A source in creative reportedly told Fightful that there was a sense of deflation after the change, feeling it was reminiscent of Vince McMahon’s maligned regime where changes were made at the detriment of cultivating new talent. Someone who had worked with Rock reportedly indicated that he had eroded his trust within the comic book movie, film, and football communities and appears to be on track to do the same with wrestling, “the one [fanbase] he has almost universal goodwill with”, and while that doesn’t speak to him as a person, it risks over-exposure and disenfranchising fans towards him.

One talent reportedly went along with the idea that Johnson had not intended to shunt Rhodes out of the picture through malice, but noted the difference between meaning something and not meaning something when both carry malicious repercussions is moot. Another longtime member of WWE creative questioned the motive, however, when there have been pitches for Rock vs. Reigns for years.

It was noted that at one time an excuse not to do the match was allegedly because the story didn’t make sense, but there is a large contingent who feel the story makes even less sense than it did then and it’s undermining one of the longest-running and most prominent storylines to be run by this current creative regime. Fightful closed its report with another source indicating that the Anoa’i family — comprised of Johnson, Reigns, and several other industry names — has passed the McMahon family in terms of the power dynamic in professional wrestling, something that isn’t expected to change for some time.