Dave Meltzer Tweets (& Deletes) Huge Scoop On Cody Rhodes Refusing To Wrestle The Rock (WWE News)

The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer has tweeted (and quickly deleted) the potential bombshell that Cody Rhodes declined a match with The Rock at WWE WrestleMania 41.

The post, which only lasted a few minutes before being taken down, claimed that Rock wanted Rhodes at WrestleMania, which Paul 'Triple H' Levesque thought was a "terrible idea." While Levesque loses a political argument with Rock (and WWE President Nick Khan as arbiter) "every time", others convinced Rhodes to say "no." The Rock doesn't want problems with Cody, so he stood down, hence why Rhodes is now wrestling "second choice" John Cena at WrestleMania 41.

Meltzer wrote:

"The motivation is that Dwayne wanted Cody (legit) and I know this as a fact because a mutual friend last week mentioned the politics as Levesque absolutely thought it was a terrible idea. But in a fight with Dwayne, with Nick as arbiter, he loses every time. However, several convinced Cody to simply refuse, so art was a lot like life this time. Dwayne wouldn't go after Cody politically so he let it go. Cena was the second choice and Cena was fine with it. Punk was never asked."

The tweet was screenshotted before disappearing:

Of course, this should be taken with a gigantic pinch of salt, as Meltzer deleting the post indicates that he did not want to stand by it.

If true, it would represent a major political development in WWE, and go some way towards explaining the confusion surrounding The Rock, WrestleMania 41, and Cody Rhodes before Saturday's Elimination Chamber 2025 event.

Was John Cena WWE's "Second Choice" To Face Cody Rhodes At WrestleMania 41?

Cena has been installed as Rhodes' Undisputed WWE Championship challenger at WrestleMania 41 after winning the men's Elimination Chamber, outlasting CM Punk, Damian Priest, Seth Rollins, Logan Paul, and Drew McIntyre.

What first appeared to be a textbook babyface vs. babyface bout between Rhodes and the retiring 16-time World Champion was turned on its head via the post-match angle. The Rock hit the ring with Travis Scott, beckoning Cody to "sell his soul" to him and represent Rock as "his champion." When Rhodes told Rock to "go **** yourself", Rock triggered a 22-years-in-the-making Cena heel turn. Cena, Rock, and Scott then left Rhodes battered and bloodied in one of the most impactful WWE angles ever.

It was the first time Cody and Rock's roads to WrestleMania 41 have appeared clear and obvious this year. Rock infamously blew up his long-term rivalry with Rhodes on Raw's Netflix premiere (6 January), appearing to make good with the WWE Champion. Then, upon returning to SmackDown in February, he reprised his heel role as the 'Final Boss', calling for Cody's soul.

If Rhodes allegedly turning down the Rock match happened before 6 January, it could explain why Rock's creative felt so confusing coming out of the Netflix premiere. The Rock holds significant power as a TKO Group shareholder and executive, certainly more than Levesque (WWE's Chief Creative Officer), but likely less than Nick Khan. He could conceivably overrule Rhodes' rejection too. If the described scenario is accurate, he decided against this.

Whatever the case, Rhodes vs. heel Cena has a lot of juice as a WrestleMania 41 headliner, with or without The Rock.