WWE: Why Seth Rollins' WrestleMania 38 Opponent Might Not Be Who You Think
Seth Rollins is set to battle a mystery opponent at WWE WrestleMania 38, but he might not end up being who fans are expecting. The first-ever NXT champion, it was clear from the moment that Rollins debuted on WWE programming in 2012 as part of The Shield that boss Vince McMahon and company saw great things in his future. While Rollins has yet to main event a WrestleMania - unless one counts him cashing in Money in the Bank during the main event at WrestleMania 31 in 2015 - he's been a featured player on WWE's grandest stage for the better part of a decade.
That's what has made Rollins' story heading into WrestleMania 38 so odd. Rollins has spent several weeks lamenting the fact that he didn't have a spot on the WrestleMania 38 card, even though he's a multi-time world champion and obviously won't be left off the show of shows. WWE did something similar with John Cena in 2018, leading him to challenge The Undertaker out of desperation, even though again, there's no way Cena wouldn't have been added to the WrestleMania card.
The believability of Rollins' WrestleMania 38 story aside, he now has a spot lined up on Saturday, April 2, against a mystery opponent of McMahon's choosing. McMahon has said Rollins won't know who he's wrestling until he's already in the ring. Due to various factors, most WWE watchers have come to the conclusion that Cody Rhodes - rumored to be returning to WWE from AEW - will be Rollins' opponent, and while that's certainly possible, the WWE universe may well be in for a rude awakening. After all, if there's anything McMahon loves to do, it's pulling a shocking swerve on the audience.
Cody Rhodes got his start in WWE, and had a fairly successful run, before exiting the company in 2016. He spent a few years becoming a bigger name on the indie circuit before getting in on the ground floor of AEW in 2019. On February 15, 2022, it was confirmed that Rhodes had decided not to sign a new contract with AEW, and soon after, reports started flying that he was in talks with WWE. In more recent weeks, rumors have suggested he would be Seth Rollins' WrestleMania opponent, with the crowd even beginning to chant "Cody!" during Rollins' segments on WWE's Monday Night Raw.
WWE has been happy to toy with the audience's presumed knowledge, as has Rollins in promos, making little references that could be interpreted as being about Rhodes. Words of significance to Rhodes' career, such as "Dashing" or "Nightmare" have also been used, calling back to Rhodes' prior moniker of "Dashing" Cody Rhodes and his AEW nickname of "The American Nightmare." With all that in mind, it's not hard to see why most WWE fans are positive that Rhodes will indeed be showing up at WrestleMania 38 to battle Rollins. It's an interesting match-up for sure, as Rhodes became a major star in AEW, and he hasn't tangled with Rollins since the latter's Shield days. Basically, both Rollins and Rhodes are much different, more accomplished performers now than they were during previous encounters.
While Cody Rhodes certainly seems like the obvious choice to be Seth Rollins' WrestleMania 38 mystery opponent, Vince McMahon and WWE management have a track record of not always going the obvious route for such things. For whatever reason, WWE has often been fond of setting the crowd up to expect one outcome, only to surprise them with something out of left field. Surprises can certainly be a good thing when done well, but just because something is the expected result, doesn't mean it shouldn't be done. At this point, the thousands in attendance in Dallas for WrestleMania are expecting Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins, and if they don't get it, there will be lots of angry customers.
Reports are leaving little doubt that Cody Rhodes has signed with WWE after jumping ship from AEW, but it's definitely not impossible to imagine the company choosing to subvert expectations, and have him debut on the post-WrestleMania episode of Raw instead. It's also possible that WWE will partially use Rhodes at WrestleMania, having Rollins wrestle someone else, but booking Rhodes to interfere in and decide the outcome of the match. WWE has such an entrenched hold on the wrestling industry when it comes to the majority of fans, that they know full well they can fail to deliver on the expected Rhodes/Rollins match, and still have most viewers tuning in for the next night of WrestleMania to see what happens next.
As for who might fill the slot of Seth Rollins' mystery opponent at WWE WrestleMania 38 other than Cody Rhodes, a few notable names stand out as logical possibilities. The first is Goldberg, as the WWE legend and Hall of Fame inductee is confirmed to be in Dallas for various events during WrestleMania weekend, and could easily be called in to face Rollins as part of the card proper. This would likely anger lots of wrestling diehards, but it would also please many more casual fans, as Goldberg still gets mostly good reactions live. The second possibility is Shane McMahon, who, after being abruptly fired by WWE after an incident at the Royal Rumble in January, is also said to be in Dallas taking part in company festivities.
Perhaps the most interesting possibility for Seth Rollins' opponent is Bray Wyatt, who is also confirmed to be in Dallas as part of the WrestleCon event. Formerly known as "The Fiend," Wyatt was let go from WWE last year, but he's yet to sign with anyone else, and some reports have suggested he might have returned to talks with his ex-employer. If Wyatt does face Rollins, his return would likely get a massive reaction from the live crowd at WrestleMania, and may actually be better received than Cody Rhodes getting the slot. Still, Wyatt has feuded with Rollins extensively in the past, so there are probably better ideas for his return than another match between the two taking place. One final possibility, albeit a long shot, to face Rollins would be John Cena, who didn't appear at last year's WrestleMania 37, and has given interviews recently talking about how much he misses WWE.