The Rock appeared on Friday’s WWE SmackDown to announce next year’s WrestleMania, which will be held in New Orleans at the SuperDome before inviting Cody Rhodes out to the ring.
The Rock cut a promo about wanting to elevate Rhodes and make him his Undisputed WWE Champion. Rock said that he wanted a piece of Rhodes’ soul. He didn’t want an answer that night but rather at the Elimination Chamber on March 1st.
Sources close to the situation have told Fightful Select that the creative team was informed of The Rock’s SmackDown appearance just days before the show, a development that surprised many within WWE. The impact of The Rock’s return on future plans is still being determined. Previously, Rhodes vs. John Cena at Mania had been in consideration since late last year.
As recently as this week, WWE creative had been developing storylines under the assumption that The Rock would not be available for WrestleMania. A top talent had even joked to Ibou of Self Made PW that WrestleMania’s direction “was at the mercy of Dwayne.”
Internal documents reflect the decision to remove Rhodes from the SmackDown main event prior to the show. However, these changes came together very late, and even those within the company are uncertain about the future direction.
Cristian Scovell, who frequently works on Rhodes’ segments, was credited as a writer for The Rock’s segment, with Michael Hayes listed as the producer. However, it’s important to note that The Rock is not bound by strict scripts, confirming that the use of explicit language was likely not pre-written.
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