Scrapped WWE Plan Had Kevin Owens Win Title After Cody Rejected The Rock
Netflix’s WWE Unreal continues to deliver jaw-dropping backstage revelations, and the latest one might be the most shocking yet. The docuseries has revealed that WWE once considered a wild twist involving Cody Rhodes, The Rock, and Kevin Owens, with a major WWE Championship title change that never made it to air.
According to The Rock’s longtime writer Brian Gewirtz, the original storyline plan heading into Elimination Chamber 2025 was drastically different than what fans eventually saw on TV. At the center of it all was The Rock’s idea of chaos—and Kevin Owens was nearly the man to benefit from it.
“With the prospect of Babyface John and Babyface Cody, it felt a little dry to us,” Gewirtz explained. “So Rock and I pitched something that was twofold… I had the idea of Cody needing to be Rock’s champion. That was the hook.”
The creative team believed the dynamic between Cody Rhodes and John Cena was too clean, too respectful. So they decided to inject “controlled chaos” into the storyline—something that would test Cody’s allegiance and ignite The Rock’s Final Boss persona in full force.
The pitch? Cody would refuse to be The Rock’s chosen champion during the Elimination Chamber event. In response, The Rock would abuse his influence to demand a title match on the spot, resulting in Kevin Owens walking out as the surprise new WWE Champion.
“We proposed Cody turning down The Final Boss at Elimination Chamber,” Gewirtz said. “That was going to lead to an impromptu title match that saw Kevin Owens, who was already in a story with Cody, win the Championship.”
The point wasn’t to crown Owens long-term. The idea was to create a seismic shock—a moment that completely flipped WWE’s main event scene upside down heading into WrestleMania.
“Kevin Owens winning the title wasn’t the end goal,” Gewirtz clarified. “The takeaway was, whatever it is we do, it needs to be seismic.”
In the end, WWE scrapped this chaotic detour and stuck with Cody’s ongoing arc. But the plan proves just how close the company was to rewriting the entire Road to WrestleMania with one impulsive, Rock-fueled twist.
While Kevin Owens didn’t get the shock title win, and Cody Rhodes continued his Undisputed WWE Title run, it’s clear WWE was toying with multiple unpredictable possibilities.
What If?
Would fans have accepted Kevin Owens as champion under those circumstances? Would it have derailed Cody’s historic story—or made it even stronger in the long run?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section. And for more insane behind-the-scenes insights like this, be sure to follow us and never miss a twist in WWE’s storytelling saga.
