WWE Is "Absolutely" Monitoring Reaction To The Rock/Cody Rhodes Situation

WWE is keeping an eye on the hugely negative reaction the Cody/Rock switcheroo is receiving.

by Andrew Pollard
Cody Rhodes The Rock Roman Reigns
WWE

If you've hopped on any social media platform in the past few days, chances are you'll have been greeted by a whole bunch of support for Cody Rhodes and a lot of anti-Rock sentiment where it pertains to the most recent episode of WWE SmackDown and the changes that's seemingly caused for WrestleMania XL.

Of course, as seen on Smackers, Royal Rumble winner Cody has decided to step aside and allow the Great One to challenge Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at this year's Showcase of the Immortals. While Rhodes vowed to take "everything" from Roman, he won't be doing so at 'Mania XL.

The fallout of this has been a hugely negative one amongst the majority of wrestling fans, with hashtags such as #WeWantCody and #WoahMovement trending on X. In addition to that, the YouTube video of SmackDown's Cody/Roman/Rock segment is easily the most disliked in the company's 17-history on the platform, a replay of that segment was booed at a Knoxville house show over the weekend, and even Ava Raine - as in, The Rock's daughter - was booed at NXT Vengeance Day last night.

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While WWE under its previous regime would've just opted to ignore all of this backlash, that might not be the case here in 2024. Per Mike Johnson over at PWInsider, WWE is "absolutely monitoring the responses" this situation is receiving.

Granted, "monitoring" responses and making changes are two vastly different things, so it remains to be seen whether WWE, TKO, or Dwayne Johnson will see view these negative reactions as being such that a change of plans is necessary for WrestleMania XL.

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For those who may have missed it, the plan as of the Royal Rumble was for Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns to happen at WrestleMania XL, as seen by Cody pointing directly at the Tribal Chief following his Rumble win. Despite Seth Rollins' fantastic promo on Raw - pleading with Cody to face him rather than challenge Reigns for the "Hollywood" title - the plan as of Monday was for Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns to happen at WrestleMania XL. After Dwayne Johnson pushed for himself to face Reigns at 'Mania this year, the American Nightmare was informed on Friday that The Rock would be getting that Roman match, with Cody to instead face Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania XL.

With two months until WrestleMania XL, there's still plenty of time for plans to change further. Whether that happens, we'll have to wait and see.

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Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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.