Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Stone Cold Reportedly Originally Planned for WrestleMania 40 Main Event Involvement

Several legends played a role in the WrestleMania 40 main event between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes, but one star who was notably absent was reportedly planned to be part of the bout originally.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestleTalk), "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was "earmarked" for the match, but he ultimately wasn't used since the two sides could not come to terms on a financial agreement.

That led to The Undertaker replacing Austin, which still received a huge pop from the live crowd in Philadelphia.

As things broke down during the undisputed WWE Universal Championship match, John Cena showed up to neutralize Solo Sikoa. The Rock then made his way to the ring and took out Cena with a Rock Bottom.

At that point, the lights went out, The Undertaker's gong hit and The Deadman was in the ring standing behind The Rock when the lights came back on.

The Undertaker laid out The Rock with a chokeslam, and it wasn't long before Rhodes hit Reigns with three Cross Rhodes to pin him and end his historic world title run of over 1,300 days.

Given that Austin and The Rock engaged in one of the biggest rivalries in pro wrestling history and faced each other three times at WrestleMania, there is little doubt that The Texas Rattlesnake would have been the perfect choice to take out The Rock.

However, Taker was still a sensible option since Reigns was one of only two people to ever beat him at WrestleMania.

There could potentially be other opportunities for Austin to get involved since it seems as though The Rock is around for the long haul now that he is a member of TKO's board of directors, but it is possible that such a perfect scenario will never present itself again.

The Rock vs. Rhodes Possibly In the Works for WrestleMania 41 Main Event

The Rock and Cody Rhodes laid the groundwork on Monday night's episode of Raw for a potential future match between them and it reportedly could occur on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

According to Meltzer (h/t WrestlePurists), there is no concrete plan for when The Rock will have his next match, and although he could wrestle later this year, discussions have already started regarding him competing at WrestleMania 41 next year.

The Rock reportedly wanted to return to face Reigns originally, but Meltzer noted that he now favors the idea of facing Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 41.

During the build toward WrestleMania 40, The Rock made his return to WWE, turned heel and aligned himself with Reigns and The Bloodline.

That led to him wrestling in the main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 40, as he and Reigns beat Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a tag team match, meaning the Night 2 main event would be contested under Bloodline Rules.

The Rock tried to help Reigns beat Cody on Night 2, but several Superstars and legends got involved, and Rhodes managed to defeat Reigns and finish his story by becoming world champion.

On Raw the next night, The Rock interrupted Rhodes' promo and proclaimed that he would be coming for Cody in the future regardless of whether he was still champion.

The Rock also handed Rhodes something, but the contents were kept a mystery from the WWE Universe.

It is fair to wonder what Reigns' role will be at next year's WrestleMania if The Rock vs. Rhodes happens, so perhaps the match could happen before then to set up the Reigns vs. The Rock dream match that was previously teased for WrestleMania 40.

Rollins, Lynch Reportedly Taking Time Off from WWE

Following their losses at WrestleMania 40, the husband-and-wife duo of Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch are taking some time away from WWE, per Meltzer (h/t WrestlePurists).

Lynch opened Night 1 of WrestleMania in a Women's World Championship match against Rhea Ripley, but Rhea was victorious and extended her title reign of over one year.

Rollins teamed with Rhodes in a losing effort against Reigns and The Rock in the main event of Night 1, and he then opened Night 2 by putting the World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Drew McIntyre.

McIntyre largely dominated the match by targeting Rollins' injured knee, and he beat The Visionary to win the world title.

However, CM Punk attacked McIntyre after the match, which allowed Damian Priest to cash in his Money in the Bank contract and beat McIntyre for the championship.

Rollins and Lynch have a daughter together, and while they often travel with her when they are on the road for WWE, they will now have the opportunity to spend some time with her at home.

Taking some time off could also allow Rollins and Lynch to make a decision on their next step in wrestling.

Per Fightful Select (h/t WrestlingNews.co), Rollins and Lynch are both scheduled to have their WWE contracts expire in June.

Given their standing in WWE as top stars, it is difficult to envision Rollins and Lynch doing anything other than re-signing, but taking themselves out of the grind for a bit could give them a different perspective.

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