Following their encounter on the Raw after WrestleMania 40, big plans are reportedly in place for The Rock and undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes next year.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestle Ops), The Rock and Rhodes are scheduled to face each other at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas with the idea that it will be the people’s champion vs. the WWE champion.
During the build toward WrestleMania 40, The Rock turned heel and aligned himself with Roman Reigns after Rhodes opted to use his status as the Royal Rumble winner to challenge Reigns.
That led to a tag team match in the main event of Night 1 with The Rock and Reigns beating Rhodes and Seth Rollins to ensure that Reigns vs. Rhodes on Night 2 would be contested under Bloodline Rules.
Rhodes beat Reigns to end his title run of over 1,300 days, and while he finished his story in that regard, The Rock said the next night on Raw that their story together was just beginning.
The Final Boss said he had to take some time away to deal with his other commitments, but he clearly indicated that he would be back to face Rhodes in the future.
There was some thought that The Rock vs. Rhodes could be an option for SummerSlam, Survivor Series or even Royal Rumble, but since WrestleMania is essentially WWE’s Super Bowl, it is understandable if the company would prefer to hold off until then.
CM Punk’s WWE 2K24 Entrance Revealed
Ahead of his inclusion in the game as downloadable content, CM Punk’s entrance in WWE 2K24 was shown Friday for the first time.
Cult Of Personality. ⚡️
Step into the ring as the Best in the World, CM Punk, with the ECW Punk Pack for #WWE2K24. Available May 15. pic.twitter.com/EWSwFonrLl
— #WWE2K24 (@WWEgames) May 10, 2024
The entrance includes Punk’s Cult of Personality theme song and signature “It’s clobbering time” taunt. Also, his character model is decked out in the new merch shirt he began wearing after returning to WWE.
Since Punk ended his nearly 10-year hiatus at Survivor Series in November, there wasn’t enough time for him to be included in the initial release of WWE 2K24 in March.
Instead, the decision was made to make him DLC, and he will be part of the ECW Punk Pack, which becomes available May 15.
Included in the pack with Punk are ECW legends Terry Funk, Sandman, Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley.
Punk’s return was one of the biggest in WWE history, and given his large and passionate fanbase, there is undoubtedly a large portion of the WWE 2K24 player base that has been waiting to utilize him.
Unfortunately for Punk, he tore his triceps in his first televised match back in WWE at the Royal Rumble in January, so he has been on the shelf for the past few months.
However, he has continued to be a key figure on WWE programming, and he is clearly building toward a huge match against Drew McIntyre in the near future, which gamers can test out on WWE 2K24 beginning on May 15.
Montez Ford Interested in Having UFC Fight
Street Profits member Montez Ford is one of WWE’s most talented and promising Superstars, but he has his sights set on a potential crossover in the world of sports.
In an interview with Liam Crowley of ComicBook.com, Ford divulged that he mentioned to WWE president Nick Khan that he has interest in a potential UFC fight, saying: “I even told Nick Khan, ‘Hey, I know you’re doing all these crossovers, but if you need somebody to do another crossover and step into the Octagon, I’ll be that guy.'”
Ford went on to explain that he believes his experience in the military and martial arts would help him be successful in UFC: “I don’t think people know, but yes, I was in the military and I was also a brown, almost a black belt in the military as well. So not only do I have hand-to-hand combat experience, but I also have life experience.”
Along with his Street Profits tag team partner, Angelo Dawkins, Ford is currently part of a stable called The Pride, which is led by former WWE champion Bobby Lashley.
After his first stint in WWE, Lashley enjoyed a great deal of success in MMA, going 15-2 overall and a perfect 5-0 in Bellator.
Ford told Crowley that Lashley has expressed to him that he believes he has what it takes to transition into MMA.
While wrestling seems to be Ford’s primary focus right now, both WWE and UFC are owned by TKO, so there could conceivably be some opportunities available to him in the future.
