Netflix reality series “WWE Unreal” is now out, and many fans have spent the last several days working their way through the five episodes. The show claims to portray certain storylines that were in the pipeline but were changed or canceled along the way. That includes a pitch for Kevin Owens to align with The Rock and Travis Scott at WWE Elimination Chamber to beat Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship, but speaking on “Wrestling Observer Radio,” Dave Meltzer claimed this was never truly considered.
“I can’t say ‘complete bulls**t,’ although I was told, ‘complete bulls**t,'” Meltzer said. “That was Brian Gewirtz’s idea, and I thought, ‘He may have come up with that suggestion but there’s no way that that was considered.'”
Because of how the storylines were laid out heading into WWE WrestleMania 41, Meltzer didn’t feel it would’ve made any sense for the company to pivot to Owens defending the title against John Cena. Even if the company had been serious about the idea, it would’ve turned out to be a mistake, as Owens ended up missing WrestleMania due to a lingering neck injury. Meltzer believes it’s possible the bit was included to make it seem less like The Rock was exerting influence over the company’s booking.
“It’s a vehicle for [Paul] Levesque,” Meltzer continued. “They were trying to present Levesque as Dana White, with the idea that the star, the mastermind, is Levesque. And the wrestlers come and go; they’re pieces. That’s kind of how I felt watching it. I thought that they minimized the wrestlers.”
According to Meltzer, performers like Rhodes and Rhea Ripley came across like “nice people” in the show. However, he didn’t feel as though it adequately represented their importance to the final product.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Wrestling Observer Radio” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
