WrestleMania XL: Behind the Curtain

WrestleMania XL: Behind the Curtains premiered on YouTube on July 2, 2024. It was originally planned to release shortly after Mania but was delayed.

We start with Triple H on the WWE jet, telling us this is the biggest WrestleMania of all time and the pressure is overwhelming. He tells us that the card was penciled in about 80% in October, but along the way a lot of things happened as we see videos of Rock. “Something magical will come out of this chaos,” he says as we see clips of Rock attacking and media personalities like Sam Roberts reacting to the story.

WWE Headquarters, Stanford, CT. Triple H is walking down a hallway and into a boardroom, greeting an assortment of white guys. Narrator Tom Rinaldi tells us that the journey lies in the path ahead, with Mania XL having more twists and turns than anyone expected. He formally introduces us to HHH as Bruce Pritchard tells us the guy in charge has been to the top and has an open mind.

Hunter says he looks at creative like a GPS, where you put in the destination and it’ll tell you the turns. We see overhead shots of Cody Rhodes and the legendary Pharaoh jogging. Cody has made it his mission for two years to win the WWE Championship, a promise he made for his father. We see footage from WrestleMania 39, with Cody losing to Roman Reigns. Paul Heyman says the moment the match ended, the audience was ready for the rematch. Cody tells us he wants to finish the story.

HHH says the plan was to give Cody a hot year as we see him winning the tag titles. The plan was Cody/Rock at WrestleMania, but H says there was another story: a blockbuster story. They had been talking about it for years, but finding the right opportunity to tell it – The Rock vs Roman Reigns.

Dwayne Johnson makes his first appearance to say the fans have been waiting for it for years and they’ve been building to it quietly for years. He had his first conversation with Nick Khan about it at a dinner with Nick’s sister in December 2021. She was a producer of “Young Rock,” where Rock shows us them teasing the possibility of Roman/Rock.

Dwayne says they began to look at the roadmap to WrestleMania and the biggest main event of all time, but they decided to push it to WM XL. We see footage of Endeavor and WWE’s purchase being celebrated at the New York Stock Exchange, including a rare view of Disgraced Mustache Man. Dwayne says they were coming off the high of the purchase, with Ari Emanuel (Endeavor CEO) being a close friend of his for decades. They discussed the value he could bring to the company.

Dwayne appeared on the Pat McAfee Show a few days later, saying they’re doing to make Rock/Roman happen. SmackDown on September 15 sees Rock show up, with an electric crowd and the pieces all coming together.

January 1, Rock goes to Raw. We see footage of him greeting family member Nia Jax backstage as well as Damien Priest. He acknowledges that on paper, the main event was Roman/Cody. He also says there is possibility to create another main event as we watch him soak in the crowd cheers. He says he recommended testing the waters, as he mentions sitting at the head of the table in the promo.

HHH says the reaction changed things, and Bruce says it got people talking as we see various Internet reactors reacting to it. Heyman says four years as champion in modern times is iconic, but Rock coming back presents them with several options – including Cody not getting the title shot. HHH says you can argue a match against Rock would be bigger than one against Cody and you wouldn’t be wrong.

Then Dwayne joins the TKO Board of Directors. He gives a rah-rah speech to the team working at WWE Headquarters and we see HHH touring him through the building. Rock and Hunter take a photo with the world title that Bob Backlund held. Rock wipes away the tears seeing pictures of his father on the wall.

Dwayne says they agreed to adjacently run the Roman/Cody story but to also keep running the Roman/Rock story. We head to the Royal Rumble, where the media all wants to hear from Cody. Cody tells a reporter he thinks finishing the story has to happen at Mania. Cody tells us how touching it is that people everywhere he goes tells him to finish the story.

This leads us to HHH, telling the camera about telling Cody prior to the Rumble that Roman/Rock could happen at WrestleMania and he imagines it was a brutal day. Cody wins the Rumble and Samantha Irvin announces him as the winner. HHH says he has to win the Rumble and they have to see where it goes.

Cody knew the story was shifting but had to put on a brave face for the fans. We get clips of Cody on Raw, telling the fans how much he needed them. Cody tells us he doesn’t really know how he feels, but he doesn’t believe anything until he stands in the ring and it happens.

HHH mentions that Seth Rollins’ original Mania opponent was CM Punk, but Punk was injured at the Rumble. Now both title matches are up in the air. Seth Rollins appears to tell us this has been the wildest Mania build he’s been part of as HHH tells us chaos leads to greatness if you let it play out.

February 2, SmackDown. Cody is in his bus, telling us that he isn’t overly enthusiastic. We get the clip of Cody saying he wants the title, but not at WrestleMania. This brings out Rocky, setting up Rock/Roman to chants of “this is awesome.” Roman and Rock embrace backstage, with HHH telling Rock it was badass. Roman tells us the fans have been clamoring for this for a long time.

Meanwhile in the American Nightmare bus, Cody is freaking down the Wheatley American Vodka. Cody tells us you can lose the faith of the fans, but he has to believe that he won’t lose the fans. He knows some fans will be upset by this, and HHH says he isn’t sure where this leaves Cody but it’s on him and he has to figure it out.

The internet reactions were mixed. Dwayne says the power went back to the people, with #WeWantCody trending for 72 hours. He says the concerns were understandable. HHH says Rock/Roman is the biggest match of all time if it happens any other year, but the fans’ investment in Cody was big.

Dwayne says you truck through it or you take in what the fans are saying. The chants happen at Raw, with Dwayne saying you make the decision to pivot. He says he called Nick and Ari and the majority of the world will love Rock/Roman, but his gut says that he doesn’t like even a segment of fans being upset. “That really bugged the shit out of me.” Uh-huh.

Dwayne says he told them they should go Roman/Cody and take care of the fans, as he jokes about the Cody crybabies on McAfee’s show. McAfee appears and says he knew Rock was pivoting right when he said that. I have not heard the word “pivot” so much since they were moving the couch on Friends.

As we continue to pivot, WWE holds a press conference in Vegas. You can read my recap of it here. Roman tells us he is always focused on what’s next as Bruce says the eyes of the world were on Vegas. Bruce says pivot. You’d be drunk if you took a shot every time you hear “roadmap” or “pivot.”

Rock and Roman set up their match at the press conference before being interrupted by Cody, calling it bullshit. Cody chooses Roman, Roman calls him irrelevant, Cody insults the Bloodline and Rock slaps Cody. The world explodes.

Cody tells us the story is going down a path no one anticipated. HHH and Rock discuss keeping everyone involved as Brian Gewirtz helps him come up with the idea of a tag match with a catch.

We see scenes from the video and photo shoot of the Mania trailer. Seth mentions having so many egos in the same place was big. Bruce tells us that Mania being two days gives them the opportunity to use their marquee names multiple times, with HHH calling it episodic.

HHH says everyone was riffing ideas off each other, trying to make this the best product. Dwayne made another call to Nick and Ari and told them they’re going to see Rock 10.0 as Final Boss. They both loved it and said go for it as we see Rock on SmackDown putting down the fans.

Roman says they’re all transitioning their characters and seeing what they can with this new dynamic. We head to Raw, with Seth putting on a brace and telling us he is injured. He’s happy he isn’t missing Mania and feels he’ll be at 100%. We flash ahead to SmackDown as Rock tells the crew to change his music queue, and we get footage of him testing out his intro. We get the entrance with the lighting bolts which was really cool.

Dwayne says being the Final Boss is the best decision he’s ever made. HHH calls it a fresh coat of paint on The Rock. Cody tells us business is the hottest it’s ever been and the challenge for him to be the champion without the title for over a year at live events. We see him spending time with the fans and he really is the best ambassador WWE could want. He admits he is blessed that the fans spoke up for him in the face of the biggest wrestling star in the world.

Dwayne tells us it’s a rewarding experience to get fan reactions. He says he could say what he wanted and knew he wouldn’t get in trouble. He says he has never received such feedback as he did for the Final Boss. Seth says their job is to get a response and they do it more than anyone. He wants the Final Boss to be an antagonist for not only Cody but the entire locker room, and the Final Boss being entertaining to the fans is all that matters.

Backstage, Cody and HHH say “we got there.” Cody and his friends and family go to dinner, giving a toast. He tells them he appreciates them being there for him and they’ve made it to WrestleMania. And so have we, as we see Cody walk into the arena before the show.

Cody says it’s the same feeling as walking into WM 39, but he wants to walk out with a different feeling. Roman says weeks like this are fun and hits of dopamine after dopamine. Seth takes in the arena being empty, while HHH sets up Rock’s entrance with the pyro team.

HHH gives Rock an overhead view of his entrance as the doors open and fans file in. Nerves and adrenaline hit the talent as we see clips of the entrances. HHH says to sit back and let them do their thing.

Lots of match clips here. Y’all know what happened there. Roman accidentally spears Rock but Rock whips Cody with the belt, giving Rock the pin to end night one and stack the deck.

Day two. Cody gets off his bus and sees his dad on the WWE semi. Cody says it’s a good morning to finish the story. Roman walks in to get a peak at his entrance with the choir. HHH sets up the camera shot and Roman says he’s going out to do what he’s done his whole life, main eventing WrestleMania.

Cody rises up with the skull mask and Brandi while Roman and Paul enter to the choir. The bell rings and we’re underway, Bloodline Rules. Again, you’ve seen this. Jimmy, Jey, Solo, Cena, Rock, Seth, Taker. We do get some cool alternative angles, including Seth’s entrance into the match which I wish we would’ve seen during the show.

Roman hits Seth with the chair. Triple Cross Rhodes and Cody pins Roman. Emotions run high as Cody takes in the win. We see Roman and Paul embrace on the stage. McAfee: “Pro wrestling is beautiful.”

Backstage, Cody enters the gorilla position to applause, with hugs from everyone from Becky to Taker, KO to Sami. HHH tells Cody now it’s their job to navigate this, with Cody wondering what we do next. We get footage of Rock/Cody on Raw, with Rock telling him their story has just begun.

HHH says everyone delivered beyond expectations and it was the biggest Mania of all time. He says he’s already plotting next year in his head and it’s an honor and privilege to do. The narrator says HHH’s offseason lasts eight hours before planning for WrestleMania 41 begins. End show.

So, my thoughts. It was fine. It certainly spent a lot of time being a Dwayne highlight show, followed by HHH. Cody felt like a distant third in focus and Roman even less. I would’ve liked more from Roman after his record-setting streak ended, but that’s not the story of this. I hope we get that one day. I would love to see more from the people not in these two particular matches, but again that’s not the story here. It was a good enough hour watch, though it could’ve easily been trimmed at least fifteen minutes.

It also felt like they were given a lot of buzzwords – roadmap, PIVOT – and told to use them as often as possible. And boy did they.

Would I recommend it? Meh. The backstage stuff is always cool, but it felt like too much Dwayne storytelling – hence the delay in release.