Is the Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns Story a Work with The Rock Involved?

There has been a lot of outrage in the wrestling world over The Rock taking Cody Rhodes’s spot in the main event of Wrestlemania 40 against Roman Reigns. However, the question remains: is this a work by the company to swerve everyone come press conference time Thursday in Las Vegas?

On Twitter/X, #WeWantCody is trending. Fans knew what the story was heading into Wrestlemania 40. Cody Rhodes will win the 2024 Royal Rumble, which he did. He goes on to the main event of Wrestlemania 40 against Roman Reigns. There, he beats Roman to capture the title and finish the story.

That has been the story the company has been telling for two years now. This is the explanation they gave you as to why Cody Rhodes, who should have defeated Roman Reigns last year at Wrestlemania 39, had to go through these hard times before returning to Wrestlemania and conquering his demons. It was the Rocky storyline. Rocky draws Apollo Creed in the first movie. RIP Carl Weathers. Then, in the second movie, he gets the rematch to capture the title.

It is similar to how The Rock-John Cena storyline played out. The Rock beats Cena at Wrestlemania 28 in Miami. Cena has to go through a tough year. He wins the Royal Rumble, faces The Rock at Mania 29 for the title, and gets his win back.

This storyline has been played out in wrestling for years now. But the story changed once The Rock became a TKO Board of Directors member on January 3rd. Heading into the Royal Rumble on that date, the plan was for Cody Rhodes to win it. Why did Cody win the Royal Rumble if they knew all along it was going to be The Rock taking his spot?

We know The Rock has wanted a match with Roman Reigns for years now. As he stated, this match was planned for Wrestlemania 39. It did not happen. However, with The Rock showing up on Smackdown and Cody Rhodes concerning his spot, they have turned Rhodes into the biggest babyface in the company and The Rock into the biggest heel.

And that was the plan all along. WWE wanted Rhodes to be Daniel Bryan in 2014, so the company had no choice but to bow down to him and add him to the match. We will see if that actually happens. The company continues to monitor the negative feedback on social media to The Rock and Roman Reigns match.

And look, this could all be a work, too. TMZ, ESPN, Logan Paul, and other mainstream outlets are picking up. WWE always likes to blur the lines between what is reality and what is not. However, fans seem generally upset about Cody Rhodes losing his spot to The Rock. That is definitely organic; however, if WWE planned to make Rhodes into a martyr, that is working.

That is why this all could be a work in the end. We know Roman Reigns, The Rock, and Cody Rhodes will be in Las Vegas on Thursday. Press Conference announcements in this company don’t mean that much. We saw Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan get changed after the Wrestlemania 8 press conference. So, come Thursday, we will know the plan.

But The Rock, his personal writer Brian Gerwitz, and others are tweeting about this reaction; you almost have to wonder if, at this point, the company is playing the fans. Not to mention, on WWE Raw, the company itself was playing up the controversy surrounding The Rock and Cody Rhodes.

It seems odd timing for The Rock to be inserted into a storyline that has been building towards its climax at Wrestlemania 40.

Again, only time will tell where this storyline leads. But one thing is for sure: fans are not happy about the idea of Cody Rhodes versus Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania. Remember, Cody pointed at the sign after winning the Royal Rumble and then at Roman Reigns. So what changed after that moment?

The more this unfolds, the more it feels like work. Something is up in the crowd when signs are planted, all with the same font. Commentators Michael Cole and Pat McAfee even talked about it, as McAfee used #WeWantCody to begin the show.

The company is also playing up the press conference on Thursday, and the fans are falling right into the script. The Rock, Cody Rhodes, and Roman Reigns are part of the story as it is a work.