Ranking the 10 Ways WWE Can Book the Rock at WrestleMania 40

WrestleMania 40 may be one of the most important events WWE has produced. It's the true foundation for a new era of the company and will likely include the in-ring return of The Rock.

What The Great One does at The Show of Shows will have a major impact on the future of the business. One of the biggest stars in wrestling history is back for a reason.

While Rock first returned as a hero for the fans and seemingly to challenge Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes has thrown a wrench in those plans.

Fans are so behind The American Nightmare that they even rejected The Rock. This leaves WWE in a unique position, scrambling to find the best place for The Great One.

The following are the 10 most likely directions WWE could go with The Rock ranked by their overall impact on the business.

10: Write The Rock Off WrestleMania 40

Forcing The Rock onto the WrestleMania XL card may be tricky, but it would be harder to come up with a reason to keep him off The Show of Shows.

There is a strong likelihood that fans are buying tickets for the two-night event with the expectation of seeing The Great One, even if they are more invested in Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns.

The Rock has become an integral part of SmackDown suddenly. His appearances draw increased viewership and overall excitement for WWE, especially among casual fans.

While WWE could pull off a dramatic angle in which The Bloodline beats down The Great One or The American Nightmare goes too far in a brawl with The Rock, WrestleMania would not be the same without the returning Superstar.

9: The Rock vs. Triple H, Night 1

Triple H officially retired from in-ring action at WrestleMania 38 in April 2022 due to a serious medical heart condition. He has stated he would never wrestle again.

However, this is professional wrestling, and nothing is ever certain. The Rock and The Game have been battling forever and could sell a complete spectacle match at The Show of Shows this year.

However, this just isn't worth the risk for the result as the real story of The Rock's return should be focused on Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns.

WWE is at its best with Triple H focused on creative behind the scenes, and The Rock needs a dance partner who can do the heavy-lifting in the ring on his return.

8: The Rock vs. Roman Reigns, Night 2 (Pivot Back to Original Main Event)

Roman Reigns vs. The Rock is unlikely to be happening soon as WWE has mostly backtracked on the segment announcing The Great One facing The Tribal Chief with Cody Rhodes' blessing.

Fans turned against the idea after being so focused so heavily on Rhodes' story. If WWE wants to deliver Reigns vs. Rock, it will need to wait until The American Nightmare has gotten his moment.

Rushing this match would only hurt everyone involved. The WWE Universe will accept the battle for the title of Tribal Chief in the future, perhaps at WrestleMania 41.

The future of WWE will be determined by the results of this year's Show of Shows, and Reigns cannot afford to work another 'Mania main event where the crowd is against the action.

7: Special Guest Referee for Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes, Night 2

The chances of Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes descending into a mess due to interference are already high. If The Rock became the referee, it would guarantee a messy encounter that would not stay focused on the in-ring action.

In particular, the focus would be firmly placed upon the match official as The Great One would make a show of every potential pinfall or submission.

While it's a real possibility, 30 minutes of The Rock costing Rhodes near-falls would just complicate matters too much.

The Great One can get involved in a more tangible way without taking away from the story at the heart of WrestleMania 40.

6: The Rock vs. Cody Rhodes, Night 1; Roman Reigns Faces Seth Rollins, Night 2

This is a unique pivot option for WWE, but it might require too much adjustment to pull off.

The Rock has heat with Cody Rhodes that will need to be settled at some point. Seth Rollins has long feuded with Roman Reigns and wants to prove he is the better world champion.

In most cases, fans would love to see both Rock vs. Rhodes and Reigns vs. Rollins, but this is the wrong time.

The whole story is built around The American Nightmare finally winning the championship that his father missed out on.

Rollins is also already booked to face Drew McIntyre, and WWE has put too much into that build to scrap it.

The time isn't right for these matches, but they should happen in the near future.

5: The Rock vs. Cody Rhodes, Night 1; Roman Reigns vs. Match Winner, Night 2

The latest tease in the Cody Rhodes vs. The Bloodline saga has been The American Nightmare calling out The Rock for a one-on-one match any time and anywhere.

This sets up the possibility of Rhodes working two matches in two nights, especially assuming The Great One would require that his opponent puts his shot at The Tribal Chief on the line.

However, this booking would leave Reigns and Seth Rollins in the background of a story they have helped build.

This could well lead to fans feeling like The American Nightmare has become overexposed, especially if he is main-eventing both nights without any championship.

WWE has so many great matches set for WrestleMania, and it would be a shame for all of them to miss the main event for the sake of the same story.

However, assuming Rock is in shape for it, this could lead to the best pure contests WWE can produce out of this rivalry.

4: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes vs. The Rock, Night 2

If WWE wants The Rock in the main event of WrestleMania 40, it could just put him in the main event.

While fans are excited to see Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes go one-on-one again, The Great One could add to the matchup. But he could also distract from the match.

While Reigns vs. Rhodes, Reigns vs. Rock and Rock vs. Rhodes are all money matches, the Triple Threat is a harder sell.

The star power is there, but The Great One would have a tough time keeping up with WWE's top stars in their prime without taking the focus away from the story that interests fans.

This would open up the main event of Night 1 for another top match, which is looking less likely with other options.

3: The Rock vs. Seth Rollins, Night 1

While Seth Rollins vs. The Rock is the least likely match on this list, it is an intriguing possibility to keep The Great One involved at WrestleMania.

The Visionary lost the big name he was set to fight when CM Punk was injured in the men's Royal Rumble. He has earned a major WrestleMania match with his work over the past year.

Since Drew McIntyre won the men's Elimination Chamber, he will face Rollins at WrestleMania, so it's unlikely The Visionary would defend his title on both nights.

However, if The Rock threw around his influence and demand a world title match, Rollins would benefit from facing one of the biggest names in the business.

This would be an intriguing option to center The Visionary more in a rivalry where he has felt like a supporting act too long.

2: The Rock and Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins, Night 1

A tag team match is the most likely direction for WrestleMania 40. Even the teaser for the event released on Super Bowl Sunday sold this as the most likely outcome.

It is an easy answer for WWE's direction. The Rock came back to wrestle, so he is going to wrestle at WrestleMania. If The Great One is wrestling, that is the main event of the show.

WWE would just have to establish a clear stipulation for this tag team match. Perhaps The Bloodline would get their match on Night 2 if they won, or the winner chose the stipulation for Night 2's main event.

This does mean that everyone but The Rock would wrestle both nights, and the main event would be taken over by the same angle for both nights.

While it is the easiest answer and would make for an exciting two-night event, there are plenty of other feuds that would be worthy of taking that Night 1 main event spot.

Whether it be Bayley vs. Iyo Sky, Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley or Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre, there are big angles for WrestleMania that do not deserve to be completely overshadowed by The Bloodline drama.

But there is still only one option that will make the most of The Rock's appearance and improve the show as a whole...

1: WrestleMania 40 Night 1 Host; In Reigns' Corner on Night 2

At WrestleMania 27, The Rock returned to WWE to be the special guest host. While he was mostly in the background, he did get involved in the main event and cost John Cena the WWE Championship against The Miz.

That could repeat at WrestleMania 40. The Great One could appear on both shows and throw his weight around as a heel host. He could still get involved in the main event while Seth Rollins is in Rhodes' corner.

While this would mean that The Rock would not wrestle at WrestleMania, it could set up multiple future matches in the next year.

He could face Rollins, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns in the next year based on how things go at The Show of Shows.

This would also set up the fear most clearly that The Great One would cost The American Nightmare his big opportunity and extend the story once more.

The possibilities are exciting, and the story of Rhodes, Reigns, Rock and Rollins would not interfere with the rest of the stacked WrestleMania card.