-This documentary was announced to debut shortly after WrestleMania XL, but was delayed as they claimed they had too much footage. It dropped on YouTube a few hours ago, so let’s get to it!
-Run Time: 1:00:28
-We start with HHH on the private jet talking about this being the biggest WrestleMania of all time as it is 40 years in the making. “The pressure of it being WrestleMania is overwhelming.” HHH notes the card on paper was probably 80% done in October and along the way, a lot of things happened. HHH: “Something magical will come out of this chaos.”
-Opening!
-Tom Rinaldi is the narrator for this doc which is cool as he is great at these. HHH meets with the staff at WWE HQ in Stamford as we are told that HHH is now the one in charge of WrestleMania’s direction. He knows where he is going as WrestleMania is the North Star.
-Cody Rhodes is jogging as we are told that he has been chasing the WWE Title for two years. One year ago at WrestleMania 39, Cody had his first chance at Roman and lost, which stunned everyone. Paul Heyman notes the audience was clamoring for the rematch as soon as the ref counted three to end the first match.
-HHH says the intent was to give Cody a hot year to lead to Roman/Cody II at WrestleMania XL. They had the story planned out, but there was another blockbuster story out there. HHH says they had been talking about Roman/Rock for years. Here’s the Rock and he says fans have been waiting for his match with Roman for years and they have been quietly building to it.
-Rock talks about his history with Nick Khan and how they were kids in Hawaii going to Polynesian Pro-Wrestling. They bring up how they even teased Rock/Roman on The Young Rock TV show. I remember that tease. They nearly got a deal done for WrestleMania 39, but it didn’t happen, so they decided to wait until XL. The Rock says it all started to dove tail and converge nicely after WWE and UFC merged to form TKO. Rock is friends with Ari Emanuel and he considers him his big brother. They discussed what value Rock could bring to the company.
-Sept 15, 2023: The Rock shows up on The Pat McAfee show from Boulder, CO and they tease Rock/Roman for WrestleMania XL. The Rock then popped up on SmackDown that night in Denver and of course the crowd lost their minds. The Rock says everything was making sense and it seemed everything was set for Mania.
-Jan 1, 2024: The Rock makes another surprise appearance at RAW: Day 1. We see Rock backstage hugging Nia and then Damian Priest. Rock says on paper the main event for Mania was Cody vs. Roman which they had building towards since the previous Mania, but they knew they had another Main Event. The Rock said he had to test the waters and drops the famous, “should The Rock sit at the Head of The Table,” line. HHH: “That changes some things.” We see footage of people freaking out on various podcasts about the idea of Rock/Roman at WrestleMania.
-Roman Reigns had been Champion for nearly 4 years and Rock calls it an iconic run. Heyman says The Rock coming back presented them with a million other options. HHH says you can make an argument that Rock/Roman could be seen as a bigger match because of all the outside attention The Rock’s presence would bring.
-In January The Rock gets named to the TKO Board of Directors and tells everyone the business of WWE is what he loves the most. He has grown up in the business and it’s in his DNA. We see HHH showing Rock some old WWF Titles (holding the Backlund one) and they take a picture together with that title. Rock notes he has a chance to make greater opportunities for the talent and wanting to make their relationships at home thrive. HHH shows Rock a photo hanging in the new HQ of Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas with the Tag Titles and it causes Rock to squirt a few tears. He thanks HHH for that and gives him a hug.
-HHH says they had a bunch of conversations with The Rock and they decided to continue The Cody/Roman story, but also explore what Rock/Roman could look like.
-The Royal Rumble comes four days after The Rock joins the board. Now we catch back up with Cody who is still answering questions about finishing the story. HHH says he told Cody the afternoon before The Rumble that it was becoming more of a reality that Rock/Roman could be the Mania Main Event. He knows that had to crush Cody.
-We catch the final few moments of The Rumble where Cody eliminates CM Punk to win his second straight Rumble Match. HHH notes that if Cody lost there, it would damage him, so he wanted to give him the win and see where the reactions went from there. Good call!
-Cody knew the story was shifting when he showed up on RAW the next night and that explains his RAW promo. He admits he couldn’t tell people how he felt and he no longer could believe anything unless he was standing in the ring and seeing it.
-Cody’s promo is interrupted by CM Punk and HHH notes that Seth’s original opponent for WrestleMania was CM Punk. That verifies what we all assumed and what Punk said in his now infamous MMA Hour interview. We see Punk telling HHH about his injury after The Rumble. Punk: “I hope I’m wrong, but I think I tore my triceps.” What’s wild is that injury was probably the best thing to happen for everyone including Punk as it has given him the fire feud with Drew McIntyre. Rollins throws out the idea of Cody challenging him at WrestleMania. The question is what does Cody do at Mania if Punk doesn’t get hurt and faces Seth and they stick with Rock/Roman?
-Cody is on his bus before SmackDown where he is going to announce his intentions and you can tell it is killing him inside. Later Cody tells Roman he wants the Title, but not at WrestleMania. That’s the sound of a wet fart rolling through the crowd. The crowd quickly rebounds though as Cody brings out The Rock and steps aside so he can face Roman at WrestleMania. Rock says he had a nice moment with Cody in the ring and then he had the stare down with Roman with the crowd chanting “This is Awesome.”
-The Rock goes back through Gorilla with everyone congratulating him and he gives a hug to Roman. HHH tells Roman that was great and tells Rock it was “f*cking bad ass.” Rock says they will chat this week. Roman says the fans have been waiting for this and it’s great to deliver on something like this.
-Meanwhile Cody is on his bus and man, does he look so heartbroken. Cody says he has to believe he won’t lose the faith of the fans. He can understand if some fans are upset. HHH notes Cody asked where it leaves him and he told him, “not sure yet.” HHH takes the blame and says that’s on him and it’s up to him to figure out as it is all happening in real time. He wanted to see what the reaction is.
-The immediate reaction was podcast and YouTube personalities losing their minds over the idea of Rock/Roman. MY BOYS IN THE CLUTCH! Love their YouTube videos. Doubt they ever read this, but big fan over here. McAfee notes on his show that he is very torn about this as he loves Cody Rhodes.
-The Rock says eventually the fans started voicing their concerns and #WeWantCody trended for 72 hours. HHH says if Rock/Roman happens in any other time or place it is the biggest match of all time, but the fans loved Cody and were invested in his story. The Rock says you can either truck through or listen to what the fans are saying.
-We go to RAW and the crowd is chanting for Cody and we are getting “Rocky Sucks,” chants. The Rock decided they needed to pivot. He knew they could pull in the fans outside the bubble with Rock/Roman and he notes it would be the first chapter of a few, but his gut told him it was a mistake to have a segment of the fans upset. He didn’t like a segment of the fans being upset and it bothered him. He admits the decision was ultimately his and he felt they needed to give the fans Cody finishing his story.
-The Rock appears of McAfee on 02.08.24 (as they were in Vegas for Super Bowl week and thanks for reminding me about that game. My Niners will back!) and they start the new plan with Rock leaning heel as he calls Cody’s passionate fans, “Cody Crybabies.” Just like that an insult was born. McAfee says it was awesome to see Rock drop back into being Rock so easily. HHH says they all agreed on the new plan and wanted to blur the lines of fiction and reality.
-WrestleMania XL Kick-Off: Press Event. The WWE decided to hold a press conference during Super Bowl week and broadcast it live on YouTube and Peaco*ck. My live recap of the event is here and I again, thank everyone that joined me. This was absolutely amazing as they teased Rock/Roman, before Cody called bullsh*t and took his rightful place in the WrestleMania Main Event. Roman brings up Dusty, so Cody feels it is fair game to bring up Sika (Rest in Peace sir), who was still alive then, and brings up Rock’s grandfather. He notes they would be ashamed, so Rock SLAPS THE PISS OUT OF CODY’S MOUTH! FANTASTIC!
-The Rock told HHH he had a thought so they hashed out what they wanted to do. They discussed the idea of a Triple Threat, but Rock spoke to Brian Gewirtz (former head writer of WWE) and the idea was to do a Tag Match on Night One with the outcome impacting the Main Event of Night Two.
-We jump to a photo shoot off all four men to build towards the new plan. We see them shooting the Super Bowl commercial that teased what was coming even though the Tag Match had not been announced yet. They discuss the beauty of Mania being two nights now and how they can be more creative. They don’t say it here, but it also nicely ties into what happened to close WrestleMania X, XX, and XXX. It’s crazy what they keep stumbling into and we can start guessing what could happen at WrestleMania L.
-The Rock was in Hawaii and called Nick and Ari and told them they would see Rock 10.0 as The Final Boss. Nick and Ari told him they loved it and for him to go for it. That brings the return of UPPER DICK HOLLYWOOD ROCK! The Rock back with his old swagger and gear was amazing as he tore up the crowd and Cody every week.
-Oh yeah, Seth is injured as he suffered a torn MCL and meniscus in his left knee. He is happy it didn’t cost him WrestleMania and he feels confident he will be 100%. We see Seth working out in the ring and testing out a brace. He is cool with the brace, but is hoping it is gone by Mania.
-The Rock is at Gorilla talking to the tech people and sound people to work out the kinks of his new entrance to fit his new character. Stuff like this is sweet! They discuss whether there should be a mark for The Rock when he makes his entrance. Rock notes he is confident he can hit it without the mark as he doesn’t want it shown on camera. We then see the entrance proper and it’s cool seeing it come together after hearing them talk about it.
-Cody is at a live event in Louisiana and says he isn’t sure how long this is going to last as business is as hot as it has ever been. It has been up to him to lead as Champion without being The Champion. He loves doing it and won’t change. He knows if he didn’t have the connection he does with the people, Rock would be facing Roman. The biggest star on the planet had to wait because the fans were so invested in Cody.
-They pat themselves on the back (and really, they should) about the string of sell-outs on RAW and SmackDown. They also show Rock on the talk show circuit and discussing how he has been roasting each city. Oh Phoenix got raked! ROCK CONCERT! How can you now love Final Boss/Hollywood Rock? Rock says he has never received so many calls and texts about his Final Boss character and Rock just decided he needed to do it his way.
-RAW: March 25: RAW gets dark as Rock just beats the dog out of Cody in the rain with a weight belt while dropping F bombs all over the place. They even include the stuff that happened after RAW went off the air and Rock dropped more F bombs. The man had to be having the time of his life. The Rock notes the only thing that matters is if The Final Boss is entertaining to the fans. HHH says when you put all those creative minds together it makes something magical, and nothing can touch it.
-We are a few days before Mania and Cody has a dinner with his friends and family. I assume Ricky Starks may have been there, but I didn’t catch him on camera anywhere. Cody talks about how they are back a year later and have made it.
-WrestleMania XL: Night One: I was supposed to be there for both shows, but everyone that could go with me, backed out due to cost. Roman is working on his cardio on a treadmill and notes what they are creating is art to him. Of note, one of the Televisions has Tiger Woods’ miracle win at The Masters in 2019. I still have that entire round on DVR.
-The Rock, with his People’s Champion Belt, meets up with HHH in Gorilla and they both want to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. I guess we are skipping The Hall of Fame where Rock made it about him and cussed out a fan to end the show.
-We skip everything else on the card because this isn’t their story and get to the Tag Main Event. Good for Seth for finally getting his WrestleMania Main Event. I mean, he was likely getting it with Punk anyway, but it’s cool for him to check that one off the list. Props to Rock as well for working his ass off after being out the ring for so long. Rock pins Cody to set the stage for Night Two. Sure, it ended Night One on a downer, but there was a bigger story being told and everyone there knew it.
-WrestleMania XL: Night Two: Cody points out Dusty on one of the production trucks and how he is sporting his million dollar smile. HHH is on stage working out the details with Roman’s special entrance. Again, I am a sucker for all this backstage technical stuff!
-Again, we jump to the Main Event and the show up to this point was already better than the previous night with a more engaged crowd. Now, I am sure the warmer temps probably helped the crowd. There were all kinds of twists and turns, but once the bell rang, we got the match we needed. We see HHH and Prichard on headsets back in Gorilla. Their match at 39 was technically a better match, but this one had the better story and obviously the epic ending. It is going to get my vote for Match of The Year.
-AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! Jimmy Uso saves Roman, but here’s Jey to spear him off the stage and through a table. Solo saves Roman like last year, but John Cena is here to get his revenge and put Solo through a table. Here’s The Rock to give us Mania XXVIII and XXIX flashbacks. Rock sends Cena packing and then we hear The Shield’s music. Seth hobbles into the ring and eats a spear from Seth. The Rock is standing tall and hey, here’s THE UNDERTAKER as the crowd is just losing their minds. Sure, Austin would have been great, but this was still perfect. The best part was Roman having flashbacks when seeing Seth and blasting him with a chair to callback to 10 years earlier when Seth broke up The Shield. Seth even falling the same way Roman fell was Chef’s Kiss. That lets Cody get the win and I tweeted out I LOVE PRO-WRESTLING when Cody won the WWE Title. I will proudly say it again, I LOVE PRO-WRESTLING.
-Cody walks backstage with The Title on his shoulder and gets congratulated by everyone. Cody says he thought when he won, he would feel complete. We see Cody taking picture with HHH. Cody says his first though was “what do we do next with this?”
-The answers are already in process as the next night, The Rock lets Cody know their story had just begun.
-HHH at the post show press conference noting on every metric this is the biggest Mania of all time. Well, other than attendance, but we know what he meant. He tells the documentary crew that he is already trying to piece together where they go for WrestleMania XLI.
-And that’s how we end. As always, WWE crushes it with these documentaries. This one seemed a bit rushed at the end as I was hoping to get a little more of Cody’s in ring celebration with all The Avengers and pick up things they were all saying to each other. They have always done these documentaries after Mania and they usually touch on all the matches with a handful getting the main focus. I enjoyed how this year they knew the story was more about how they got to this Mania and all the turns it took. As I mentioned, I loved all the production meetings they had and the footage of them working on entrances and figuring out how to shoot things. This was mainly the story of The Rock, Cody, and HHH with Seth and Roman being the co-stars. This is definitely worth a watch as you don’t get a chance to see stuff change so quickly in real time as Rock noted that in wrestling, they have a history of just plowing ahead. I tend to think if Vince was still in charge they would have, but he did pivot at Mania XXX (which also happened because of Punk being MIA). With that one though, Batista vs. Orton was an awful choice to headline a Mania. As they said here, the fans want Rock/Roman, but just not this year. I still would like to know what Cody was going to do at Mania if Punk never gets hurt and Rock/Roman happens. Not having The Rumble winner in either World Title match seems bizarre. I guess Punk/Rollins could have turned into Punk/Rollins/Cody? No matter as we got what we all deserved in the end and based off this I assume we are getting Rock/Roman next year in Vegas, but who knows? We have some time before we get there. Thanks for reading!
