The REAL story behind WrestleMania XL w/ Brian Gewirtz | Busted Open

Dave LaGreca & Tommy Dreamer bring in Brian Gewirtz to break down the inner workings of the WrestleMania XL Storyline between Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, and The Rock.
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#wwe #wrestlemania #wrestlemania40

[@fnstyle]

I'm convinced that no one told Gewirtz that this would be filmed, and he thought "what the hell, it's just radio" and literally just woke up and turned on Zoom.

[@rawculture2007]

😂

[@L_Train]

It's Gewirtz. That's his fixed up look.

[@MrFoxxx47]

Good to see Gerwitz dressed up for the interview.

[@cwrisgood]

😂

[@andrewennenga920]

Even a T-shirt that fits would've been acceptable. That collar driving me nuts.

[@Travelocity93]

lmao 😊

[@jasonhughes305]

Sure the host wears t shirts also 😅😅

[@TheRealXHitman710]

It's not an interview. 😂

[@markperkins2656]

F’ing hell… Brian looks like he hasn’t slept since the attitude era 😂😂

[@LouisFalzone-xg8gl]

😂😂

[@philipt.8087]

Nor changed his clothes..

[@jonathan__g]

Lmao yea he does.

[@lejonknug]

could be years of drug use

[@thunder2708]

Rock putting him to work lol

[@NLaBar]

Gewirtz looks like he hasn’t stopped drinking since Mania XL

[@maximumrelaxation4770]

...or doing blowcaine

[@seanirish6173]

Try harder numps

[@Dolphibsuck]

@@maximumrelaxation4770yepppp he’s on that booger sugar 😂

[@NicB115]

Brian looks like he rolled out of bed. Wiped his nose with his shirt (maybe rubbed one out) and took the Skype call.

[@SES6924]

He 100% rubbed one out minutes or possibly seconds before this.

[@seanirish6173]

Looks fine

[@DaveyDGaming]

I laughed way too hard at this.

[@Donutkingactual]

You’ll never convince me Triple H would be really on board with throwing away years of his creative for a one off match.

[@shayanakbarry]

Everything pints towards HHH doing everything for Cody getting the shot. They never had the Rumble winner choose the champion right after winning except this year, that should tell you all you need to know.

[@JLevy0481]

I love how this guy is trying to justify rock vs roman by saying that it was in the works and the head of the table promo was a test. Yes Rock vs Roman would be awesome but not at the expense of Cody vs Roman 2 yr storyline. Rock basically wanted to "go into business for himself"

[@IAmTurboman]

The story has been catalogued pretty thoroughly. Here are the details January 1st: The Rock makes a surprise appearance on WWE television, makes the "Head of the Table" reference, crowd goes nuts. January 2nd or 3rd: TKO Executives and The Rock see the massive reaction to that line, realize they have something here. As Gewirtz mentions, the head brass meets in a hotel room and finalizes the plans for The Rock vs. Roman Reigns main event. HHH is heavily against this proposal as the Cody Rhodes storyline is his first massive creation, but he is outvoted. January 27th: Cody Rhodes is informed that it is heavily likely that The Rock vs. Roman Reigns is the planned main event of Wrestlemania. HHH makes the incredibly calculated move to make Cody Rhodes the Royal Rumble winner. He also tells Cody that after the main event he should point directly at Roman Reigns, making it clear that he intends to face him at Wrestlemania. This is the first step in building the crowd against The Rock vs. Roman. What very few remember is that after a WWE show in Knoxville soon after, WWE filmed a segment where Shinsuke Nakamura attacked Cody Rhodes backstage. You can view it here facebook.com/reel/903666694498668 This led to a bullrope match Cody won. HOWEVER, the original intention of this segment was that CODY RHODES WAS BEING WRITTEN OFF TELEVISION. This is the reason Gewirtz says "The original plan would've angered all the Cody fans even more". Because the original plan was Rollins vs. Punk, Rock vs. Roman Reigns, and Cody Rhodes would be written off TV with an storyline injury to return after Wrestlemania. February 3rd: WWE mildly changes course on this decision. Cody is returned to television, but instead of challenging Roman, he gives up his spot for The Rock in the segment. Part of the reason they did this was because Punk had gotten injured. Instead of keeping Cody off TV, they were going to move him into the match vs. Seth Rollins at Wrestlemania. Obviously that is why we saw that Rollins promo beforehand about his title being the "working man's title". It was to explain why Cody would choose him over Roman. Fans didn't buy it. The Rock and TKO had made final approvals at this point. All was set. But HHH was still booking the actual show. So Gewirtz wrote the promo as a "Cody encourages Rock to beat Roman for him", but HHH and Cody Rhodes in a sense 'went into business for themselves' and played it off as Cody being disappointed. Knowing full well this made it look like The Rock had politicked into the spot, which they were hoping would lead to fan backlash. February 8th: It is clear in the 5 days between, The Rock and TKO saw the backlash that happened. The Rock was blindsided because the last time he was on TV, the crowd went nuts for him vs. Roman Reigns. And TKO had just bought the company and assumed The Rock was the biggest star in the world. Of course it made sense! But they saw the social media response. Everybody involved made the pivot that happened, and the rest is history. So the story was really that The Rock and TKO were a bit oblivious to what was happening with the current WWE product, made the match that made sense in theory rather than in practice, and HHH/Cody Rhodes did all the little things they can to get the story they had told for the previous two years back into the fold.

[@saagarvarman8041]

A great analysis with good points.

[@nukiepie]

I completely agree and great point. The only part I question this is that if Rock vs Reigns was the full plan, then why did they have Roman come out to watch the Rumble so that Cody could point at him.

[@mattkrywyj5184]

If you work for someone and they've made you rich, your objectivity can fade. How this dude didn't see the reaction coming is crazy

[@uzi978]

He did see it coming... Rock was the one who didn't.

[@diluted8]

Underrated comment

[@documentaryinaday]

Yes, man.

[@loregasmic]

@@uzi978Rock don’t watch 3 hours of RAW every week, I can guarantee you that. He didn’t know how invested people were into Cody’s story. People begged for Rock vs Roman for four years, it’s not his fault they didn’t have Cody win at WM39 when he was supposed to.

[@yassver]

He’s a shill

[@AvengedSevenfold204]

Even if Cody smiled and played it off cool it still would have had backlash. We knew what was happening and weren't going to take it.

[@Jeff_Pryce]

BINGO. This goof thinks the fans are stupid. We’re not. He must not know what happened when they tried this crap 10 years ago with Daniel Bryan losing his WrestleMania main event moment to Batista. The fans burned it all down. This was actually WORSE than what happened then. Cody WON the Rumble. He had every right to finish his story at WrestleMania against Roman in the main event for the undisputed WWE Championship, only for Rock to roll up out of nowhere, not do a single thing to earn that opportunity and just take it like candy from a kid? It doesn’t work like that anymore, and the fans let him loudly know about it.

[@kyleday5026]

it would of had backlash because people already made there mind up

[@loregasmic]

It felt wrong to me and I’m a Rock fan, they should’ve pulled the trigger and had Cody win last year. Then there wouldn’t have been any issues with Rock vs Roman, which people begged for the last four years.

[@yassver]

Exactly, it would be even more insane if he did smile and be like it’s okay, I’ll put my life on hold for the rock.

[@maxdubs222]

@@loregasmicbut Roman winning the first time was a last minute Vince thing no?

[@robertcornelius3514]

Brian never blinks.

[@Jeff_Pryce]

The drugs. 😂

[@TheFoss04]

Meth

[@kennyjones6369]

Brian has morphed into Tim Burton

[@joemckim1183]

Kind of like Brian Grazer also who is Ron Howard's producing partner.

[@kennyjones6369]

Yes! Your right

[@joemckim1183]

@@kennyjones6369 But seriously Gewirtz literally looks like he just woke up. No attempt at combing his hair, stretched out t-shirt and bags under his eyes.

[@diluted8]

Has those vibes

[@documentaryinaday]

Acid and Mushroomz

[@csjbackups]

"It came hard, and heavy, and fast..." geez guy lol

[@Difrentstyles]

Nobody cares

[@Jeff_Pryce]

Yeah, that description got weird real quick. 😂

[@joejay4646]

​@@Difrentstyles Why did you care so much about a come joke that you had to comment that? Good luck on that music "career." It's always refreshing to hear verses from the perspective of someone who should have never been born in the first place.

[@theshogunsimonpayne6356]

Change that opening pronoun and suddenly what he was saying takes on a whole new context,would also leave one wondering just what else he be doing for The Rock behind the scenes hehe 😆

[@michaelh1949]

If I didn't know who this guy really is, I would have sworn they decided to interview some random homeless guy off the street.

[@christophersconiers4979]

The guy is at his house chillin I don’t see why everyone seems to care about how another man dresses or looks.

[@Jeff_Pryce]

@@christophersconiers4979 Because it’s unprofessional. If you’re going to do an interview and be on camera, at least look presentable. Doesn’t have to be a suit and tie, but at least try not to look like you’re begging for change in a subway station.

[@jimcornette4492]

@@Jeff_Prycewho gives af man only god can judge you.

[@Jeff_Pryce]

@@jimcornette4492 Not quite true. Most of the comments here are judging him, as well.😂 Grown ups dress like grown ups. Not a very hard ask, especially considering how much this guy gets paid.

[@jimcornette4492]

@@Jeff_Pryce boom how do we look judging somebody who made millions.

[@boombagoose]

Dude looks like he hasn’t seen civilization in years

[@matthewthomas9194]

And this is the same guy paul heyman got in an actual fight with back in the day

[@SES6924]

Paul should fight him again

[@KronosOnTheBeat]

Heyman should've ended this fool and WWE wouldn't have to go through that shitty decline era

[@sortwright]

Brian just woke sat up from being asleep to his zoom call with you guys. Only explanation. 🤣

[@jabrondestoroyah]

Dude is a gofer sidekick, mf acting like everyone was on their feet waiting for his input 💀 Dwayne is a deluded roid monkey and his little house boy here is just the worst hype man ever 😭

[@Difrentstyles]

I want to give a f*** the guy writes for The Rock probably much richer than you I wouldn't give a f***

[@TheGreatestBabyFace]

Brian looks like every Roman fan after mania. Cheer up we have a new champ in a new era.

[@chrisratcliff7466]

If you recall and quite frankly are such Vince terms....By GAWD King I wonder what would've went down if Punk doesn't get hurt.

[@joebrooklyn1512]

I get the feeling that triple H lowkey pulled cody aside and walked him through how to sidestep rocky

[@QueLindoFilms]

Master politician.

[@Jeff_Pryce]

Brian Gewirtz. The same goof who pitched Brock Lesnar to pin STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN on a random Raw with no angle or buildup, an idea so insulting that Steve walked away for 10 months in the final year of his legendary career. The same goof who thought all Cody had to do was smile to sell one of the laziest, worst pitched angles for Wrestlemania ever. This guy should stay away from anything wrestling-related.

[@KronosOnTheBeat]

How to get him fired?

[@lejonknug]

he should stay away from long-term booking. He can probably to short funny sketches for the rock still

[@bobbobb5759]

Only the weirdest people hold onto some random decision from a 20+ yr old raw that een the wrestlers wouldnt care about anymore LOL xD Seek help bro

[@wonipowa7542]

He also didn't want Cody to stop being Stardust. The guy is a kiss ass and delusional. Rock was out of touch with what the fans wanted at the time, and just thought he was such a big star that it wouldn't matter and he could do whatever he wanted.

[@an152771]

You sure it was him who pitched that? Remember the guy that used to oversee the entire creative department at WWE before he allegedly crapped on a mistress' head?

[@SES6924]

I have nightmares of what a Johnson/Gerwitz led creative team would look like. Its horrifying.

[@sdking8781]

Why do you say that Cody Roman Rock storyline was one of the best WWE ever had and you can't deny that rock and Brian were pivotal in a lot of that stuff, I would say having Vince back leading creative team is the biggest nightmare of all

[@leslieducloux649]

My new favorite wrestling interview.

[@WWE2KUNIVERSEELITE]

No way in hell Triple H is giving up the Cody vs Roman story for Rock and Roman.

[@DrezzyEFTP]

Did you see the documentary?

[@WWE2KUNIVERSEELITE]

@@DrezzyEFTP Yes, I felt like parts of it were altered for drama. Cody had no match at mania if Punk didn't get injured? Nahh they are capping

[@DrezzyEFTP]

@WWE2KUNIVERSEELITE for some reason, even when grown adults tell you the truth, u still don't want to believe, it's like me telling you and warning you not to go around the corner because there are people fighting and killin each other due to lots of money falling out the sky. But a person like you will probably go around the corner anyway regardless of what I just told you

[@puertoriconnect4611]

I think we gotta give credit where it’s due. They had the power and the ability to go the Vince route and force Roman vs. Rock on us. They completely changed the script and gave us something amazing.

[@VickStarkiller]

If we’re gonna criticize The Rock for trying to politick his way into the main event, we have to also give him some credit for at least recognizing that Cody’s time was now and he shouldn’t stand in the way.

[@smokeyjoe127]

But he tried to stand in the way until he realized he didn’t have a choice but to step aside. There was no other option or his match would’ve been booed out the stadium

[@EthanBradburyVlogs]

​@smokeyjoe127 I'm sry wrestlemania has the most casuals out of any show they do. In likely the first and last time they'd be able to see the rock work. Wouldn't happen

[@JLevy0481]

Rock only said that after his tactics of trying to go into business for himself backfired with #WEWANTCODY.

[@uctwist36]

If he paid any attention to people who aren't himself then I bet he would have known that before he stepped foot aback on screen.

[@Atlanticmarketing]

Brian had Dave is a mental straight jacked all episode

[@jamichaelyork946]

I was at the Birmingham show. I reacted HUGE to the rock but I gotta say; watching Cody walk up that ramp broke my lil heart😭

[@4of20]

can we do a gofundme to get the host a new cam?

[@documentaryinaday]

who does tech support after purchase?

[@Difrentstyles]

F*** them they got money they'll go on Amazon and figure it out

[@fnstyle]

Issue isn'T with the cam. The uplink to the SiriusXM studio must be the issue.

[@NothingButWrestling]

This was great. Learned a lot about the lead up to WrestleMania XL.

[@joepanck3053]

1080p but still 240p quality lol. Come on guys ya'll are company backed!

[@tededwards5709]

Brian’s camera is good. It’s just Dave’s camera that’s bad quality. Needs to upgrade

[@MrXbloodline]

This dudes shirt collar tells all I need to know about this dude

[@tededwards5709]

True but his track record speaks for itself. He’s contributed way more positive stuff to WWE than any of those hack writers Vince hired after he left

[@Difrentstyles]

Mr X bloodline just another stupid comment this is why they keep these people usually off TV they use their brains and they pick their brains and entertain people that's how it works brother LOL

[@MrXbloodline]

@Difrentstyles funny you took it as a diss. Maybe your collar looks similar. I was suggesting the dude doesn't care about anything butt what he cares about, lol idiots

[@reeseangle9621]

@@tededwards5709no he didn’t

[@carlogz]

I love how Gewirtz was just so candid over everything

[@SES6924]

Gerwitz looks absolutely out of his fucking mind

[@eventvideoz]

I can’t believe he’s allowed to talk about this deep behind the scenes stuff

[@ResistingDeath]

The only thing I wanted to know is why they got Cody to win the Royal Rumble when he wasn't fully penciled in to main event WrestleMania. And... that's the question he skipped.

[@sparknazo]

Cody was the guy they wanted to win against Roman they was going to have Cody win and then get injured in a segment where Rock then takes his Wrestlemania place to fight Roman rock was going to lose and then Cody comes back and reinstate his rumble win privilege to fight Roman and then win this time the issue is when Punk got injured so now they need someone for Rollins which is why they purposely made Cody give his spot to Rock and he challenges Rollins again for the title obviously this is hilariously bad which is why Rollins was injected into the bloodline feud since he was promised a wrestlemania main event and his own title match with Drew was an afterthought and Drew was supposed to fight Priest 1v1 in a non title match

[@uzi978]

Brian said he knew it would be "problematic" if Cody won the Rumble, he didn't think that was a good idea.

[@ResistingDeath]

@@uzi978 But what was the idea?

[@Jeff_Pryce]

@@ResistingDeath I’m not sure they had one. They just wanted to get to Rock vs Roman. I just don’t get why they didn’t fix it simply by having Rock come out at No.30,throw out some people, a stare down or two, pretend to get hurt for like 5 minutes and then win the Rumble. It works so simply. If Dwayne wasn’t ring ready by January, he had no business even asking for the WrestleMania main event. Their plans shouldn’t have been thrown in flux because he couldn’t make up his mind before then.

[@comicsunblock]

@@ResistingDeathto make sure the fans thought the rock took cody’s spot, this is why they had cody point at roman as well. triple h and cody out politicked the rock, roman, and paul heyman beautifully

[@barelymental5674]

Dave don’t owe Brian. Dave took what he was given & ram with!! Dave saw a good piece of business.

[@joebrooklyn1512]

Ultimately I love the rock but a dream match like that needs to be set up separately from the other story lines just like how they always are. The Rock isn't going to be a part-timer either so the best he could do is be an attraction. Title matches are pointless because he's never going to win them

[@Scorpiondeathlock81]

Wow Brian looks rough.

[@lejonknug]

could be years of drug use

[@j.r.777]

With the tease in San Diego for Rock being head of the table, I think a lot of people, assuming myself, thought it would be at the PPV before Wrestlemania and set up Roman and Cody at WM40.

[@daytonflyerr7608]

I expected the very same and was surprised. I also didn't expect rock to be on week to week

[@tqueen7131]

Yall are silly he literally sat on Pats show last September and teased WM 40. Even ESPN asked about Rock vs Roman for WM not Cody lol. Only this small little faction here think this way and run around smearing people instead of following facts. It actually brings a bad name to the Fandom really. The only other PPV is a rumble match.

[@j.r.777]

@@tqueen7131, I don’t watch sports. I didn’t see the Pat Macafee show or the ESPN one. Even with WWE, I don’t watch it as often anymore. I may watch the occasional PPV or KZbin clips of certain things that catch my interest but I simply don’t have the time to commit to it anymore like I used to. But, I was glad to see Cody finally get the belt! It was a long time coming. And the main event was really good!

[@89jstubbs]

Brian looks like he hasn’t sleep since mania

[@isaacgudino7712]

His Knicks have robbed him of his rest

[@lejonknug]

could be years of drug use

[@JaySingh-y7f]

SAS "And he was on crack"!!

[@itscarlyj]

This guy looks like the kind of guy that's going to like your IG posts from 3 years ago.

[@Dcheen]

This was awesome. Love this insight and look into the creative world of pro wrestling.

[@DeadmanInc336]

He did a really fun interview with Edge and Christian on their podcast years ago. Really funny when you get those three together since they're actual really good friends.

[@mikeparisano]

I love wrestling, but holy hell, the older I get the more I enjoy listening to the behind the scenes stories from this interview. Listened to the whole thing!

[@philduke4071]

So tone deaf to what the WWE Universe wanted! I was in Birmingham, AL that night and it was definitely cool to have Rock show up. But I left that night saying to my kids on the way home "How can they do Cody like that?" and it seemed like the good ole days of Vince pushing a part-timer around WM season...

[@tqueen7131]

Because they set it up for you to think they did him that way when in fact it was The Rock that was sabtoged after a year of planning, rearanning his life schedule and promoting and teasing the match since last year. Had he not have won rumble pointed at Roman and put a sad face on fans would not have acted that way. He did not need WM for his story. Rock vs Roman was a WM built story for years. Imagine you thinking it's OK that Rock and Roman's story got ruined for someone elses story that had 0 to do with WM. Cody did not get his story ruined or sbastoged because it was still going to happen as Brian said. But now how do you tell the story they built where Roman is a heel and The Rock comes in to put the family back in order? You can't and it's quite sad anyone thinks that's OK for a guys story that did not need WM.

[@shadowcolorado3668]

​@@tqueen7131 I've read your comments... It's obvious you are incapable of having an objective view and a logical discussion about any of this. You come across like an unhinged fanatic who bows before rock figurines. Rock stepping in was trash and EVERYONE knows it. The entire world watched the company pivot and auto correct. You do realize there's more going on in the world than dwayne johnson's schedule right?

[@BdeezyThEngineer6]

Can’t believe they were going to have Cody face Gunther for the IC title

[@justthewods2244]

MICHAEL MYERS HAS FINALLY BEEN UNMASKED!!!

[@Saint_Svadhisthana_Sahasrara_1]

WCW was booking itself into oblivion way before any merger.

[@agosta44]

Had no idea Dave lived in Vernon too lol that took me by surprise.

[@uctwist36]

He cant even fathom that there are people who just dont like dwayne.

[@muzman486]

Hey I know this guy, he was that Lawyer that represented HHH that one time back in 2001.

[@intergalactic32]

Great interview. Get some sleep Brian

[@lejonknug]

could be years of drug use

[@MrFoxxx47]

​@lejonknug how many times are you going to comment this? Lol

[@rayzah449]

Good stuff, I can’t believe the IWC really thought the rock flexed his muscle and forced himself into the main event. And he was forced to change up. The rock is tapped in he never gave me the impression that he was out of touch. Sometimes we have to give credit where it’s due and let the entertainers do their job before we get in our feeling about what we think is going to happen

[@tqueen7131]

Sadly they still do it's really a segment of Cody fans though but guys lime Dave promoted the idea and sort of pushed thus nasty narrative along with dirt sheets.

[@_WF23]

Great episode.

[@sinjin4563]

Dave, Bully and Vince Russo all have the same NY/NJ accent.

[@TheGreatestBabyFace]

Wear that American Nightmare merch with pride!

[@ironmedsvr]

Where is the wwe wrestlemaina bts documentary they promoted on their youtube. I never saw it.

[@griswoldclark6835]

The Cody storyline was in its peak phase after the Rumble built for year. It logically made no sense to just switch to the rock

[@mcorrea1273]

Great interview!

[@yassver]

This guy seems on a different planet. How was it ever okay for rock to replace Cody for any fan. Only a fake fan who hasn’t watched since 2000… it wouldn’t make any sense and actually didn’t which is why they reversed and put Cody back in the main event

[@redcarpetring]

Gerwitz look like The Miz’s older brother 😂

[@michaellively9692]

Sorry for this but he looks like I do when I get up in the morning.

[@CamSeanoaTolls26]

It's crazy, I didn't realize that we had so many people that were backstage and involved on creative by the way these comments are popping up 😂. Brian for sure needs a vacation tho 🤣

[@brokenkayfabe]

Wow…Triple H made sure that Rock wasnt going to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania and had Cody won the Rumble. Holy smokes.

[@reeseangle9621]

That’s a good thing

[@brokenkayfabe]

@@reeseangle9621 as a cody fan, i agree...but if they all agreed that rock vs. roman was "best for business" it was a dirty move..

[@MikeyManSavage]

Brian mentioning donating his hamstring to OG, echoes the sentiment of New Yorkers around the world 😂

[@barelymental5674]

Dave was a part of wrestlemania !! Of course he loved it!!!!

[@snakeey3zhiphop]

I've never seen such a mark as Dave before.

[@LuisFigueroa-m7n]

This is the Guy that the Rock has to thank for all of his Success in and outside the Ring! Brian use to be the best writer WWE had for many years but out of all his success with many other pro wrestlers the Rock took the cake he just knew the Rocks character and just knew how to write for him! The man is awesome and has a good understanding of the product and knows how to work a crowd, he’s himself put the final touch to the Rocks character the Cemented to Rock to super stardom!! Point blank yes the Rock was very talented and knew how to perform and control the crowd on his own but Brian got him to the level the he is at! I glad they all working together I figured that him , the Rock, and trips work all well together so people can’t ever say trips hasn’t changed cause he certainly has and in sure has grown a lot from the attitude era! I can’t wait til they truly talks about how everything unfolded behind the scenes!

[@tqueen7131]

Love you gave Brian his flowers but if he has changed why did Cody win Rumble? Why set it up so the crowd thinks badly about The Rock? This sounds like the stories guys like Bret Hart and Stone Cold, and many, many others have told about Paul L.

[@3rdFloor]

He said the original idea was far worse than Rock & Roman. Thank god for pivots lol

[@hops2099x]

they could so easily use Cody vs rock story to set up roman vs rock it almost writes itself: Cody helped redeem Jey by brining him to Raw, Jey could be the link that helps get Cody to redeem Roman to set up that Roman Rock saga.

[@whatudontunderstandis-gk9hk]

Gewirtz is such a bootlicker for Dwayne Johnson. Granted I get it, as he's the big paycheck provider for him. But I only believer half of his diatribe . End of the day...they corrected course.

[@nicklootawan1664]

Bro looks cooked

[@UMBRA7ZZZ]

The people wanted Cody. only a very small amount of RockSimps wanted it

[@gregthegroove]

What did my man just wake up and call in to the show in pajamas and bed hair? Holy shit Brian G😮

[@QuietmindYoga]

The way Brian looks is what happens when you f*ck with the Final Boss on a podcast interview then need to explain yourself.

[@SanelTufekcic]

This interview was awesome

[@PainSlayer1084]

When is behind the curtain going to release

[@KemeticKingAsar]

July 3rd

[@PainSlayer1084]

@@KemeticKingAsar I see now it's been a long time coming lol thank you though

[@if6924]

Final Boss Rock brought me back to wrestling. I haven't watched it in over 15yrs until months before wrestlemania. It was brilliant and now I'm back into.

[@seanmcintyre5936]

Gewertz does a great job of making Rock look like the biggest snake of all time. Get some sleep Brian, it’s over

[@chrisszyyy]

We got more truth from Gewertz than that WWE doc where the Rock made it seem like he Kevim Feige the whole thing

[@Hangingwithfarrah]

Bro been on a bender for a minute

[@THEG4MINGLEGEND]

Brain is the best ,, I wish he had a podcast

[@kylewebb8779]

It ended up being way better the way they did it than what was origninally planned. Without question

[@victorzamudio3733]

He look like cm punk without the straight edge

[@johnnysupreme5718]

He looks like CM Punk

[@Jeff_Pryce]

He’s Punk without the good hair, hygiene or common sense.

[@Jeff_Pryce]

@@johnnysupreme5718 Punk actually looks presentable in front of a camera. This guy looks like he just woke up five minutes before the interview and just started talking.

[@PaxBisonica89]

What we learned here is that Dwayne and Gerwitz don't give a fuck about Cody or the story. They cared about making the Rock look as good as possible all the time at everyone elses expense. God bless triple H for out politicking the rock to this day 😂

[@SKPKentucky2016]

He said he saving some for the books. I bet they planned on the rock winning the rumble.

[@nzelver559]

Brian Gerwitz being the writing genius he is cannot possibly believe that fans would accept Rock just walking in to replace Cody at WM 40. He is being really politically correct - clearly some other powers that be decided, most likely Rock that he should have that main event. I am someone who cancelled my trip and sold my tickets to Wrestlemania because of this ridiculous switch that made no sense

[@moderncrimedoc]

Cocaine cheques are awesome.

[@jvilmusic]

Well that’s was dumb. You missed out on an incredible wrestlemania in person lol

[@Jeff_Pryce]

@@jvilmusicCouldn’t have known that at the time. I was considering going for Cody-Roman 2 and Punk-Rollins. When it looked like I was getting neither, opted not to go, too. But it worked out for everyone.

[@smokeyjoe127]

He says the rock “knows what he’s doing”. But yet makes this guy plan out and make all his decisions.

[@r3bel383]

Here's my only issue that they did not discuss in this, they didn't get into detail on why, if the penciled in idea is for Rock v Roman, why the hell do you still have cody win? Cause as of the night before the rumble, Punk was not injured. So you could still have Punk win the match, so why have cody win?

[@sparknazo]

They basically wanted Cody to instate his rumble win after Wrestlemania and then win Cody was supposed to get injured in an angle and Rock take his Wrestlemania spot lose to roman then Cody comes and wins the issue is when Punk got injured Seth needed an opponent so then they kept Cody for Cody vs Seth 4 for 40 but then huge backlash made them keep Cody and Roman which is why Seth sorta was injected into that feud and why Seth Wrestlemania title match felt like a afterthought Drew vs Priest was the orginal idea

[@r3bel383]

So if they had stuck to their plan, he won the Rumble to wrestle after wrestlemania?

[@sparknazo]

@@r3bel383 basically cody explains in his interview he was told the day of the Rumble that he wasn't going to main event wrestlemania against Roman again but rather fight Roman at a later date and win since Roman and Rock was going to have their match

[@r3bel383]

@sparknazo ok, in my opinion that still makes no sense to why they still had him win but I do understand your comment now.

[@KronosOnTheBeat]

This bum needs to leave the storylines and booking to others, I hope there was a way to get him fired. He surely looks like he's on drugs or something. Hopefully the thing what happened with Vince also happens to him so he can leave WWE alone because one wrong step and we are back to Vince era 🤦🏻

[@685_Era]

Say whatchu want about brian but dude is a genius and has made some pretty damn good history. Respect🤙🏾

[@matthewthomas9194]

Ladies and gentleman this the guy who came up with the cody crybabies!!!!

[@Jeff_Pryce]

Probably dreamed that up under the bridge he was sleeping at. 😂

[@nzelver559]

Sorry but those commenting on Brian Gewirtz's looks are ADHD or very petty - there's a full hour of content, he gave us so much insight on what was going on behind the scenes leading up to Wrestlemania 40

[@tqueen7131]

I'm disgusted they have 0 moderation and allow some of the comments through. Some were way out of line and quite toxic. What guest wants to be a part of toxic fans of a podcast

[@dfloriza]

Rock knew how to piss people off, had an absolute ball with it, and it drew BIG cash for Wrestlemania. It was good business at the end of the day.

[@MikeDee412]

Believe me we ALL want Roman vs The Rock. It was just that we didn't want it at the expense of Cody.

[@tqueen7131]

What part of Cody did not need WM to finish his story did you miss? It's like you are willing to forgive sabatoge and smearing of The Rock a guy who has given so much to this business because you can't grasp that his story was still getting told. Rock vs Roman did need the title becauee they are fighting over who is in charge of their family. If you pay attention Solo has taken over because Roman lost the title and story line wise they don't see him as in charge now without it. Cody was going to get the title just not at WM. This would have allowed both stories to be told not sabatoge one. Cody never said he needs to win WM or beat Roman for his story. He simply needed the title for it.

[@MikeDee412]

@@tqueen7131 👍

[@shadowcolorado3668]

​@@tqueen7131 nah, rock stepping in and sabotaging a 2 year story line was tone deaf and trashy - especially considering Cody's meteoric rise AND torn pec, hell in a cell, recovery and return and 2 rumble wins. The entire world reacted and vocalized their distaste. That's why we saw the pivot. The rock is a legend and it's fun to see him, but tearing apart the fabric built by all of the roster just for an appearance is narcissistic, vain and somewhat sociopathic. It's basically the rock saying, "Yeah, I don't care about any of those people or the story. I'm here now so all eyes on me" Looks like the reaction wasn't what he expected. He deserved the backlash. He thinks too highly of himself.

[@kelseykjarsgaard5774]

Now the roles may be reversed with face and heel tho

[@Jeff_Pryce]

18:30 Why all these stupid mental gymnastics of booking? If they wanted Rock vs Roman, why not just have Rock enter the Rumble and win it? Wouldn’t that have solved everything? If Dwayne wasn’t in ring shape by January, he had zero business being involved in the main event of Wrestlemania in April. If he wanted this, he should have prepared for it so they could book something that makes sense instead of this lazy crap of him just walking off the street and pushing the actual Royal Rumble winner aside. Thank goodness the fans spoke out; this entire idea was a joke.

[@yassver]

Why bring a dinosaur back close to extinction? We want new blood

[@Jeff_Pryce]

@@yassver I agree. But if Dwayne wanted this match, all I’m saying is at least put in the work to make it make sense. He didn’t. He got lazy. He wasn’t in ring shape by January, he had zero good booking to get him to Roman without winning the Rumble, and he expected everyone to buy it because “I’m the Rock, everybody loves me!” The fans saw right through it and booed it out of existence. He should have worked harder for that moment if he wanted it instead of coasting and expecting his half-wit writer to figure it out.

[@christopherbaldwin6036]

I hope this guy is healthy 🙏

[@stevehangiaras4089]

Damn, hope this guy can fit in a beauty nap today

[@ajoenamedjoe]

Does Gewirtz ever sleep?

[@JoeTheShow2694]

Ok i love Busted Open. Great show always. But damn Dave can’t u go and get a better camera lol. The audio is so clear then the camera is all blurry

[@alpunterjr6360]

The reality is Rock was using his stroke to insert himself into the main event. The fans were about to riot and they did a pivot

[@michaelvazquez7851]

Nice interview

[@Mourndarkv]

Omg Dave, The Rock doesn't care about you. 😂