6 Ups & 10 Downs From WWE Raw (6 Jan - Results & Review)

2. Pissing It All Away

The Rock ditching any vestiges of his Final Boss character on Raw Monday night was a pretty big sin, but buried in his lackluster appearance was something much worse.

The biggest transgression came when Rock acknowledged Cody Rhodes in the audience, praising the Undisputed WWE Champion without a hint of friction or conflict, even hugging the American Nightmare when he left the ring later.

Just like that, Rock seemingly buried the hatchet with Rhodes with no explanation or reason given. Months of meticulous storytelling in the build to WrestleMania 40 and an unforgettable promo segment on Raw the following night just evaporated with a polite hello and a hug.

This was a feud WWE had in the holster that could have main evented WrestleMania or any major PLE, and here they were, hugging it out after celebrating a record gate.

Even if Rock truly isn’t available for WrestleMania 41, this was inexcusable. One of the biggest hallmarks of Triple H’s WWE is that he doesn’t miss details or drop threads like this. The Great One could have acknowledged Cody while staying in Final Boss character – just like he did on the Raw after WrestleMania – but with the tension turned down.

Now, you have unanswered questions about whether this story has been dropped altogether, rather than remaining giddy about the prospect of a Rhodes/Rock match down the line. Just an incredibly shortsighted fumble from WWE on this one.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.