The Rock Pitched Shocking WWE Title Change For Fan-Favorite Star
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The new WWE: Unreal docuseries on Netflix has revealed another major scrapped storyline, and this one was pitched by The Rock himself. The series shows that The Rock and his creative partner, Brian Gewirtz, pitched a plan for Kevin Owens to surprisingly win the Undisputed WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes at the Elimination Chamber premium live event.
The shocking pitch would have completely changed the landscape on the Road to WrestleMania 41. It is a fascinating look into the kind of "seismic" moments The Rock wanted to create.
The Rock and his writer pitched an idea where Cody Rhodes turns down his favor at Elimination Chamber, so Rock uses his power to set up a title match on the spot against Kevin Owens, and Owens wins the Undisputed Title.
Wow 🤯#WWEUnreal pic.twitter.com/CzbI423lXK — WrestleBrock (@WrestleBrock) July 29, 2025
A "Seismic" Pitch
In the docuseries, longtime creative mind Brian Gewirtz revealed the motivation behind the pitch. He explained that he and The Rock felt the expected babyface rivalry between Cody Rhodes and John Cena "felt a little dry" and they wanted to inject "controlled chaos" into the story.
The idea was that after Cody Rhodes refused The Rock's on-screen offers, The Rock would have made an "impromptu title match right then and there." The plan would have then seen Kevin Owens, who was in a storyline with Rhodes at the time, come out and defeat him to capture the championship.
"Kevin Owens winning the title wasn't the end goal," Gewirtz explained. "The takeaway was whatever it is we do, needs to be seismic."
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson attends the 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 05, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California.
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson attends the 82nd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 05, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
More news: WWE Superstar Announces Retirement Match
The Heel Turn That Happened Instead
Ultimately, WWE chose to go with a different "seismic" moment. The segment at Elimination Chamber in March did not feature a Kevin Owens title win. Instead, it saw John Cena make his shocking heel turn, aligning himself with The Rock and setting up his own championship match against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41.
Gewirtz's history as a head writer for WWE during the Attitude Era and his current role as a top executive at The Rock's Seven Bucks Productions make him and The Rock a powerful creative force. While the plan for Owens to win the title was scrapped, it shows the kind of unpredictable storytelling they were pushing for.
Both Owens and Rhodes remain at the top of the card in WWE, with Cody set to challenge Cena in a Street Fight at SummerSlam, while Owens will hopefully be back in 2026 after undergoing neck surgery.
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