A new report provides a massive update on backstage details surrounding Cody Rhodes and The Rock.
When Cody Rhodes won the men’s Royal Rumble on January 27th, it seemed clear that he would finally get a chance to finish his story with Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania 40. However, on the February 2nd episode of SmackDown, Rhodes declared to Reigns that he would not be coming for him at WrestleMania after all and introduced a faceoff between Reigns and The Rock.
While fans have long awaited a dream match between Rock and Reigns, the overwhelming reaction to this latest move has been one of criticism from fans who believe the real-life Dwayne Johnson was taking the spot Rhodes rightfully earned with his Royal Rumble win and a year of storyline build. Fans have booed when videos of Rock are shown at WWE live events, and signs in support of Rhodes were evident at NXT Vengeance Day. The decision has also been panned backstage.
However, on February 6th, Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE is intentionally focusing on the support Rhodes has received as a way to work fans into a situation mirroring Daniel Bryan’s rise to the main event of WrestleMania 30. Rhodes did not confirm his WrestleMania plans on Raw, leading to some belief that he may be facing Roman Reigns after all. WWE also made it clear that The Rock vs. Roman Reigns had not been made official.
What Was Cody Rhodes Told Ahead Of The Royal Rumble?
An update from Fightful Select sheds much more light on the situation, reporting that as of last Friday’s SmackDown, plans for The Rock vs. Roman Reigns did not appear to be a work. As of last week, the company’s creative team was told that Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins was the WrestleMania plan in the wake of CM Punk’s injury. While it’s unclear why WWE would choose to have Rhodes win the Royal Rumble and call out Reigns, as of January 27th, plans were already in place for Rock vs. Reigns.
However, at the beginning of the month, Rhodes was reportedly told that he was set for a match with Reigns at WrestleMania. According to Fightful, a select group of people were told that plans had changed over Royal Rumble weekend.
Ahead of his segment with The Rock on SmackDown, Rhodes reportedly told WWE he didn’t believe the segment would get a positive reaction from fans, but he went through with the segment anyway. His mood was described in the report as “somber” following the segment. Fightful was unable to confirm exactly what Rock said to Rhodes during the segment, but he reportedly referenced their famous fathers. Rock and Rhodes have reportedly had a good relationship for years.
WWE is said to be “heavily monitoring” fan reactions to The Rock and Cody Rhodes. Fightful has not confirmed that WWE have handed out pro-Rhodes signs to fans at live events and TV tapings, but numerous fans have gotten in touch to prove that they made signs themselves and brought them to shows.
While WWE expected fans to be supportive of Rhodes on Raw, the “Rocky sucks” chants were said to come as a surprise.