SUMMARY
- Previously, Cody Rhodes said that he would be facing Roman Reigns for the title, but not at WrestleMania 40.
- The Rock receives a lot of backlash from fans for making a faceoff against Roman Reigns.
Cody Rhodes previously outlasted 29 others and became the winner of the 2023 Men’s Royal Rumble match. Following that, he challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match at WrestleMania 39. At the event, despite his best efforts, Rhodes failed to win the title of The Tribal Chief.
With that, a rematch between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns was highly anticipated. Also, The American Nightmare himself mentioned that he will finish his story, which refers to winning the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship from Roman. Meanwhile, Rhodes once again became the winner of the 2024 Men’s Royal Rumble match.
This led to fans speculating that Cody would once again challenge Roman to a title match at WrestleMania 40, aka WrestleMania XL. However, much to the disappointment of the fans, that didn’t happen. The American Nightmare appeared on the February 2, 2024, episode of Friday Night SmackDown and stated that he would be challenging Reigns for the title but not at The Grandest Stage of Them All.
Meanwhile, Cody went on to introduce The Rock. Dwayne Johnson came down to the ring and had a face-to-face confrontation with Reigns. Their staredown marked the end of WWE SmackDown. With that, it became apparent that The People’s Champion had taken The American Nightmare’s WrestleMania 40 spot. Now, Johnson will be facing The Tribal Chief for the title instead of Rhodes.
This led to the Reigns-Rock segment receiving tremendous backlash from the fans. Not only that, the fans also stood by Cody Rhodes as “We Want Cody” started trending all over social media. They had the simple demand of putting The American Nightmare in the place of Dwayne Johnson at the Grandest Stage of Them All. Fans expressed their desire to see Cody finish his story.
Only cody fans are allowed to like this tweet ..!!#WeWantCody | #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/SkfwREL8ed
— Imran Ali Asghar (@ImranAliOffici5) February 6, 2024
With that, following the backlash from the fans, it now remains to be seen what the final decision of the matchup will be. It is also to be seen if the negative reactions will be able to alter WWE’s creative plans or not. Meanwhile, here’s a focus on a few rumors related to The Rock, Reigns, and Rhodes scenario.
Is Dwayne Johnson refusing to step down despite fan backlash?
The Roman-Rock segment apparently teased a match between the two at WrestleMania 40. With that, the video of the segment also received a huge number of dislikes from the fans on YouTube. Not only that, the matchup also received severe backlash from fans all around the world.
However, amid the backlash, The Rock took his official ‘X’ handle to make a post. He shared a video of Cody introducing him on Friday Night SmackDown. Not only that, he also captioned the video with a long post. Johnson started by saying, “There’s a word for this explosive, insane reaction – undeniable.”
There’s a word for this explosive, insane reaction – undeniable.
No matter the era, the decade, or the city, the energy and connection between the People’s Champ and the People can never be broken and is truly an electrifying experience that creates chills every single time.… pic.twitter.com/LQI6gMdpIs— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) February 4, 2024
He then went on to talk about his connection with his beloved fans. The Great One then thanked the audience, the Stamford-based promotion, and Cody. However, he finally addressed Roman Reigns and stated that there is only one who would sit at the Head of the Table. With that, The People’s Champion stated, “I’ll see you in Vegas…Uso.”
Thus, it seems that despite the severe backlash, The Rock made his match against Roman Reigns official. Apart from that, recently, Johnson’s daughter Simone, aka Ava, has been receiving death threats due to the Reigns, Rock, and Rhodes scenario. She took to her ‘X’ handle to state, “death threats over a situation i have nothing to do with … bffr”.
Ava shares that she’s been receiving death threats over the whole Reigns, Rock & Rhodes situation… pic.twitter.com/299dGenn8H
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) February 5, 2024
However, Johnson has not opened up on the matter. Thus, it seems that despite the negative fan reactions and despite his daughter receiving death threats from the fans, The Rock is refusing to step down from the match against the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
With that, it now remains to be seen if The People’s Champion will indeed listen to the people and will take the decision to step down from the apparent matchup. Also, it remains to be seen if The Great One will have anything to say about his daughter receiving death threats because of his involvement in a storyline.
Will Cody Rhodes be able to finish his story at WrestleMania 40?
Fans were extremely disappointed with Cody Rhodes’ loss at WrestleMania 39. With that, they were hopeful that The American Nightmare would be able to finish his story and win the title from Roman Reigns in the future. Their hopes became stronger when Cody won the 2024 Royal Rumble. However, fans once again became disappointed with The Rock taking Rhodes’ spot at Mania.
This resulted in all the backlash from the fans. However, amid the negative reaction, some of the fans have been wondering if Cody Rhodes still has a chance of finishing his story at WrestleMania 40. In that regard, it is to be noted that recently, during Rhodes’ appearance on Monday Night RAW, commentator Michael Cole highlighted something.
2nd time Michael Cole had mentioned Rock vs Roman hasn’t been made official and has talked about the WE Want Cody trend
This Thursday is about to be REALLY interesting #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/y9QxhnYswO
— CrispyWrestling (@CrispyWrestlin) February 6, 2024
Michael Cole, not once but twice, mentioned that The Rock vs. Roman Reigns has not yet been made official. Not only that, he also addressed the “We Want Cody” trend on social media. Thus, it seems, Cole wanted to give a ray of hope to the disappointed fans. Apart from that, Rhodes recently took to his ‘X’ media handle to ask the fans to keep on trusting him.
He stated that he appreciates the passion his fans have for him. Cody also stated that he wanted his fans to be blessed and then asked them to trust him. This might indicate that there’s still a chance that The American Nightmare might finish his story at WrestleMania 40.
Appreciate the passion, God bless y’all
…but
Trust me
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) February 6, 2024
However, everything will depend on the upcoming WrestleMania 40 press conference. It is because this will be the event where Roman Reigns’ challenger for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship will be confirmed. It is all set to take place on February 8, 2024. Also, the event will take place at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and will air live from the T-Mobile Arena in Los Angeles.
With that, it now remains to be seen who will ultimately challenge The Tribal Chief for the prestigious title. Also, it is to be seen if The Rock will finally step down from the matchup and if Cody will get his chance to finish his story. Whatever the case, fans will surely look forward to the press conference. Not only that, they will also look forward to the most anticipated event of the year.
