After a pair of hard-hitting efforts in the opening matches of the Elimination Chamber, fans in Australia were afforded a reprieve from wrestling, but not drama, with a sit-down segment featuring WWE's top babyfaces, hometown hero Grayson Waller, and… Austin Theory, who was there too for some reason.
Initially expected to be nothing more than a fluff segment to get Waller on the card in his home country, Roman Reigns made things interesting by inviting the “Aussie Icon” into The Bloodline's locker room in order to… well, actually, fans didn't quite know what Reigns had to say in the segment, as he told Waller it was for his ears only.
Intriguing? You bet; it's not often Reigns extends himself outside of The Bloodline, and the last time it happened, it led to one of the most interesting angles in recent memory when Sami Zayn became the Honorary Uce in arguably the top storyline of last WrestleMania season. Would Waller earn a similar outcome? Maybe yes, maybe no, but to find out, fans would first have to sit through the most hyped The Grayson Waller Effect ever produced by WWE, with serious implications on the WrestleMania 40 card very much on the line in Perth.
Cody Rhodes demands a match with The Rock at Elimination Chamber.
After introducing both of his guests and getting into it with Cody Rhodes about who is and isn't allowed to ask questions on The Grayson Waller Effect, the host with the most decided to get to the task at hand and ask Seth Rollins who he would like to work against at WrestleMania 40.
“Oh, I tell you what, that Chamber match is stacked, I don’t know who’s gonna win, but I will tell you this: I got a scoop for you, man,” Seth Rollins told the Elimination Chamber crowd. “I got a little inside info, I got a little secret. Perth, you wanna know a little secret? Alright. I am just days away from being medically cleared to compete, and so whoever wins that Chamber match coming up goes on to WrestleMania to take a crack at my World Heavyweight Championship, I got news for them: They don’t stand a chance. Because it’s WrestleMania 40, the biggest WrestleMania of all time. Grayson, the world is gonna sing my song, (crowd sings) and I’m gonna do what only I can: put on a show like nobody on this planet, because I am a ‘Visionary,’ I am a ‘Revolutionary,’ I am Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins. Big pop.”
“Cool story, bro,” Grayson Waller replied. “Cody, we had the opportunity this year to get the biggest WrestleMania main event in history. It was gonna be Roman Reigns versus The Rock! As you could tell, Australia really wanted to see that match. Do you think you were selfish taking that away from us?”
After taking a shot at The Rock for calling his fans “Cody Crybabies,” Rhodes cut in on his new rival for one of his own monikers, the “People's Champion,” noting that Johnson hasn't represented the people in a very long time.
“‘People’s Champion,’ hmmm… that is a grand and lofty title, on that you cannot self-appoint, and maybe at one point, the Rock was the people’s champ,” Cody Rhodes noted. “Maybe it’s just me, but I think to be the people’s champ, you have to actually be around the people? You know what? Seth, the World Heavyweight Champion, had a bit of an announcement. I feel like I, I think I have a bit of an announcement myself. Rock, you indeed slapped me across the face. And at WrestleMania 40, I am wrestling Roman Reigns in the main event. But until then, I am wide open. So let’s make it official: Rock, I wanna wrestle you one-on-one, anytime, any place.”
“What do you say, Perth?” Rollins asked. “I think it’s time we cut the head off the snake once and for all. Cody, I admire your challenge to the Rock, but when it comes to the Bloodline, you know, the entire world knows, there is no such thing as one on one. So if and when the Rock decides to take you up on that challenge, just know, you won’t be fighting that battle alone.”
While the segment technically extended on a little longer, with Theory mouthing off to the babyfaces and taking a series of power moves from the potential WrestleMania main eventers, in the end, this segment went on to further solidify that Day 1 of WrestleMania may be headlined by a tag team match instead of a singles championship match and considering the pipe being laid, that's probably the right call indeed.