For a while now, we’ve all seen and heard the stories about the level of power that The Rock has within the world of WWE.
Not only is he the biggest on-screen star in the business, but he’s also a member of the board of directors for TKO, the parent company of WWE and UFC. For all intents and purposes, he damn near is the “Final Boss” that he says he is.
We’ve seen the rumor and innuendo that Rock was basically able to hold the company hostage at any point, and especially during WrestleMania season, because of his whims and what he wants to do around his movie schedule.
This was made clear on last week’s episode of Smackdown. We were given a six-man main event for the show, and then, out of nowhere, we were told that The Rock would be making an appearance on the show. People began putting two and two together, seeing that Smackdown was being held in New Orleans, the same city just named (but not publicly) to be the host city for WrestleMania 42. Clearly, he would be there to give a rah-rah speech to New Orleans, publicly announce they would be getting to host WrestleMania next year, and that would be it, right?
Right?
Not exactly.
First, we got word that Rock was going to be on Smackdown for more than just a WrestleMania host city reveal. Then, word became more clear, and stated Rock would be there for something involving Cody Rhodes. Finally, word came out that multiple matches were being bumped or shuffled on the Smackdown card because of Rock’s appearance, including the aforementioned six-man main event that Cody himself was to be a participant in.
Like many of you, I tuned in and watched Smackdown to see what the hubbub was about. Sure enough, Rock started his appearance by revealing that New Orleans would be hosting WrestleMania next year.
From there, things either went completely off the rails or were an amazing way to lay another brick in the wall for WrestleMania 41, depending on how you look at it.
For me, it was a bit of a mixed bag.
As I’ve said in the past, it’s incredibly weird that we went from the build to WrestleMania 40, where The Rock was literally beating Cody bloody in the pouring rain, to the build for WrestleMania 41, where both men are super cool and buddy buddy with each other. It’s beyond strange for Rock to cut a promo and make fun of everyone in the crowd, then pivot to praising the top babyface in the company, then switch back to making fun of everyone in the crowd.
In his own long-winded and all-over-the-map way, Rock then asked for Cody to essentially become the new “Corporate Champion,” promising Cody that all sorts of new doors would open for him if he did so, allowing Cody to take better care of himself, his wife, and his young daughter. Rock promised that he could help make all the dreams come true for the entire Rhodes family.
Understanding that it was a huge request, Rock said he would give Cody until the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view to make a decision. It was then teased that Rock wanted the WWE Championship more than anything in the world, but instead, Rock said that it was Cody’s soul that he desired more than anything else.
That was it.
First and foremost, it sets up Elimination Chamber to be an even bigger event than it already was. This is already the biggest time of year for the company, so getting even more potential eyeballs on the show is like adding icing on an already delicious cake.
But what about Cody’s decision?
The “easy” option for WWE is to simply have Cody continue what he started on Smackdown, saying that he isn’t “Rock’s Champion,” but instead is the new age “People’s Champion.” Of course, this would piss Rock off, and he would do everything in his power to make Cody’s life as miserable as can be leading up to WrestleMania.
In regards to that last sentence, I’ve already seen a bunch of fantasy booking on social media. People have brought up Rock making himself Cody’s opponent at WrestleMania, which would certainly be an interesting fit with the Elimination Chamber winner earning a Mania shot at Cody.
I’ve also seen options like Rock beating the hell out of Cody again, and then booking an impromptu title match, with Cody defending against someone like Jacob Fatu or Solo Sikoa right then and there.
No matter the fantasy booking, the idea of Cody rejecting Rock just seems like the most likely outcome. It fits Cody’s character perfectly.
It certainly isn’t the most interesting or intriguing option, though, that’s for sure.
If Cody’s going to flip the WWE landscape on its head, I don’t see it happening in a talking segment at Elimination Chamber. Something of that magnitude happening in that fashion would boggle the minds of people around the world.
What if… instead of this chapter of the “story” ending at Elimination Chamber, it was merely a swerve that leads us to a bigger and better option?
Just for the sake of example, let’s go with what I wrote about last month, where I said I would have John Cena win the men’s Elimination Chamber match if it were up to me. Yes, I had Cena challenging Gunther at WrestleMania, after Punk won the Royal Rumble and challenged Cody Rhodes, but work with me here.
So, Cena wins the Chamber, and he gets his match against Cody at WrestleMania. Cody has turned Rock down, and Rock says that he will make Cody regret it.
At WrestleMania, “Big Match John” is giving his all in an attempt to win his 17th World Title, and Cody is having a helluva time trying to put the challenger away. It’s a vintage performance from Cena, who is almost desperate to break Ric Flair’s World Title record.
That desperation ends up being a lot stronger in Cody, though, who has spent the entire build for the match hearing nothing but praise for Cena and hearing that the WWE Universe is rooting for Cena to win his record-breaking 17th World Title. That causes him to do the unthinkable… he can either cheat to win the match, or you could have The Rock interfere on his behalf. Either way, Rock raises Cody’s hand in the center of the ring to end WrestleMania 41, showing that Cody turning him down at Elimination Chamber was a swerve, and a brand new “era” in WWE is underway.
Turning the huge babyface champion heel is a very risky proposition, and it’s not always a risk that wrestling promotions are willing to take. Cody is still mega over, all across the world. He’s still moving merchandise at a wild and crazy rate. The charity work and work he does with children is damn near second-to-none.
Sound familiar, WWE fans?
Booking wise, Cody is in an interesting spot. In the ten pay-per-view events since WrestleMania 40, Cody has main evented four of them in singles competition, with one of those four being for the nonsense Crown Jewel Championship. He’s not on a run of main events like John Cena, Triple H, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and so on were on when they were on top. That’s not a knock on him at all. It’s just something worth pointing out.
Does that mean he’s more in a prime position to turn heel? Or, does it mean that he still has a lot left to accomplish as a face champion before a heel turn can take place?
Even if Cena isn’t the “target” in the scenario I mentioned, it’s still the only way I can see things remaining interesting at the moment. WWE already tried the “Rock inserts himself in the main event spot over someone who won a match to earn the spot” thing, and it backfired on them to a level that they could not have fathomed. Would they be insane enough to do it again the following year, involving some of the exact same players?
I don’t see Rock getting in the ring right now, no matter the reason. He just signed on to star in a Martin Scorsese mob movie, also starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which is still a huge deal in Hollywood. Imagine putting something like that at risk by stepping in the ring for a one-off, and then he blows his knee out or tears a quad, causing him to miss participating in the film.
I’m all for the “let it play out” crowd getting their shots in, by the way. There’s still time for plenty of twists and turns. Hell, what if the coin was flipped on the other side of my example scenario? What if Rock extends this opportunity to Cody, sees Cody turn it down, only to secretly extend the opportunity to Cena, who accepts? I HIGHLY doubt we’re going to get a John Cena heel turn during his final year of being an active in-ring competitor, but… but… can you imagine?
All I know is that I’m already more interested in what takes place at Elimination Chamber.
Actually, let me correct myself. I also know that The Rock went from one of the best “talkers” that pro wrestling has ever seen to being the valedictorian of the Michael Scott School For Rambling. “Sometimes, I’ll start a sentence and I don’t even know where it’s going. I just hope I find it along the way.” What the hell happened to the guy?!?
What do you think is going to happen with The Rock and Cody Rhodes, both at Elimination Chamber and at WrestleMania? If it’s something different, what do you want to happen? As always, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below, or on Bluesky (@aaronhyden.bsky.social), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Now, let’s switch gears and get to my Weekly Power Rankings before closing things out with the list of songs I was listening to as I put this column together.
Weekly Power Rankings
Kevin Owens: It didn’t even last two minutes, but KO’s promo outside of Sami Zayn’s house was such an amazing piece of business. His character is becoming more and more unhinged, while still making perfect sense as he explains his actions. Here, he came across like a thriller movie villain, stalking the protagonist. It was very well done.
Seth Rollins vs Finn Balor: I’m not sure anybody really gave Balor a chance of winning here, but he still put on one helluva performance, trying to earn his way into the Elimination Chamber match. I’ve said it a billion times, but here it goes again… it’s amazing what adding stakes to a wrestling match can do for the quality of the end result.
Elimination Chamber: Whether you liked The Rock’s appearance or not, all it took was him showing up and cutting one promo to make the Elimination Chamber event a must-watch as we continue our journey to WrestleMania 41.
Moose: From the very beginning of Oba Femi’s rise to stardom, fans were fantasy booking a match between him and TNA’s Moose. Seeing Moose show up in NXT to go face-to-face with Oba was very exciting, and eventually finding out that they’ll be facing each other on the March 11th episode of NXT was even better. Oba’s NXT Title and Moose’s TNA X-Division Title will both be on the line during their match, which probably assures we’re getting some sort of double disqualification or no contest, but that doesn’t bother me. It’ll be a blast watching them beat the hell out of each other.
Hologram vs The Beast Mortos: Two of the more exciting in-ring workers on the AEW roster, given about 15 minutes to work with… works for me. The match was good enough that it kept a tired crowd enthralled from the beginning, even though they had already sat through two hours of Dynamite before the Collision taping.
Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer & Jordynne Grace vs Fatal Influence: Everyone has said it, but it’s crazy to sit and watch the women’s division in NXT and see just how deep the roster is. NXT could easily have an all-women’s episode of NXT or pay-per-view at this point. Wild.
Chris Jericho vs Bandido: With the right opponent, Chris Jericho is still able to dig deep in his bag of tricks and pull out a really entertaining match. When it comes to a straight up singles match with no additional gimmicks likes ladders and so on, this was easily one of Jericho’s best matches in a long time.
Orange Cassidy vs Roderick Strong: The match was good, obviously, but it had no business being the main event of an episode of Dynamite. The weird layout of the Revolution International Title Series did absolutely no favors to anything, either.
Sol Ruca & Zaria vs Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson: Yet another example of how deep and talented the NXT women’s division is. Also, the pairing of Sol and Zaria has been really entertaining thus far. Their “odd couple” routine is fun.
Powerhouse Hobbs vs Big Bill: Two big, bad dudes beating each other to smithereens. What’s not to like?
Penta vs Pete Dunne: The hot streak continues for Penta. Sure, you could say his first actual feud being a triple threat against Dunne and Ludwig Kaiser is a strange booking decision, but it has been nothing but high quality in the ring, so I’m okay with it.
The Hardys: They’re returning to the WWE umbrella, this time to show up in NXT to face off with Tavion Heights and Myles Borne. First and foremost, this is a major spot for Heights and Borne, who are a really fun tag team to watch. The Hardys, like them or not, remain insanely over with live crowds, and that will be no different in NXT. One would assume that this won’t be their last appearance on some sort of WWE programming before they retire.
Ricky Saints: I know that people are complaining over Ricky Starks having to use a new name in NXT, but man, it’s such an easy transition. Ricky Saints is such an easy jump to make, and it’s a really good homage to his New Orleans roots.
“Speedball” Mike Bailey: Bailey has been one of the most talented wrestlers not signed to WWE or AEW for such a long time. No longer. His AEW debut is imminent, and he’s going to impress the hell out of people who are going to see him work for the first time.
Damian Priest & Braun Strowman vs Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu: The split between Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu is full speed ahead, after it seemingly came out of nowhere. If it propels Fatu to an entirely different level, I’m all for it. Make it happen, WWE.
Kelani Jordan vs Jaida Parker vs Karmen Petrovic: This marks a whopping 13 (!!!) women from NXT making an appearance in this week’s Power Rankings, further showcasing the insane depth of the division. That’s just pure insanity.
This Week’s Playlist: “Burning House” by Kameron Marlowe… “Hello Whiskey” by Kameron Marlowe… “I Will Not Break” by Disturbed… “4 The Gangsters” by SAINt JHN… “Feedback” by A Day To Remember… “LeBron” by A Day To Remember… “Make It Make Sense” by A Day To Remember… “I Believe” by Killswitch Engage… “The Other Side” by Memphis May Fire… “Lord Humungus” by Black Label Society… “TAKE THE PAIN AWAY” by From Fall To Spring… “Banned From TV” by Noreaga, Big Pun, Cam’Ron, Jadakiss, Styles P & Nature… “Open Your Eyes” by Bobby Caldwell… “All The Stars” by Kendrick Lamar & SZA… “We On Fire” by Hot Boys… “I Need A Hot Girl” by Hot Boys & Big Tymers… “Shoot 1st” by Hot Boys & Paparue… “Rock Steady” by The Whispers… “Whoa!” by Black Rob… “Black Roses” by Inner Circle
