WWE & AEW Rumors: The Rock, Cody Rhodes, John Cena And WrestleMania

The Rock is set to have a major presence at WrestleMania 41, but he reportedly won’t be competing in the ring. According to PWInsider, The Rock will be aligned with John Cena for the event, forming a powerful duo ahead of WWE’s biggest show of the year. The singles match between Cody and Cena will stay a singles match and The Rock will likely be at ringside.

The Rock wrestled at last year’s event alongside Roman Reigns, but he hinted at a post-SmackDown media conference that his storyline with Rhodes didn't need to culminate in a match. It sounds like he wasn't hiding the creative plans. Current reports indicate he won’t be stepping inside the ring this time around.

WrestleVotes reports that he may appear with Cena on an upcoming Raw in Europe this month.

AEW Strike PPV Deal With Amazon Prime

Fans Can Buy Events On The Streaming Platform

AEW has officially confirmed a new streaming deal with Amazon Prime Video, making it the exclusive home for future AEW pay-per-view events in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The partnership will begin with AEW Revolution on March 9.

Fans will be able to purchase AEW PPVs directly through Prime Video for $49.99 per event. The announcement was made by AEWPress on social media, confirming the promotion’s move to expand its accessibility. They are not included in the Prime or Prime Video subscription.

This deal marks a significant shift in AEW’s distribution strategy, but it might speak to how much or how little Amazon was willing to invest in AEW. The fact the company is still charging for the PPVs hints that Prime wasn't willing to make a sizeable enough investment in the product to allow AEW to air these events for free to existing Prime subscribers.

In other news about rights-related programming, WWE says that Peacock is keen to extend its relationship with WWE, and WWE likes Peacock. However, TKO is going to shop WWE's rights around to other platforms, potentially moving everything to Netflix so that all content is located in one place.

Cody Rhodes Injury Update

He'll Be At SmackDown

Following news that Cody Rhodes suffered an injury in a segment with The Rock, John Cena, and Travis Scott, there was a slight concern that Rhodes might miss some television time. He was not on Raw this week. That's not terribly surprising, given he's a SmackDown talent, but he's been on both shows numerous times. There is good news after it was reported he suffered a broken ear drum from the Scott punch to the head. The American Nightmare was announced to appear on Friday’s (March 7) edition of SmackDown.

Rhodes is still being advertised for this show, and he was not taken off the road for injury reasons. It is expected he will make his scheduled appearance and respond to John Cena and The Rock. It's unlikely he wrestles or gets physically involved in anything, but he should appear and further the storyline.