Cody Rhodes Reportedly Went Off Script During The Now Infamous Smackdown Moment With The Rock

The now infamous moment where Cody Rhodes handed over his WrestleMania 40 spot to The Rock allegedly did not go as originally planned, according to a close friend of the WWE legend.

Throughout 2023 and into the 2024 Royal Rumble, one of the biggest stories in WWE was about Cody Rhodes trying to finish the story he started in 2022. When he won this year’s Rumble and pointed to Roman Reigns and the WrestleMania 40 sign it began the hype for a championship rematch between the two.

Then on a dime it all changed. During a February edition of Smackdown, Rhodes had an in-ring conversation with Reigns and shockingly revealed he was stepping aside and handing over a planned spot in the main event of WrestleMania 40 to The Bloodline leader’s cousin, The Rock.

The moment was met with a massive backlash from fans and led to an eventual switch that saw “The American Nightmare” retake his position and The Rock turn and eventually become his current “Final Boss” version. Rhodes’ obvious disappointment in relinquishing his spot was part of why diehard fans revolted against the idea of The Rock getting a match at the event with Reigns.

Well, it seems that Rhodes’ reaction was not what was planned, according to former WWE Raw head writer and Rock confidant Brian Gewirtz.

“Cody was supposed to be, in some form, ‘Yeah, F**in A! Go get ’em Rock! You’re going to get your a** kicked, Roman! Let’s do this!’ and this uplifting promo,” Gewirtz told “The Masked Man Show” this week (h/t NoDQ.com). “Instead, he looked like someone shot his dog in the face in the parking lot. Just look at his expression. That, I don’t think, helped matters. It might not have changed or affected anything.

“Certainly, on paper, and I don’t blame Cody for that, he’s real and one of the realest people I’ve ever met. He said what he had to say in the promo, but you couldn’t mask what he was really feeling, and I think the fans felt that a lot,” he continued, “They felt like ‘he doesn’t mean a word of this. This is being forced for him to say.’ He’s despondent. I think that had a lot to do with it.”

One has to wonder how things might have gone if Rhodes was more pumped up about The Rock vs. Roman Reigns, however, most fans will likely admit things turned out pretty well and fans received a fantastic story on the road to and at WrestleMania 40.