Cody Rhodes deserves a medal for his humility in how he handled the announcement on SmackDown, even though it was very clear that he was not happy. The audience was excited to see The Rock, but once he clarified why he was there, they immediately turned on him. YouTube now hides dislikes publicly, but Wrestle Ops was able to confirm that the video of Rock announcing his return (and the subsequent ousting of Cody Rhodes) is now the most disliked video ever posted by WWE, and it’s been up for less than a week.
And thus continues Johnson’s losing streak. “Black Adam” was a bomb, his show “Young Rock” was canceled after three seasons, his $15 million investment in the XFL blew up in his face, and now the one thing that seemed like a failsafe — the WWE universe — has turned on him. #WeWantCody and #WoahMovement (a reference to Rhodes’ entrance music) were the #1 and #2 trending topics the night of the announcement.
I also can’t help but point out that when John Cena returned to the ring during the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes, he used his star power to put over new talent, while The Rock returned to center himself in The Show of Shows. But above all else, it’s frankly disgusting to think that they believe WrestleMania needs “saving,” because it not only takes away from the current roster of remarkable talent showing up week after week to run the company, but it certainly also feels like a distraction ploy to make people forget about the allegations Vince McMahon is currently facing.
If The Rock faces Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, we can predict the result thanks to that No Lose clause, but it won’t be the first time Johnson and Roman are booed out of Philadelphia. Perhaps The Rock should heed the advice of another DC film and recognize that you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain and stay out of the ring.