The world of WWE could not have been more interesting. While over the years fans have witnessed several iconic rivalries and matches, it is the upcoming tag match of Dwayne Johnson and Roman Reigns versus Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes that is slated to be one of the biggest matches in the history of WWE.
And it is this recent iconic rivalry that has been keeping fans at the edge of their seats thanks to the many grueling and entertaining promos stemming out of it. Needless to say, it has been Rock’s brutal thrashing of Cody Rhodes that made things even more entertaining. Yet in a recent new interview, The Final Boss broke character and offered a rare compliment to the American Nightmare.
Dwayne Johnson Gives Rare Praise to Cody Rhodes
From slapping each other to brutally insulting each other’s families, Dwayne Johnson and Cody Rhodes‘s rivalry (or kayfabe) has been keeping WWE fans glued to their screens, just in case they miss anything. Ever since the tag match was first announced, fans can hardly wait to witness the spectacle it is going to be.
Yet in a rare interview just before WrestleMania 40, The Rock broke his character and praised Cody Rhodes. While on the Will Cain Show, the Rock revealed that the original plan of his return was facing Roman Reigns, which meant Rhodes’s storyline (which he had been working on for years) would have been left unfinished.
“As I came back, I started to realize that while fans love the idea of The Rock and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, there was also this other storyline building that they had been invested in for a couple of years with a guy named Cody Rhodes.”
Stating that the fans’ disappointment over Rhodes not being able to complete his story hurt his heart, Rock went on to break his The Final Boss character and remarked,
“Who, by the way, Cody, as we speak very openly here, could not be a better human being.”
Rock then went on to reveal how amazing Rhodes was and understood the Rock and Reigns rivalry despite his story being left unfinished. This eventually prompted him to turn heel.
Cody Rhodes’ Reaction Made Dwayne Johnson Turn Heel
While on the Will Cain Show, Dwayne Johnson revealed how he had initially planned to return as the baby-face and face his cousin Roman Reigns. But seeing Rhodes’s storyline, which he had been working his a** off for years, go unfinished and the reaction that Rhodes gave him over his return, prompted the Rock to turn heel.
“[He was] amazing, understood. ‘I get it. I understand the position we’re in. Rock, you and Roman, biggest ever, I’m here for it and I support you.’ And that’s a big deal for somebody to say, especially in our crazy world of egocentric professional wrestling.”
While that is a shocking bit of detail to reveal just days before the epic match in WrestleMania 40, it was this event that made Rock change the story,
“So back in January, I called Nick Khan, our friend. And I said, ‘I have an idea. How about this: why don’t we take care of the people, give them this story of Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns.’ And Nick said, ‘Great.’ I said, ‘However, a little bit of a twist.’ He said, ‘What’s that?’ I said, ‘What if I became the greatest bad guy of all time, and that was the intent and intention?'”
With WrestleMania 40 just around the corner, some fans did not really appreciate this break of character, yet others added it was nice to know that the Rock is pushing young talent instead of taking over the spotlight (via X).
WrestleMania 40 can be streamed on Peacock.
