During Friday’s WWE SmackDown, The Rock cut a promo on Cody Rhodes, making it clear that he wanted to elevate Cody into the Undisputed WWE Champion. However, he added an unusual twist—declaring his intent to take a piece of Rhodes’ soul—and set Elimination Chamber on March 1st as the deadline for Cody’s response.
Following the show, The Rock spoke at a press conference, emphasizing that the segment didn’t necessarily have to lead to a match, leaving fans confused about where the story was headed.
While the intent of the segment was seemingly to make Cody feel like a bigger star, not everyone inside WWE believed it had the desired effect. Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer shared insights from sources within WWE who were uncertain about the execution.
“The only thing I could say about that segment was it was weird. He’s going face-to-heel with the crowd, which, of course, went absolutely nuts when he came out. By the end, they were like, ‘What the f*** is this?’ you know? I mean, they were genuinely quiet.”
Meltzer noted that by the time The Rock wrapped up his promo, the crowd reaction had noticeably cooled down—something unusual for a Rock segment.
“You know, it was like you would expect this big ovation.”
One internal WWE source reportedly felt The Rock unintentionally diminished Cody Rhodes, though Meltzer clarified that it likely wasn’t a major setback.
“I know one person there who said that they thought he really diminished Cody, you know? And I wouldn’t say that… that’s probably an exaggeration, in the sense that I don’t think he diminished him in a way that is significant. But I don’t think that it helped Cody any by being in the ring with Dwayne in that segment, either.”
The belief was that instead of giving Cody the ‘rub’ from The Rock, the segment left Cody in an awkward position, as The Rock’s delivery seemed unfocused and his dynamic with the crowd kept shifting between face and heel.
“You’re supposed to do the rub and make him as big as Dwayne and all that, and I would think that that’s probably the goal, but I don’t think that goal was achieved, either.”
With Elimination Chamber set as the decision point for Cody Rhodes, it remains unclear if WWE is positioning Cody vs. Roman Reigns as the definitive main event of WrestleMania 41, or if The Rock is being woven deeper into the storyline.
If WWE’s plan is to make Cody feel like a bigger star, Friday’s promo may have missed the mark, leaving uncertainty over whether The Rock’s involvement is helping or complicating the road to WrestleMania.
