The Rock Addresses "Insane" WWE Fan Reaction

The Rock addresses his SmackDown appearance and WrestleMania XL plans.

by Andrew Pollard
the rock roman riegns
WWE.com

With WWE having pulled a major pivot on SmackDown by having Cody Rhodes step aside and allow The Rock to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL, the Great One himself has made a public statement to address his appearance in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday night.

Taking to X, The Rock described the "insane reaction" he received on Smackers, whilst also putting Reigns on notice that he'll "see [him] in Vegas" and that there's "only one head of the table":

The full Rock statement reads:

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.Thank you Birmingham, Alabama, we made magical history in the “magic city”. Thank you WWE and thank you Cody for the love and the house (dream & soulman). Roman, there’s only one head of the table. I’ll see you in Vegas…Uso.

As one might expect, given the huge backlash this recent WrestleMania XL development has received across social media platforms, the replies to The Rock's post have been largely negative, with the vast majority of responses being in support of Cody Rhodes taking on the Tribal Chief at this year's Showcase of the Immortals, rather than the Brahma Bull being the one to face Reigns.

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In terms of the Vegas reference from Rock there, WWE has announced a press conference for Thursday 8 February from Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena. A non-ticketed "free for all to attend" event dubbed WrestleMania XL Kickoff, this press conference will feature The Rock, Roman Reigns, Triple H, Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Bianca Belair, and Rhea Ripley - and will be hosted by Michael Cole and Pat McAfee, streaming live on WWE Network/Peacock.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.