.
00:20:08Thank you, boys.
00:20:10So it's good to be able to give them something that they're looking forward to.
00:20:13It's good to deliver on something.
00:20:20Minutes after the show, Cody was still processing what just happened.
00:20:25Cody was still processing what just happened.
00:20:33I have to believe, right?
00:20:37One thing, you can lose the faith of the fans.
00:20:40We've seen it tons of times.
00:20:43I have to believe that I won't lose their faith.
00:20:46And there might be fans who are upset that I've been talking about this title for two years
00:20:51and haven't decided to wrestle Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.
00:20:57Obviously his next question is, where does that leave me?
00:21:02I'm like, not sure yet.
00:21:05So that's on me to figure out, because this is all happening in real time.
00:21:11We're going to see, at least that's how I saw it, is we're going to see what the reaction is.
00:21:17The immediate reaction from the fans was overwhelming.
00:21:20It's happening.
00:21:22Oh my God, it's happening.
00:21:24It is! The Rock is back!
00:21:37The Rock, the biggest star in the world, biggest star on planet Earth,
00:21:43will be taking on his cousin Roman Reigns for the head of the table conversation
00:21:48that has been chatted about forever.
00:21:50Now, I love Cody Rhodes.
00:21:52Who doesn't?
00:21:53I love The Rock, and I love Roman Reigns.
00:21:56Of course.
00:21:57So I'm very torn on this entire thing.
00:22:00This unique thing happened where the power goes back,
00:22:05as it should, as it always does, to the people.
00:22:09And then they start voicing their concerns.
00:22:12The WWE universe took to social media,
00:22:16hashtag WeWantCody,
00:22:18trended for 72 hours straight.
00:22:23Their concerns were obviously understandable.
00:22:27Cody has been our guy.
00:22:29We've invested in him for a couple of years now.
00:22:32Rock, we love you.
00:22:33We get Rock and Roman in the big main event.
00:22:36Don't know if it should be now.
00:22:38Maybe what about next year's WrestleMania?
00:22:40If Rock Roman happens in any other time and place that match is made,
00:22:46it's the biggest thing of all time.
00:22:48But as a testament to how big Cody was,
00:22:51and how over Cody was,
00:22:53and how much people had invested in him personally,
00:22:57in this storyline.
00:22:59So as that groundswell started to happen,
00:23:02a few things can happen when you're in this scenario.
00:23:06Number one is, as it often happens in the world of professional wrestling,
00:23:11you just truck through it.
00:23:14Or, you truly take in what the fans are saying.
00:23:19Just days later on Monday Night Raw,
00:23:21what started online became a real world phenomenon.
00:23:26It has been a hell of a week here at WWE,
00:23:30and after last Friday in SmackDown,
00:23:34I certainly smell what's cooking.
00:23:42And you make the decision to pivot.
00:23:49I called Nick and Triple H, and I called Ari.
00:23:54I said, here's how I'm feeling.
00:23:57We can truck through this, and we can put on this main event.
00:24:01And the majority of the world,
00:24:05many of which who don't watch WWE,
00:24:07who we do plan on pulling in,
00:24:09in the execution of our marketing plan, etc.
00:24:13They're gonna love this idea of Rockin' Roman,
00:24:16and we're gonna tell an amazing story.
00:24:18Hopefully this will be the first chapter of a few.
00:24:22We could do that.
00:24:25However, I said, my gut says,
00:24:27I said Ari, Nick, and Triple H,
00:24:30my gut says that
00:24:34I don't like, even if it's a segment of fans,
00:24:38I don't like that they're upset.
00:24:41And that really bugged the shit out of me.
00:24:43And it's not how I've operated my entire career.
00:24:46I don't like it.
00:24:47And I knew that the choice, essentially, was mine.
00:24:51It was either we truck through this and we make this main event,
00:24:55or we don't.
00:24:57And I went with the latter,
00:25:00and I told those guys,
00:25:01here's what I believe we should do.
00:25:04I believe we should go Roman, Cody.
00:25:09Will Cody finish his story?
00:25:12And take care of those fans,
00:25:14because it's critical and important.
00:25:16Those, the Cody Crybabies, who I called them.
00:25:19Love Cody, I love his passionate fans.
00:25:21Then there's the other passionate fans of Cody.
00:25:26And they're called the, what's that?
00:25:28Oh, Cody Crybabies, yeah.
00:25:30Okay, all right.
00:25:31Okay, got it.
00:25:32I didn't know the name that was coming.
00:25:33It was the Cody Crybabies.
00:25:35And just like that, an insult was born.
00:25:39As soon as I heard him say Cody Crybabies,
00:25:40I knew there was about to be something real.
00:25:42And to see him just drop right back into the rock was awesome.
00:25:48And we pivot.
00:25:49The good thing is that everybody in this group of people,
00:25:52whether it's the writing teams here,
00:25:54whether it's The Rock, whether it's Roman,
00:25:56whether it's Paul Heyman, whether it's Cody Rhodes, myself, Nick,
00:26:00everybody gets together, talks about it,
00:26:02decides that that's the way to go.
00:26:04We all agree on this now, let's go.
00:26:06And we pivot in a way that blurs the lines of fiction and reality.
00:26:16As the main event continued to evolve,
00:26:18WWE held a press conference in Las Vegas.
00:26:23I'm so locked in all the time that, like,
00:26:27it's hard for me to just sit back and, like,
00:26:29let it surround me and saturate me too much
00:26:34because I'm just always focused on the next
00:26:36and, like, what's this thing right in front of me?
00:26:40You know, like, what's the next thing?
00:26:42And the way my career has gone,
00:26:44we've just constantly escalated and progressed.
00:26:48Did I know exactly, you know,
00:26:50the journey we're going to take to get there?
00:26:52No, but I always knew what the destination is.
00:27:00Super Bowl weekend, the eyes of the world are on Las Vegas.
00:27:04And while everybody is looking,
00:27:06we're doing a press event to celebrate the Super Bowl.
00:27:11We're going to have a press conference
00:27:13And while everybody is looking,
00:27:15we're doing a press event to talk about WrestleMania.
00:27:21We're going to light the world up today.
00:27:26Las Vegas!
00:27:31It's a party in here tonight!
00:27:36It's also an event where now you can pivot
00:27:39because we never gave specifically
00:27:42this is what's going to happen at WrestleMania.
00:27:45Now, what do you say we cut to the chase
00:27:50and we get ourselves a main event?
00:27:53The Rock and Roman Reigns
00:27:56in the biggest main event
00:27:58in the history of professional wrestling.
00:28:02Hold on, hold on.
00:28:07This right here is bullshit!
00:28:12It is not your right.
00:28:13It is not your distinction to determine the main event.
00:28:17It is mine!
00:28:19I choose you, Roman Reigns.
00:28:24Cashing in on what you set up is always good.
00:28:27But if you can continually swerve them
00:28:29and keep them on the edge of their seats,
00:28:31then we've done our job.
00:28:33This is a done deal.
00:28:34You're old news.
00:28:35You're irrelevant.
00:28:37Just like your dad.
00:28:42You've invoked my father before,
00:28:44so let me go ahead and do the same.
00:28:47If your father was here,
00:28:51if his grandfather was here,
00:28:55they'd be ashamed of you.
00:29:02With the whole world watching,
00:29:04how do we get this to be the biggest moment that we can?
00:29:08How do we make this go viral?
00:29:10Right now, we have a problem.
00:29:20And it was, boom, smacked him off.
00:29:22And the whole world heard it.
00:29:23And this whole thing kind of took quite a turn.
00:29:26The road to WrestleMania is the real deal.
00:29:29I think this story goes down a path
00:29:33that no one in their right mind could have ever anticipated.
00:29:37Rock said, I have a thought.
00:29:39And he and I just, as he would say, chopped it up.
00:29:42We went back and forth on a bunch of thoughts and ideas.
00:29:45We're doing all this talking creatively, strategically.
00:29:49What does WrestleMania look like?
00:29:50What could it be?
00:29:51Is it Rock and Roman, the main event?
00:29:52Is it not?
00:29:53Is it a triple threat?
00:30:00And I thought, well,
00:30:01what's the best way to keep everybody involved
00:30:04while at the same time
00:30:05pushing this WrestleMania to unprecedented heights?
00:30:09And I remember speaking to Brian Gerwartz,
00:30:12who is a very, very close friend
00:30:15and business executive on the Seven Bucks team,
00:30:18who was also, as many of you know,
00:30:20head writer for WWE for many years.
00:30:23And we came up with this idea of a tag match,
00:30:27but with a catch.
00:30:29So what if it was The Rock and Roman Reigns
00:30:32against Cody Rhodes and Seth freakin' Rollins?
00:30:35And the outcome of that match on Saturday night
00:30:38directly impacted the main event on Sunday night.
00:30:42And again, the idea was just trying to do something
00:30:44that was unprecedented.
00:30:54All right.
00:30:55Let's get this show on the road.
00:30:58Well, that's not opening.
00:30:59F*** that door.
00:31:00All right. Let's go to work.
00:31:03The creative begins to change.
00:31:08Now we're adjusting the video shoot, the photo shoot.
00:31:11We're creating in real time.
00:31:13Sensitivity.
00:31:14Intimidating.
00:31:16Charming.
00:31:17Charming.
00:31:18Curious.
00:31:19Curious?
00:31:20No, that's not so much curious.
00:31:21Curious.
00:31:22Curious is a good one.
00:31:23I can do curious.
00:31:27Seeing everybody in the same place,
00:31:29all these egos in the same area,
00:31:32knowing what we're getting ourselves into.
00:31:37You look to your right and there's a Seth Rollins.
00:31:39You look to your left, there's a Roman Reigns.
00:31:42The Rock, Dwayne Johnson.
00:31:44Just legends upon legends.
00:31:46It is cool to take a moment and feel that.
00:31:48Awesome. Yes.
00:31:50That's what makes this shit really good.
00:31:52Our team is always just, what do you need me to do?
00:31:55And we go out there and do it.
00:31:59The beauty of WrestleMania being two days,
00:32:02this helped us be able to utilize our biggest name,
00:32:07marquee players for both nights of WrestleMania
00:32:10in different situations.
00:32:13You have a tag team match,
00:32:14and then you have the match that Cody earned on Sunday night.
00:32:19It's almost like an episodic story
00:32:21that leads you to night one, then to night two.
00:32:23That wasn't the original plan,
00:32:25but it was the plan that we all came up with together
00:32:27when the world told us what it should be.
00:32:32This is where it gets tough.
00:32:33You start to ramp up,
00:32:34and all these big stories start to come together
00:32:36to culminate in WrestleMania.
00:32:38The tricky part is getting them to a place
00:32:41where they all come together at the right point in time.
00:32:46Everybody that is involved right now is super active
00:32:50because they've been encouraged to be super active
00:32:53at how can I make this the best it can be.
00:32:55And you begin to get situations where you get a Cody Rhodes,
00:33:00a Roman Reigns, a Rock, Paul Heyman, myself included,
00:33:05just riffing ideas with each other.
00:33:08The guys that are on top in this business
00:33:11understand it's what's best for overall product.
00:33:15I remember being in Hawaii,
00:33:18and I called Nick, and I called Ari.
00:33:24I said,
00:33:27now you're going to see Rock 10.0 as the final boss.
00:33:33And there was silence.
00:33:37And at the same time, I'll never forget it,
00:33:39Nick said, love it.
00:33:41Ari said, f***ing love it.
00:33:45And Ari said, go for it.
00:33:51The Rock and Roman Reigns,
00:33:53the biggest, the biggest WrestleMania main event
00:33:57in the history of WrestleMania.
00:33:59You had it in your hands, and you let it go.
00:34:05This character transition that I think,
00:34:08not only Dwayne, but we're all kind of in.
00:34:11You see us kind of filling out the boundaries.
00:34:13You feel us kind of seeing what kind of space
00:34:15and maneuverability we have with this new dynamic.
00:34:18But man, it's powerful.
00:34:20You got to have chops to be able to do this shit.
00:34:23We want Cody! We want Cody!
00:34:25Cody's got to finish his story!
00:34:28You're spoiled, entitled, little crybaby bitches.
00:34:33cheering
00:34:36cheering
00:34:49I am injured, recovering from a torn MCL
00:34:53and a torn meniscus in my left knee,
00:34:55an injury that I suffered about six weeks ago.
00:34:58And I'm very happy that it didn't cause me
00:35:00to miss WrestleMania.
00:35:02And I was able to just focus and rehab.
00:35:05I feel confident that I'll be at 100%.
00:35:17It feels great, yeah, it's no problem.
00:35:19I could embrace this. It's nothing.
00:35:21So hopefully we'll get rid of that by Mania.
00:35:23But for now, it's great. Yeah.
00:35:30Still got this one.
00:35:33On the music change.
00:35:40Exactly, and then start to turn on the other music.
00:35:43On the second music change.
00:35:45So I'll cue a lot off you then, Stu, right?
00:35:48As you start to come as well.
00:35:50I think we'll meet at nice time.
00:35:56Now that The Rock's character has changed,
00:35:59The Rock has decided his entrance must change as well
00:36:02to reflect that.
00:36:06Does that feel good to you?
00:36:08What, when you wipe me away?
00:36:09I think so, right?
00:36:10As a heal, yeah.
00:36:11Right, yeah.
00:36:12I'll try to keep you in the shot as well.
00:36:13I'll go this way with you.
00:36:14Oh, okay. You know, yes.
00:36:15So, Stu, yeah.
00:36:16I'll...
00:36:17Yeah.
00:36:19Thank you.
00:36:21I should walk to a mark.
00:36:23Absolutely.
00:36:24That no one sees but me.
00:36:25Okay.
00:36:26Yes.
00:36:27Eight.
00:36:28Was it...
00:36:29Was it nine?
00:36:30Was it nine?
00:36:31No, I think it was...
00:36:34Seven.
00:36:35Yep.
00:36:37What's up, brother?
00:36:38What's going on?
00:36:39How you doing, man?
00:36:40You went from eight to nine,
00:36:41and you're like, yep, nope, seven.
00:36:42It's seven, guys, I told you.
00:36:45It's on eight or nine.
00:36:48You can put a thing here, can't you?
00:36:50That's what I was going to do.
00:36:51I can see if he can see it.
00:36:52We're going to black everything out.
00:36:54Does that do anything optically to the shot at home
00:36:56or anything like that when you see the T mark there?
00:36:58Because I feel confident I can hit it.
00:37:00Okay.
00:37:01When everybody's contributing is when it's the best.
00:37:04I'm of the opinion that the best ideas come from everybody.
00:37:07I also thought just walking to it,
00:37:09just seeing glimpses...
00:37:10Well, it's cool as shit.
00:37:11It's cool.
00:37:12Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:37:13He is the man!
00:37:16He is the most electrifying man in all of entertainment,
00:37:20and the man who turned the road to WrestleMania upside down.
00:37:27Becoming this new version
00:37:28has been the most gratifying decision that I've ever made.
00:37:34The Rock is a director of the board,
00:37:36which means he's your boss!
00:37:38This idea of final boss and final boss talk
00:37:41where you go, you know what, fuck that,
00:37:42I'm not doing it, I'm not being pretzeled.
00:37:44Don't tell me what to do.
00:37:45This is a fresh coat of paint on The Rock.
00:37:47You were a mistake.
00:37:51You begin to run with things.
00:37:53Well, what if we did this?
00:37:57That's something cool.
00:38:05I don't know how long it's gonna last.
00:38:09Business is the hottest it's ever been.
00:38:12And it's been the challenge on me to be the champion
00:38:15but without the title for a year,
00:38:17essentially two years.
00:38:19I hope I've lived up to the challenge.
00:38:22I'm of the thought that it could end tomorrow.
00:38:25And if it did, I would like to make sure
00:38:27that everyone who paid to see us
00:38:29or specifically to see me, I got them.
00:38:34Sorry.
00:38:35I think a lot of people think it's indulgent.
00:38:39They think it's excessive.
00:38:40They don't get it.
00:38:42It's not for me.
00:38:44They put their time in to come here
00:38:46and I just, I love doing it.
00:38:48I won't change.
00:38:51If I did not have this connection with the people,
00:38:53the Rock would be wrestling
00:38:54and the Main Event would wrestle me.
00:38:56I am beyond blessed that the biggest star in the world
00:39:00came back and people said,
00:39:02hold up, we want him.
00:39:05It's not that we don't want you.
00:39:06We just, he's got to finish the story.
00:39:09That's why I'll take all night banking each and every one of you.
00:39:16The WWE fans were fully invested in this multi-layered story
00:39:20and their excitement was on full display
00:39:23each and every week.
00:39:25Home arena.
00:39:26Packed out.
00:39:2711 straight television sellout on the road to WrestleMania.
00:39:31So taking the fans with us on this journey
00:39:34is the highlight of what we do as professional wrestlers.
00:39:38I got to tell you, it's such a rewarding experience
00:39:40and we have so much fun doing it.
00:39:43But it's also one of our anchoring tenets,
00:39:45which is always, always, always take care of the fans.
00:39:50You have, in the wrestling world, gone back to being a heel,
00:39:53to being a villain in the thing.
00:39:55And to the point where you are actually, like,
00:39:58antagonizing people in the local cities that you visit.
00:40:01Yes.
00:40:03The number one city in America for cocaine and meth use
00:40:10is Phoenix, Arizona.
00:40:15I know what you're thinking.
00:40:17Let the final boss say it.
00:40:19You don't have to say it.
00:40:20You're going to get in trouble.
00:40:22But I'm not going to get in trouble.
00:40:24We're going to have some fun tonight.
00:40:25You want to have fun?
00:40:27Your hero's going to bleed and need some stitches.
00:40:32So whine about that, you crybaby bitches.
00:40:38There's some lines you just don't cross.
00:40:42You all can kiss the ass of the final boss.
00:40:51As a performer, as an entertainer,
00:40:54I have never received so many texts and phone calls
00:40:59from people I know, from people I don't know,
00:41:01people out on the streets about the ideology of final boss
00:41:05and saying, I'm done with that.
00:41:08I'm done with it.
00:41:10I don't like being told what to do.
00:41:14Nobody does.
00:41:16But not everybody's in the position where they could say,
00:41:19you know what, f*** this.
00:41:22I'm going to do it my way.
00:41:24I'm going to say it my way.
00:41:26And when that rock is done whooping your son,
00:41:29the rock is going to whisper in your ear, Mama Rhodes,
00:41:33What can I say except you're welcome?
00:41:40Your job is to elicit an emotional response
00:41:43through your art.
00:41:45And I dare say we do that more consistently
00:41:48and better than anyone else.
00:41:52You want to be a hero, huh?
00:41:55This is what happens when you f*** with the final boss.
00:42:02So becoming the final boss,
00:42:04the greatest heel professional wrestling has seen.
00:42:07Look at your son, Mama Rhodes.
00:42:09It just has allowed me to be as visceral as I want to be.
00:42:15There's nothing that the final boss can't do.
00:42:17What? Show is over and then it stops? F*** that.
00:42:21There's nothing that the final boss can't say.
00:42:27And I love also that I've been able to stand this persona up
00:42:32that is such an extension of myself,
00:42:36but in a way where the final boss can become
00:42:39an insurmountable antagonist, not only for Cody Rhodes,
00:42:48but for the entire locker room.
00:42:50I think that's pretty cool.
00:42:53And finally, you know, at the end of the day,
00:42:55the most important thing with creating the final boss is,
00:42:59is the final boss entertaining to the fans?
00:43:02And really that's the only thing that matters,
00:43:04not only to me, but also in this world of professional wrestling.
00:43:10F***ing get it.
00:43:12Yeah.
00:43:14When you start putting all those minds in a room together
00:43:16and collaborating together to make something great...
00:43:19Oh, man.
00:43:21God, I'm so excited.
00:43:23We got there. We got there.
00:43:26There's nothing that can touch it.
00:43:32Just a few days before WrestleMania,
00:43:35Cody Rhodes takes a moment to reflect with his friends and family.
00:43:41Yeah!
00:43:51Hey, while we're all here...
00:43:56Who was here last year?
00:43:59Oh, it's a lot of the same crew.
00:44:04I appreciate last year we said that we were going to do this again
00:44:09and we were going to be here again,
00:44:11and it's amazing that we actually are.
00:44:14A lot happened, an incredibly tumultuous, difficult ride,
00:44:18but we made it. It's WrestleMania.
00:44:26After months of chaos,
00:44:28the blind corners and sudden curves along the journey,
00:44:32the destination has finally arrived.
00:44:36Check it out, man.
00:44:40To see it set up for WrestleMania,
00:44:42it's the same feeling I had when walking into WrestleMania 39,
00:44:46but I'd like a different feeling walking out.
00:44:50It can be mine.
00:44:52If I take it, it can be mine,
00:44:54and I want to take it.
00:45:06Sometimes it sucks when you have these crazy weeks
00:45:09and it's just an overflow of just dopamine hits
00:45:13and adrenaline rushes and stress and anxiety.
00:45:18This is just creative fun.
00:45:20We're entertaining.
00:45:22This is art to me.
00:45:25When you come out here and you look and you see all the pomp,
00:45:28all the circumstance, all the pageantry
00:45:31of what is the biggest event of the year,
00:45:34you know, it's something.
00:45:36You've still got to concentrate on the task at hand.
00:45:42When the lightning bolt hits, I want a pyro, kaboom!
00:45:45I want everybody in here to go, what the f*** is going on?
00:45:48I want everybody to go, what the f*** is going on?
00:45:51I want a pyro, kaboom!
00:45:53I want everybody in here to go, what the f*** is going on?
00:45:56The pressure to deliver is massive.
00:46:02But it's kind of what you live for.
00:46:04It's why you do what you do. That's the adrenaline rush.
00:46:13There's so much shit going on right now.
00:46:16It's just trying to make sure nothing falls between the cracks.
00:46:19Yes, sir.
00:46:23I can't tell you how much fun this is doing with you, man.
00:46:26Likewise, likewise.
00:46:28Have you seen this thing?
00:46:30No.
00:46:31So this is pretty much what we talked about.
00:46:34They made it in a week, but it's...
00:46:37Yeah, all that fire will come out of it.
00:46:39They'll be doing big bursts, kind of two-year music,
00:46:41if you want, behind you.
00:46:43It looks cool as shit.
00:46:46The prep is over, and the gates have opened.
00:46:50Buckle up, it's time for the greatest show in all of entertainment!
00:46:56As the match draws near,
00:46:59both the pressure and the adrenaline start to accelerate.
00:47:03This is Wrestlemania!
00:47:07This match is a must-win.
00:47:11The final boss!
00:47:13Holding the People's Championship.
00:47:16At this point, you just sit back, you let them do their thing,
00:47:20you just hang on for the ride.
00:47:22A creative vision now needs its ultimate execution.
00:47:29Uh-oh, here we go!
00:47:32And now Rock gonna go to work on the injured knee,
00:47:36and things have gotten dire for Seth and Cody.
00:47:40Seth trying to fight back.
00:47:43Oh, down goes the Rock!
00:47:45Stop!
00:47:48Cody Rhodes now with an opportunity to make a comeback.
00:47:52Seth and Cody are both in the ring,
00:47:54and they're going for it.
00:47:56Stop!
00:47:59Cody Rhodes now with an opportunity.
00:48:02Wow!
00:48:04Rollins off the top rope!
00:48:06Splash for the win!
00:48:09Cover!
00:48:12Roman kicked out!
00:48:15It's the biggest weekend of your life, Cody.
00:48:17Are we finishing the story or not?
00:48:21A couple of super kicks in stereo.
00:48:25Roman's down.
00:48:28Stop!
00:48:30Cody!
00:48:32Cross Rhodes!
00:48:34Cover on Reigns!
00:48:36Hook of the leg!
00:48:37And Rock just pulled the official out of the damn ring!
00:48:41Rhodes and Rollins have to be asking themselves,
00:48:45what the hell more could we possibly do?
00:48:48Wait, wait, wait, wait!
00:48:51Cody cover!
00:48:53Cody trying to book the odds!
00:48:55Roman Reigns comes in and saves the whole thing.
00:48:59And it's time to go God mode!
00:49:03Seth Rollins saves Cody!
00:49:06Roman spared The Rock!
00:49:08Oh, no!
00:49:09Roman spared his cousin!
00:49:11This has been chaos since the start.
00:49:16Rock Bottom to the NS table!
00:49:20Chaos in Philadelphia!
00:49:24Cody caught him!
00:49:25Cody's got Roman!
00:49:28Oh, no!
00:49:35Rock Bottom to Cody Rhodes!
00:49:39Feels like I'm back in the Attitude Era.
00:49:43People's Elbow!
00:49:51Welcome back, final boss!
00:50:01Night one is officially in the books.
00:50:06But Cody and Roman have less than 24 hours
00:50:09before they get back inside the squared circle
00:50:13to give fans the match they'd called for.
00:50:19This is a unique situation
00:50:21where night one of WrestleMania feeds into night two
00:50:24and the story carries on.
00:50:26How does Cody overcome?
00:50:28A lot to think about overnight and a lot to see tomorrow.
00:50:36Check this out.
00:50:38My bus is over there. I got off.
00:50:41Boom.
00:50:42It's a good thing to wake up to, you know?
00:50:45Used to call that his million-dollar smile.
00:50:48But no human being smiles like that,
00:50:51so it was always funny when he would kind of pop it up.
00:50:54And then what else was I going to tell you guys this morning?
00:50:58I forgot.
00:50:59Oh, feels like a good morning to finish the story.
00:51:04Is there a way, if we pack the choir here,
00:51:07and pack the choir here, if I left the center,
00:51:10depending on where they lay out these drums,
00:51:12that's what I'm going to figure out right now.
00:51:14So when he comes, then probably you three
00:51:17will move once Roman comes out.
00:51:26This is the biggest stage. This is everything for us.
00:51:29This is the biggest stage. This is everything for us.
00:51:32Got new music.
00:51:38The choir and those big drums and everything
00:51:41are the biggest thing coming out of the preamble.
00:51:44This is where we want everybody to be like,
00:51:46God damn, they threw it big, man.
00:51:48So here's what I'm thinking,
00:51:50and we start to pull back through here
00:51:52at a fairly decent pace.
00:51:54This is the big ball right here.
00:51:59I was just out there doing what I've been doing my whole life.
00:52:02Main event in WrestleMania is just what Roman Reigns does.
00:52:08You are looking live at The Link,
00:52:11Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
00:52:14We are sold out again tonight for WrestleMania Sunday.
00:52:20It is our main event.
00:52:22Cody Rhodes hopes to finish the story.
00:52:25He earned this opportunity.
00:52:27Biggest night of your life, Cody Rhodes.
00:52:44Go get him.
00:52:47Go get him.
00:52:50For 1,316 days,
00:52:55Roman Reigns has called himself champion.
00:52:59It literally does not get any higher profile
00:53:02or bigger than this matchup.
00:53:07And here we go.
00:53:09Big Fight Field in Philadelphia.
00:53:12This will be contested under bloodline rules,
00:53:15which means anything goes.
00:53:17Down goes Rhodes.
00:53:19Wow.
00:53:20The power of our tribal chief.
00:53:24Superhuman power.
00:53:26This is my company, you little bitch.
00:53:31Goddamn.
00:53:42Here comes Reigns. Cody caught him.
00:53:45As the Philly fans try to rally.
00:53:47The American nightmare.
00:53:48Rhodes now, second rope.
00:53:50Cody caught him.
00:53:51Can Cody capitalize?
00:54:01Looking up to the heavens, Cody Rhodes
00:54:04knows his papa's looking down on him
00:54:07on the biggest night of his career.
00:54:11Dare I say, for the first time tonight,
00:54:14the champ is in trouble.
00:54:17Jimmy Uso.
00:54:19I think he just saved the championship for his cousin.
00:54:23Oh, yeah.
00:54:25Cody Rhodes has got some friends, too.
00:54:28Yeet.
00:54:30Jimmy and Jay on a collision course.
00:54:33On the stage.
00:54:35Oh, my God.
00:54:37Cody's got a chance.
00:54:41Solo Sikoa.
00:54:50Oh, yeah.
00:54:52Cena's coming against him.
00:54:55Cena's even a playing field.
00:54:59Hit this man.
00:55:01Holy.
00:55:03Here's Cody.
00:55:06The final boss has arrived.
00:55:11This is one of the greatest things I've ever witnessed.
00:55:15The final boss infuriated at John Cena.
00:55:28What the...
00:55:31Guys.
00:55:34Oh, my God.
00:55:36Seth Rollins is in the ring with a chair
00:55:38and Roman just stopped Seth from taking out The Rock.
00:55:58The dead man coming.
00:56:04Undertaker's back in WrestleMania.
00:56:09Talk about WrestleMania moments.
00:56:13But now the tribal chief is wielding a steel chair.
00:56:18Payback.
00:56:20And now Reigns setting up Cody Rhodes.
00:56:23Cody caught him.
00:56:25Crossroads.
00:56:27Cody's not done yet.
00:56:29Is he gonna do it?
00:56:34Cody Rhodes finished the slay.
00:56:44For the first time ever,
00:56:47a Rhodes can call himself WWE champion.
00:56:55As Cody takes in the moment he's waited two years for,
00:56:59the struggle, the pain, the tears,
00:57:03he can finally say what it all meant
00:57:06and who it was all for.
00:57:13It doesn't get any sweeter than this.
00:57:15Sometimes this business just gets you right in the heart.
00:57:23Pro wrestling is beautiful.
00:57:29But not so much the way it was meant to be.
00:57:45Because it's not just the way wrestling is bought and sold.
00:57:49It's the way we've been created.
00:57:51It is a way to encounter your inner self,
00:57:54just as a kid,
00:57:56I thought if I won this I would feel complete and to a degree the story being
00:58:19finished I do have a completion to the first thing on my mind is what do we do
00:58:39next right what do we do next with this the answers ahead are always in process
00:58:53Cody Rhodes your story with Roman Reigns is over and you did it but our story has
00:59:08just begun a story beginning while WrestleMania is just ending you see all the people that do
00:59:22all the things to put their heart and soul in this talent everybody works so hard to put this
00:59:27together and just delivered what I feel is beyond any and all expectations we set records for
00:59:36merchandise by far we set records for sponsorship by far this was legitimately on every metric the
00:59:47biggest WrestleMania of all time the truth is I'm gonna get up tomorrow and think like what can we
00:59:53do now like what what can we do now what can we do next and in some manner somewhere in my head
01:00:01I'm gonna be plotting next year's that's the beauty of it that's the honor of it that's a
01:00:05privilege of it we get to do it again tomorrow for Triple H the creative mind and relentless
01:00:11architect of WrestleMania 40 the offseason will last eight hours before the planning
01:00:18for WrestleMania 41 begins