Controversial Cody Rhodes Line Criticized By WWE Hall Of Famer
The use of strong language by Cody Rhodes has made a WWE Hall of Famer feel as if it was not necessary.
After John Cena won a very competitive Men’s Elimination Chamber match in the main event of the Elimination Chamber PLE, WWE Champion Cody Rhodes made his way to ringside to congratulate Cena on the victory.
That victory by Cena meant that he had earned a shot at Rhodes’ WWE Title at WrestleMania 41 as Cena will attempt to win a record-breaking 17th World Title.
While Cody was in the ring with Cena, WWE Board of Directors member Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson aka The Final Boss walked out to the ring with rapper Travis Scott by his side. When The Rock wanted an answer from Cody about giving Rock his soul and being “his” champion, Cody said his soul belonged to the WWE fans.
Cody Rhodes looked The Rock in the eye and said: “Hey Rock, go f**k yourself!” It drew a huge reaction from the elated Toronto fans who were happy to see their hero Rhodes stand up to the bullying tactics of Rock.
What happened next was an iconic WWE moment as John Cena hugged Cody as if he was proud of him, but then Cena turned heel for the first time in over 20 years by kicking Cody in the groin. Cena, Rock, and Scott beat up Cody and left him a bloody mess.
Cody Rhodes Swearing During His Promo May Have Gone Too Far
Jeff Jarrett works for AEW and is a WWE & TNA Hall of Famer who commented on Cena’s heel turn on his podcast called My World. Jarrett said that people understand that pro wrestling is theatre rather than the old days when wrestlers and the people in the business tried to protect pro wrestling more.
“It resonates. It’s certainly not, ‘Confuse them, you lose them’. It’s the opposite of that. Everybody understands that. Will it, in this politically charged environment… At the end of the day, it goes without saying, and I’ve said it a bunch on My World, yes, we’re pop culture, but people understand more now than ever that we’re theater.
We really are Shakespeare to the masses. So I just don’t think there’s going to be the offense that there could have been even 2, 3, 4. 5, years ago. I just don’t think it’s going to happen today because of John Cena and his legitimate record of setting all the Make-A-Wish records and The Rock and the brand and WWE and the industry as a whole.
We’re on seven nights a week, so we’re in people’s homes. People understand who and what we are.”
As he continued, Jarrett spoke about Cody saying “go f**k yourself” to The Rock. In Jarrett’s view, it wasn’t necessary.
“Not needed. That’s my gut reaction. What’s the upside? What did you get out of it? It just wasn’t needed at all.”
What Cody Rhodes got out of it was one of the loudest ovations of his career for standing up to The Rock, but perhaps he could have used words without swearing in front of 38,000 people.
The attack from Cena, Rock and Scott was also a painful one for Rhodes, who suffered a black eye and busted eardrum from the attack, mainly from Scott, who was a little too aggressive during the attack. Rhodes is expected to appear on the March 7th edition of SmackDown to address what happened.