No plans to 'sacrifice' former champion to Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns - Reports
Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns are arguably the two most prominent names in WWE today. The two men will be facing each other at WrestleMania. As per reports, there were no plans to have Cody Rhodes return at the Madison Square Garden show and face either man.
Many fans were upset when Rhodes did not return for the MSG show earlier this month. It was expected that The American Nightmare would face either Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns on the show.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer noted that there were no plans to have Rhodes return at the MSG show. Despite WWE advertising Lesnar's opponent to be a world championship level performer, the company did not intend on having the former Intercontinental Champion fill that spot.
''While many had speculated and were even mad that Rhodes didn’t debut on 3/5 in Madison Square Garden as one of the two mystery men that were to face Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, that was never under consideration. Sacrificing him on his first night in this situation where the WrestleMania headliners were going to be booked strong made absolutely no sense for anyone. WWE had never hinted Rhodes to be one of the guys and only stated that Lesnar’s opponent would be a world champion level performer who was befitting a Madison Square Garden world title match,'' said Meltzer
Brock Lesnar faced Austin Theory at MSG
The WWE Champion was initially supposed to face Bobby Lashley at the show. However, Lashley was replaced by Austin Theory due to injury. The Beast Incarnate put on a dominant performance against Theory, retaining his title in the process. Lesnar was brutally attacked by Roman Reigns after their match ended.
As for Cody Rhodes, his return has still not been confirmed. Meltzer reported that WWE wants him to be Seth Rollins' opponent for WrestleMania 38. This week on RAW, some hints pointed to a possible feud between Seth "Freakin" Rollins and a returning Cody Rhodes. The commentators noted that Seth not having a match at WrestleMania is a "Nightmare," hinting towards Cody Rhodes' nickname.