The new “WWE: Unreal” docuseries on Netflix has revealed another major scrapped storyline, this one involving a plan for Kevin Owens to surprisingly win the Undisputed WWE Championship from Cody Rhodes at the Elimination Chamber premium live event earlier this year.
In the docuseries, longtime creative mind Brian Gewirtz revealed that he and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson pitched the shocking title change. The idea was that after Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes refused The Rock’s offer to be “his champion” at the PLE, The Rock would have made an “impromptu title match right then and there.” The plan would have seen Kevin Owens, who was in a storyline with Rhodes at the time, defeat him to capture the championship.
Gewirtz explained the motivation behind the pitch, stating that he and The Rock felt the expected babyface rivalry between Rhodes and John Cena “felt a little dry.” Their goal was to inject “controlled chaos into this” and create a truly “seismic” moment.
“Kevin Owens winning the title wasn’t the end goal,” Gewirtz explained. “The takeaway was whatever it is we do, needs to be seismic.” Ultimately, WWE went in a different direction, with the segment at Elimination Chamber instead featuring John Cena’s heel turn and alignment with The Rock.
While the plan for Owens to win the title was scrapped, both he and Cody Rhodes remain at the top of the card in WWE. Cody Rhodes will challenge John Cena for the WWE Title in a Street Fight at SummerSlam this coming weekend.