WWE writer Brian Gewirtz recently shared his thoughts on Cody Rhodes’ performance during the build-up segment to WWE WrestleMania 40. Rhodes, who won the Men’s Royal Rumble back in January, chose to give up his spot to The Rock.
On the WWE SmackDown episode that aired on February 2nd, 2024, Cody Rhodes gave up his spot to The Rock. This led to a massive backlash from fans. The segment featuring Cody Rhodes, The Rock, and Roman Reigns is now the most disliked video on WWE’s YouTube page.
Recently, WWE writer Brian Gewirtz, who works closely with The Rock, shared his opinion on the segment. During an interview with the Ringer Wrestling Show, Gewirtz stated that Cody Rhodes’s reaction caused the backlash.
He stated, “Cody is a human being who is genuine and real and he wears his heart and emotions on his sleeve. If you read the transcript, you’re like ‘Nixon kicked [Kennedy’s] ass’ but if you watch it it’s like ‘Oh he [Nixon] was a sweaty terrible mess. He looked like someone shot his dog in the face in the parking lot. That, I don’t think helped matters…I don’t blame Cody for that. He’s real. He’s one of the realest people I’ve ever met. We could push forward like WWE has often done, …or we could do something pretty incredible.”
The Rock’s brief WWE WrestleMania 40 spot: How Cody Rhodes reclaimed it
The Rock, who had taken Cody Rhodes’s spot to face Roman Reigns at WWE WrestleMania 40, faced a lot of heat. This led to WWE switching up the plans, with The Rock turning heel and siding with Roman Reigns. Rhodes eventually got his WWE WrestleMania 40 spot back.
With this, Rhodes came face-to-face with The Rock and Roman Reigns. Additionally, the former received aid from former rival Seth Rollins, leading to a tag team match on the first night of WWE WrestleMania 40. The Rock and Roman Reigns defeated the team of Rhodes and Rollins on night one. This set up a Bloodline rules match between Rhodes and Reigns for the WWE Undisputed Championship on night two.
This match witnessed some of the craziest interferences from past and present wrestlers, including The Undertaker, John Cena, The Rock, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa, and Seth Rollins. Despite all the chaos, Cody Rhodes managed to pull off the impossible. He defeated Roman Reigns to capture the WWE Undisputed Championship.
