25 Worst Wrestling Moments Of 2024

4. The Rock (Almost) Steals Cody's Spot

Chris Jericho
WWE.com

Though ultimately everything worked out in the end, a political turf war between Triple H and The Rock that almost made a casualty out of Cody Rhodes as WWE's top draw.

A version of the full story can still be viewed on the company's own in-house documentary, so dramatic was the road to the year's 'Show Of Shows', but Dwayne Johnson may have been a little liberal with the whole truth when it wasn't making him out to be a generational creative genius. There had clearly been one plan in WWE's, Triple H's and Cody's head, and another in The Rock's, with Roman Reigns presumably deciding to wait out the consequence and make his own stance as and when it suited.

All intertwining roads made it to WrestleMania, but few that lived through it will ever forget this fateful SmackDown route that was anything but scenic. Rhodes finished his story, but at no point was potential career-killing heartbreak supposed to make up one of the final chapters. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett