The reaction to Cody Rhodes being bumped for The Rock vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 behind-the-scenes in WWE and within the pro wrestling industry in general is not a positive one.
Fightful Select reached out to a number of sources and talent within WWE across all departments of the company for reactions to the news, and noted that not one was willing to play devil’s advocate on behalf of the decision.
“I’ve known Dwayne [Johnson for] a long time,” one wrestler told the aforementioned pro wrestling media outlet. “Not only did the look on Cody’s face tell a story, the look on Dwayne’s told a story. I think in that moment he knew that this decision wasn’t going to work out quite the way that he imagined it. He was experiencing the same thing that he and Roman experienced in Philadelphia. He was being co-signed for something the vast majority didn’t want.”
While all within WWE appeared to understand the call from a business standpoint, almost all were in agreement that it was not the right decision to make for the long-term future of the company.
“The Rock vs. Roman made sense several years ago when we were running back Roman and Lesnar repeatedly. It could have made sense this year had Cody won the title last year. This is one of the few years it just doesn’t make sense in any capacity,” one former world champion said.
Another source within WWE spoke about how many in the company were deflated upon learning of the decision for The Rock to replace Cody Rhodes against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, and that it felt like a decision they would hear about being made under the previous regime at the expense of help cultivating new crossover talent for the future.
One source that spent time in the past working with The Rock had a much more stern reaction, stating, “The Rock eroded his trust with the comic and superhero community, with the film community, maybe with the football community, and might do it with the one he has almost universal goodwill with. He’s not a bad guy, don’t mistake that or get me wrong – he’s a great guy. However, bad timing and overexposure and fatigue will make fools of us all. You have to know when to take a back seat.”
PWInsider.com is reporting that the move was not done out of malice to politic Cody out of his main event spot, and an additional source sent Fightful a screenshot and stated, “I truly believe that The Rock wasn’t being malicious. Not being malicious with intent and actions not having malicious repercussions aren’t exclusive.”
A veteran creative team member in WWE said of the news, “there have been numerous meetings, pitches, attempts to get The Rock in on this match, or really any match, for years and it never happened. One year the excuse was that the story didn’t make sense. Not only does it make less sense than ever right now, it’s undermining one of the biggest stories we’ve ever told and turning off a lot of our fans.”
Finally, a person who has worked with all involved numerous times stated, “The Rock’s family passed the McMahon family in the past week as far as power dynamic in pro wrestling, and it’s probably not going to change any time soon.”
