As PWMania.com previously reported, WWE talent has been frustrated by The Rock’s frequent use of adult language in his promos, as they are unable to use language that isn’t appropriate for their audience.
There has been much discussion among WWE talent about the double standard that comes with The Rock’s return to television. Nick Khan, Triple H, and Dan Ventrelle (Executive Vice President of Talent) recently sent a memo to talent reminding them that the company is PG-13 and does not allow cursing on TV or social media, and then Rock did the opposite.
Following last week’s SmackDown with The Rock concert, many fans felt Cody Rhodes needed to deliver a more aggressive promo ahead of their WrestleMania tag team match.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez recapped Rhodes’ non-PG promo from Monday’s RAW.
According to Meltzer, WWE felt Rhodes needed to respond to Rock, so they allowed him to do this type of promo. However, the memo to keep things PG with promotions remains in effect for other stars.
Alvarez said, “So we had the Cody promo. And this guy has got to do a rebuttal to The Rock, who’s just killing it. And I will say I thought Cody did a very good job. The story of this was…I don’t buy that f*cking memo for a second. I think it’s bullsh*t.”
Meltzer added, “No, there was a memo. Everyone got it. I asked, “What was the deal?” And it’s like, they knew that he [Rhodes] had to come back. But there’s absolutely a memo. I got that from several different guys, there’s been other reporters who have too. That’s not nothing. No one else is allowed to do that. But he was given the opportunity to do it because basically they wanted him to stay babyface, essentially. And I mean, if he came off badly on this promo and Rock came off so great in Memphis (last week’s SmackDown), it’s like, that’s not what they want. But he was fine. You know, he brought his dog in. I mean, it’s like, that’s all it is.”
The Rock’s collaborator Brian Gewirtz addressed his name being mentioned by Cody during the promo:
“‘Final Boss’ isn’t anything I came up with. @TheRock calls himself that because he is that. If it makes you feel better @CodyRhodes, I was the first to tell him about your spectacularly stupid goofy ass dog.”
“Final Boss” isn’t anything I came up with. @TheRock calls himself that because he is that. If it makes you feel better @CodyRhodes, I was the first to tell him about your spectacularly stupid goofy ass dog.
— Brian Gewirtz (@bfg728) March 19, 2024
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
