The Rock Wants Cody Rhodes' Soul? 3 Possible Meanings For This WWE Storyline

Perhaps the most straight forward storyline would be that Cody Rhodes declines selling out to The Rock and ultimately fights The Final Boss. This would send the current trajectory of storylines for a loop as the winner of the Elimination Chamber is set to meet Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 and The Rock isn't anywhere in that scene. But, because he's guy who decides if and when he'll work a match in WWE, if The Rock decides he wants to work with Cody, other storylines work around him.

Admittedly, The Rock versus Cody Rhodes would be a huge match. There's a backstory with these two superstars and this story culminating in a singles bout seems logical based on Rhodes' history as a babyface and The Rock's recent run as a heel. If Cody shoots down The Rock's offer, The Rock can take on an Emporer Palpatine meets "Mr. McMahon" role. He could make Cody's life miserable, which would make Rhodes the sympathetic protagonist.

One thing that's important to note here is that The Rock said in the post-SmackDown conference that The Rock essentially stated that he and Rhodes will never face each other in the ring.

He explained that their characters share rarified air, allowing them to feud and tell compelling stories without ever needing a match. For that reason alone, a WrestleMania match seems like the least likely outcome.

A Tease for a Possible Heel Turn for Cody Rhodes

What If Rhodes Sides With The Rock?

Perhaps the most intriguing possibility is that this is a setup for Cody Rhodes to turn heel. If The Rock truly has the power to grant Cody everything he desires—fame, fortune, and WrestleMania main event dominance—would Cody be tempted to accept? He's said he'll never be a heel and he's currently the face of WWE, but a turn to the dark side would be shocking.

Cody selling his soul would be him making a deal with the devil, and in this case, The Rock could represent that character. Cody and The Rock running in tandem seems like an unstoppable duo.

Cody has been positioned as WWE’s ultimate babyface, so this feels like a stretch. However, what if WWE is trying to pull off a wild heel turn a la Hulk Hogan? This could be the moment Cody turns against the fans, betrays his ideals, and aligns with The Rock to cement his reign as champion. It also sets up the opportunity to put someone else in Cody's babyface role, and someone like John Cena could wrestle him at WrestleMania and take the championship.Rhodes would have The Rock in his corner, and Cena

The Rock Is Playing Mind Games

He's Working Cody On Behalf Of The Bloodline

Another possibility is that The Rock’s demand for Cody’s soul is little more than The Rock getting inside Cody's head. If he offers him an alliance and then turns on Cody to realign himself on behalf of The Bloodline, The Rock gets his revenge for losing his WrestleMania 40 main event, while also bringing the title back to his family.

Perhaps The Rock feels he's the only person who can bring back the WWE Championship. Roman Reigns lost it and Solo Sikoa hasn't been successful as the infighting is becoming a problem. If The Rock has taken the mentality that if you want something done right, do it yourself, he could be working Rhodes. All it would take is one moment of weakness, where Cody lets The Rock in. The idea of working with someone as powerful as The Rock would be tempting for anyone.

The Rock might be trying to push Cody into self-doubt, forcing him to question if he truly deserves to be champion. This could lead to a Cody Rhodes character arc where he has to find his confidence and overcome his own self doubt after first taking the easy road.