The Rock Taking Cody Rhodes' WrestleMania XL Spot "Universally Panned" By WWE Roster
What do Cody's co-workers think about the radical booking change to 'Mania's main event?
Since WWE SmackDown went off the air Friday night, there has been no shortage of reactions to the Roman Reigns-Cody Rhodes-The Rock segment that seemingly depicted Cody giving his WrestleMania XL main event against Roman to Rock.
While fan reaction online has been volatile and slanted towards anger and frustration, one has to wonder what the people actually within WWE thought of the surprise shift in one of the company's biggest storylines in recent years.
And now we know.
Fightful Select reached out to more than three dozen contacts within the company, and the consensus was that the decision was "universally panned," with no one trying to play devil's advocate for the abrupt change in booking.
“I’ve known Dwayne a long time,” one wrestler told Fightful. “Not only did the look on Cody’s face tell a story, the look on Dwayne’s told a story. I think in that moment he knew that this decision wasn’t going to work out quite the way that he imagined it. He was experiencing the same thing that he and Roman experienced in Philadelphia. He was being co-signed for something the vast majority didn’t want."
While everyone understood the business reasoning for a Rock/Roman match at WrestleMania -- it will likely generate tremendous mainstream coverage and increased revenue in the short term -- those contacted didn't believe it was a good decision for the company's long-term business.
One former World Champion told Fightful that the clash of the Samoan cousins made sense several years ago "when we were running back Roman and Lesnar repeatedly". The former champion added that it would have made sense this year if Cody had won the title at WrestleMania 39 last year, but he didn't, thus this match "doesn't make sense in any capacity".
A longtime member of the creative team told Fightful:
"There have been numerous meetings, pitches, attempts to get The Rock in on this match, or really any match, for years and it never happened. One year the excuse was that the story didn’t make sense. Not only does it make less sense than ever right now, it’s undermining one of the biggest stories we’ve ever told and turning off a lot of our fans.”
Another source contacted described the creative team as "deflated," comparing the decision to one that might have been made during Vince McMahon's regime.
Others said that while they didn't believe The Rock was being malicious -- with one source adding "he's a great guy" -- the timing was terrible and could erode trust with the wrestling community. "Bad timing and overexposure and fatigue will make fools of us all," one source said. "You have to know when to take a backseat."
It's clear that the frustration and dismay being voiced online is not just a small, insignificant group of keyboard jockeys. Whether WWE listens to fans -- and apparently their own talent and staff -- and change course if this continues, will be something to watch closely.