Cody Rhodes’ recent promo had a lot more fire to it than in recent weeks.
During the March 15th episode of WWE SmackDown, The Rock gave the fans in Memphis, Tennessee a Rock concert filled with shots at Rhodes, Seth Rollins and their respective families. Additionally, phrases such as “drunk and horny” and “drugs and cheap condoms” were notably not PG and go against network guidelines.
The segment reportedly caused issues among fellow WWE Superstars, who were irritated by the double standard in place and felt like they could have more effective promos if they were allowed to use certain banned words. Reports then followed referencing a memo that was sent out to Superstars that they also couldn’t swear on social media despite the fact that The Rock was also allowed to.
On March 18th, Rhodes issued his response on Raw. With The American Nightmare allegedly not given the same creative freedom as The Great One, some were concerned that Rhodes would not come off great as a result, similar to the reception Seth Rollins received for the “Diahhorea Dwayne” line. However, Rhodes would fire back at The Rock with a very strong promo that has been bleeped multiple times on the edited YouTube clip due to the choice of phrases used.
Discussing the segment on Wrestling Observer Radio, Bryan Alvarez questioned whether a memo was actually sent out due to the content of Rhodes’ promo. Dave Meltzer responded that there was a memo sent out but Cody Rhodes was given more freedom as there were concerns that The Rock’s promo from the previous SmackDown could have made him the face in the rivalry to the detriment of Rhodes:
Alvarez: “I don’t buy that f*cking memo for a second. I think it’s bullsh*t.”
Meltzer: No, there was there was a memo, everyone got it. I asked, I go what was the deal? And it’s like, they knew that he [Rhodes] had to come back. But there’s absolutely a memo. I got that from several different guys, been there’s been other reporters who have too. That’s not nothing, no one else is allowed to do that.
“But he was given the opportunity to do it because basically, they wanted him to stay babyface, essentially. And I mean, if he came off badly on this promo and Rock came off so great in Memphis it’s like, that’s not what they want. But he was fine. You know, he’s, he brought his dog in. I mean, it’s like, that’s all it is.”
Cody Rhodes Prepares For Monumental Showdown With The Rock
The back-and-forth promos between Cody Rhodes and The Rock are leading to the main event of WrestleMania night one, which will see Rhodes team up with Seth Rollins to take on The Rock and Roman Reigns. If Rhodes and Rollins win, Rhodes’s match against Reigns on night 2 will be completely free of The Bloodline and a true one on one contest. However, should Rock and Reigns win, the title match the next night will be Bloodline rules, meaning anything goes.
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