Add as a preferred source on Google Nick Khan has sparked another debate behind the scenes in WWE by saying the plans for the WrestleMania 40 main event were never changed.
During an appearance at the Sports Business Journal, the WWE president was asked about the strong perception that the company changed direction after the negative fan reaction to the possibility of The Rock facing Roman Reigns instead of Cody Rhodes.
Khan, however, completely denied that version of events.
“By the way, the plan was always how it ended up in Philly two years ago. Sometimes, it’s a predetermined outcome in wrestling. You want to throw fans off, you want to let things bake, and then, boom, it ends up the way we wanted it to end up. It never changed.”
The statement stands out because it goes against the most widely accepted narrative since 2024. That year, Rhodes won the Royal Rumble for the second straight time, but seemingly gave up his shot against Reigns so The Rock could take the match instead.
Nick Khan says that the WWE WrestleMania 40 main event never changed.
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) June 3, 2026
“By the way, the plan was always how it ended up in Philly two years ago. It’s a pre-determined outcome in wrestling. You want to throw the fans off, you want to let things bake, and then boom, it ends up the… pic.twitter.com/KMkgWcsw67
The fan reaction was immediate, leading to the famous “We Want Cody” movement on social media and inside arenas. A few days later, at the WrestleMania XL Kickoff, Rhodes reclaimed his spot, while The Rock aligned with Reigns and began his run as “The Final Boss.”
At WrestleMania 40, held at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, The Rock and Roman Reigns defeated Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the main event of night one. As a result, the match between Reigns and Rhodes on night two was contested under Bloodline Rules.
In the end, Rhodes defeated Reigns to win the Undisputed WWE Championship, ending the Tribal Chief’s historic 1,316-day reign.
It is also worth remembering that The Rock had been appointed to TKO’s board of directors in January 2024, just days before the most intense part of the story began.
With Khan’s comments, the question now is whether WWE will officially present the Road to WrestleMania 40 as a plan that was executed from the start, rather than a change caused by fan pressure.