The Rock returned to Smackdown last Friday, the 21st, in what many hoped to be the shot in the arm the Road to Wrestlemania 41 has needed. Instead, The Rock took this time to A) announce Wrestlemania 42 in New Orleans and B) talk some utter non-sense.
You want his soul?
The 27-minute segment featured The Great One flip-flopping between the electric Final Boss character and Mr. Director of the Board, Dwayne Johnson, on a whim. After calling out Cody Rhodes to join him, he reiterated their friendship 7 times, plugged his tequila brand, showed a picture of Mama Rhodes and Mama Rock, before finally getting to the point: The Rock wants Cody to be his champion, and also wants his soul? …Is that it?
Now, this segment was met with backlash from the fans for being long-winded and, to put it plainly, just awkward. If you think I’m exaggerating, WWE cut all the crucial lines and story beats from the half-hour segment into a 90-second video package, roughly 5% of the original segment length.
That bottle of lightning WWE caught last year with the Final Boss, sadly, did not strike twice. The Rock wasn’t cool, Cody had all of 2 lines, the crowd wasn’t hot, and it felt very reminiscent of peak Part-Timer era from the mid-2010’s: a big star pushing the full-time talent aside because they want a moment.
I’m starting to smell….
However, after letting the segment sit for a few days, having fresh eyes sees some exciting opportunities. If you just watch the recap video from Raw, this segment is suddenly dripping with storyline and character potential. First, the Rock saying in the Press Conference after Smackdown that him and Cody “don’t need to have a match” means we likely won’t have the Rock forcing his way into wrestling in the main event. Secondly, assuming Cody says no, that won’t be the end of it, and you can bet The Rock will be looking to get back at Rhodes.
Cody Rhodes already had some interesting ‘Mania opponents competing in the Elimination Chamber this Saturday, with the 2 biggest being John Cena and CM Punk.
Two Choices
Obviously, with Cena, you have his drive to win title #17 in his last year. You also have the opportunity to do a passing-of-the-torch moment, from the prior mega-babyface Cena endorsing Cody, who already holds that role and likely will for years.
With Punk, it would be a more traditional “who is the best” story, but Cody and Punk have had this unique relationship already. The two have had so many tense interactions, Punk is clearly gunning for Rhodes, but they still refer to each other as friends.
While both of these would have been interesting on their own, The Rock entering the picture has made all these avenues wildly more enticing. Even if Cody turns the Rock down, refusing to be his champion, The Rock will still want a champion he can control, right? If so, will he look to Cody’s Wrestlemania opponent to be that guy?
Imagine the Rock costing Cody the match 1 year after failing to keep the belt off him in the first place. Not only will you give Cody a new purpose, a new Austin-esque motivation to go after leadership, but you will have a new mega heel champ. The only thing I can’t decide is who would be better.
Imagine CM Punk teaming up with The Rock, the man who ended his 434 day title reign and, behind the scenes, contributed to Punk’s “part-timer” frustration that lead to him walking out. Can you imagine that CM Punk, who disparaged the company for years, now coming out in a suit and praising the brilliance of The Rock and the Board? Not to mention heel-Punk is magic on the mic. We’d be feasting on promos against Cody, Seth, Cena, and he could elevate plenty of other guys.
Heel Cena in 2025?
But as cool as Punk is, the real meat is on Cena. Can you imagine what sound would come out of your mouth if Cena cheats to beat Cody in the main event with help from the Rock? WWE’s Superman, the GOAT who hasn’t won a match in years, he feels himself slipping and unable to keep up with the current roster. The pressure to win that elusive 17th World Championship, the self-doubt, it all creeps in and breaks Cena, caving to The Rock’s offer.
I like this even more if Cena loses the Chamber and is “mysteriously” added to the Rhodes vs Punk match at Wrestlemania. This could give us the modern-day 2-Man Power Trip, just the Hollywood version. It also gives Cena’s last year some more shape outside of the typical dream-match tour we were expecting. While we’ll still get those, it’s now Heel Cena vs Face Orton, flipping that classic match-up on its head.
We have other OGs pleading with Cena that he’s lost his way, watch Cena struggle with his morals and what The Rock is telling him, before Cena finally defies The Rock and makes one last triumphant stand as the beloved hero before going out on his back, hopefully putting over The Rock’s newest hand-picked guy(please be Bron Breakker).
No matter how you cut it, this looming Corporate Champion opening offers plenty of exciting threads as we head into Wrestlemania. It’s just a question of which thread they pull at. Whatever it is, I will be there, ideally more consistently and not disappearing for a month, talking about it all.
Have a nice day,
Tim