Why Brian Gewirtz Says WWE's Cody Rhodes Winning The Royal Rumble Was 'Problematic'

WrestleMania 40 may have ultimately ended with the destination most fans wanted, as Cody Rhodes unseating Roman Reigns to "finish the story" and become the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. But the road to that moment was anything but smooth, with Rhodes initially giving up his shot at Reigns to The Rock, only to change his mind just days later in a move made after fans voiced their displeasure at WWE pivoting from Rhodes to Rock.

For Rock's frequent collaborator Brian Gewirtz, the origin of these speed bumps all came from the WWE Royal Rumble days earlier, where Rhodes won the Men's Royal Rumble match and hinted at challenging Reigns, even as creative plans called for Rock to challenge "The Tribal Chief." Speaking with "Busted Open Radio" last week, Gewirtz explained why he felt Rhodes winning that match wasn't the best idea, and what the simpler solution would've been.

"The idea of Cody winning the Rumble, I thought, was problematic," Gewirtz said. "In full transparency, I said it, even in San Diego in that meeting, [that] I thought the cleanest thing to do, if we're booking Rock and Roman, is to have Punk win the Rumble and challenge Rollins, just because...there's a difference storyline wise, in my opinion, of Cody wanting to finish the story, and having earned the right to finish the story by winning the Royal Rumble...Cody winning the Rumble changes the dynamic completely, because it goes from something that 'Yeah, we all want things. But now he's got it. And why would he do anything other than focus on Roman?' And that's what he naturally did when he pointed to him. Why wouldn't he? It's exactly what that character would do."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription