Dwayne Johnson and WWE’s Change of Plans Because of Cody Rhodes Fans’ Backlash Exposed

Published 02/16/2024, 8:57 AM EST

WWE played a masterful stroke by changing WrestleMania plans with a press conference that also featured a heel turn for The Rock after 21 years. The move not only perplexed the fans but also provided a sense of satisfaction to fans who were backing up Cody Rhodes to the main event of WrestleMania.

The same set of fans also accused Dwayne Johnson of hijacking Cody Rhodes’ moment during an episode of SmackDown. But now, a wrestling legend has revealed how The Rock revived his name among fans by making a crucial decision.

The Rock backs out from WrestleMania main event after the backlash from fans

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Renowned Wrestling Journalist Dave Meltzer spoke about The Rock’s heel turn and backstage plan heading into it on his Wrestling Observer News podcast on the Radio. While explaining the plan, Meltzer revealed, “The Rock did pitch the idea of doing Roman Reigns & The Rock vs Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins for night one of #WrestleMania XL.”

It was earlier revealed by Meltzer that WWE and The Rock wanted a match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania Night 2. Although he had to replace Cody Rhodes who is going as a fan favourite after his Rumble win, fans turned on The Rock for hijacking Rhodes’ spot. The exact point of turning on The Rock happened after the SmackDown episode on February 2nd.

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However, The Rock did acknowledge the fans’ voice and decided to turn heel after his Hollywood Rock gimmick in 2003. Meltzer said, “Very quickly [after the backlash] Johnson changed his pitch and wanted to go heel, and WWE just as quickly put into motion pushing the publicity that had been started in subtle ways.” So, now with The Rock turning heel what is the alternative to the WrestleMania main event scene?

The Rock suggests an alternative after backing out from WrestleMania match

Meltzer also revealed that it was The Rock’s idea to be out of the Roman Reigns match at WrestleMania and put Cody back in. The Rock also provided an alternative to the match by suggesting Roman Reigns & The Rock vs Seth Rollins & Cody Rhodes on night 1 of WrestleMania XL. Meltzer said, “But Johnson over the weekend said it was best to be out of the Reigns match, put Cody in, which by this point everyone conceded by then. It was Johnson who then pitched the heel turn and he did pitch the idea of the Reigns & Rock vs. Rhodes & Rollins match for night one.”

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Are you happy with The Rock’s decision?

Watch this story: 5 Deserving WWE Stars Who Never Main Evented WrestleMania

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Written by:

Himangshu Sinha is a WWE reporter at EssentiallySports who is a beast at keeping up with the latest in the wrestling world. He enjoys covering the lives of wrestlers, often poring over interviews, podcasts, and overlooked details to back his writing. While he maintains a respect for Gunther, LA Knight, and The Tribal Chief, in his mind, no one can beat one of AEW’s Best Friends, Orange Cassidy.

Edited by:

Anuj Jacob

Dwayne Johnson and WWE’s Change of Plans Because of Cody Rhodes Fans’ Backlash Exposed

The Rock backs out from WrestleMania main event after the backlash from fans

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The Rock suggests an alternative after backing out from WrestleMania match