Cody Rhodes Warned WWE Against SmackDown Segment

Cody Rhodes was in a “somber” mood following SmackDown.

On paper, the return of The Rock on the February 2nd episode of SmackDown should have seen the megastar cheered to the rafters as he finally came face to face with Roman Reigns. However, wrestling doesn’t take place on paper.

During the segment, it was Cody Rhodes who introduced The Great One, seemingly stepping aside from a match with Reigns in the process. The move has caused a revolt among WWE’s fanbase with “#WeWantCody” trending on social media for days afterward.

Meanwhile, the February 5th episode of Raw opened with huge “Rocky Sucks” chants that were clearly audible on TV. But was this always the plan?

There’s been a huge amount of speculation that WWE was actually banking on fans getting behind Rhodes, which in turn would set up a storyline mirroring Daniel Bryan’s run into WrestleMania 30.

With chaos running wild and conspiracy theories dominating social media, a new report from Fightful Select has attempted to make sense of the madness.

The report emphatically states that if the entire situation is a “work,” then several parties involved weren’t clued in. “Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, CM Punk, the creative team, producers, and those around them” were not told of an elaborate work in action.

The creative department prior to the Royal Rumble was told that CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins was the plan for WrestleMania, but following Punk’s injury this changed to Rhodes vs. Rollins. Fightful add that Punk was told he would be facing Rollins at the spectacular.

With regard to The Rock, creative was told the day of the Royal Rumble that Rock vs. Reigns was now the WrestleMania plan and merchandise had been made to promote the match.

Cody Rhodes “Somber” At SmackDown

There were creative meetings on January 1st — the day The Rock first mentioned Reigns, but it was put to Rhodes that his WrestleMania path hadn’t changed. However, during Royal Rumble weekend a “select group” were informed that plans had shifted.

Fast forward to February 2nd, and Cody Rhodes reportedly told WWE that he felt the reaction “wouldn’t be the desired one,” but did the segment anyway. Although, he was said to be in a somber mood after.

Other sources have suggested the decision bypassed Triple H and Nick Khan and came directly from Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro.

With regard to what Rock and Rhodes said to each other when they embraced, it was said to involve their fathers. The pair have reportedly had a great relationship for several years.

WWE was “heavily monitoring” the reactions from fans following SmackDown, and “options” have been discussed about moving forward. Sources backstage noted that the company wasn’t expecting the “Rocky Sucks” chants that reigned down from the stands during Raw.