SUMMARY
- During the WrestleMania 40 press conference, The Rock slapped Cody Rhodes.
- Several WWE Superstars, including Drew McIntyre and CM Punk, reacted to the incident that took place during the press conference.
The WrestleMania 40 press conference recently took place on February 8, 2024. With that, fans were eagerly waiting to see who finally emerged as the challenger for Roman Reigns’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Meanwhile, a moment involving Cody Rhodes and The Rock immediately caught the attention of the fans and the entire pro wrestling world.
Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and The Rock were already present during the press conference when Cody Rhodes made his appearance. Following that, he stated that he chose Reigns as his opponent in the main event of WrestleMania 40. This led to a war of words between Roman and Cody, which ultimately resulted in The Rock threatening and slapping Rhodes across the face.
This led to a brawl, and WWE executives such as Triple H, Adam Pearce, Nick Aldis, and others rushed in to separate the superstars. With that, several superstars went on to react to The People’s Champion slapping The American Nightmare during the WrestleMania XL press conference. Here’s a look at their reactions.
List of superstars who reacted to The Rock slapping Cody Rhodes
The Rock slapping Cody Rhodes was absolutely shocking and unbelievable. This led to epic reactions from the fans. Not only that, several superstars also reacted to the matter. Here’s a look at six such superstars who reacted to The American Nightmare getting slapped by The People’s Champion during the WrestleMania 40 press conference.
Drew McIntyre
Immediately after The Rock slapped Cody Rhodes, WWE superstar Drew McIntyre took to his ‘X’ handle to make a post. He uploaded a picture of himself with the quote, “I prayed for this and it happened.” Thus, it seems McIntyre isn’t surprised by the turn of events; instead, he is satisfied with the outcome.
https://t.co/Ezv9zxgAfD pic.twitter.com/856cSZuK3F
— Drew (@DMcIntyreWWE) February 9, 2024
With that, it now remains to be seen if McIntyre will have anything else to say on the matter. Also, it is to be seen if the largest wrestling promotion in the world will try to incorporate Drew’s reaction to any storyline going forward.
Logan Paul
Following the incident, Logan Paul, who is the United States Champion in WWE, also reacted to the matter. He took to his ‘X’ handle to share a post that features the segment involving Cody, The Rock, and Reigns and also features Paul’s reaction to it. It seems as soon as Dwayne Johnson slapped The American Nightmare, The Maverick shouted, “Oh sh*t.”
Let him cook @CodyRhodes pic.twitter.com/q6dvtHuWBP
— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) February 9, 2024
He also captioned the post “Let him cook @CodyRhodes.” With that, it now remains to be seen if Paul will have anything else to comment on the matter going forward. Since the WWE United States Champion looked absolutely surprised.
Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins was present right there when The Rock slapped Rhodes. He kind of seemed pissed by The Great One’s behavior and went ahead to argue with Reigns and Johnson. Thus, it seems the sudden reaction from The People’s Champ surprised The Visionary. Also, he went on to take Cody’s side after the shocking moment.
With that, it now remains to be seen if Seth Rollins will have anything else to say about the incident. Also, it is to be seen what lies ahead for him in the Stamford-based promotion. If Cody faces Reigns at Mania, it will be interesting to see who will emerge as Rollins’ challenger.
CM Punk
CM Punk was one of the hosts of the press conference. With that, after Johnson slapped Cody, he also reacted to the matter. He said that, according to him, Rhodes should have punched The Rock right back in the face and feels that should have happened. Thus, it seems, though Punk was surprised, he expected a similar reaction from The American Nightmare.
“Cody is being too diplomatic. Somebody slaps you in the face you gotta punch em in the mouth” -CM Punk pic.twitter.com/Y8RUH9aVbM
— Julian Weeks (@JulianWks) February 9, 2024
CM Punk said, “Cody’s way too diplomatic. Somebody slaps you, you gotta bust them right back in the mouth. That’s what I would have done. I wanna see Cody punch Rock in the face.” He then asked the audience if they also wanted to see Rhodes punch The Rock in the face. The Best in the World further stated that Johnson did not win the Royal Rumble, but Cody did, and he should be the one calling the shots.
Big E
Big E was also another host of the WrestleMania 40 press conference. After the Rock-Cody incident, he also reacted to the matter and felt that it was “explosive.” He then went on to mention that he was clueless about where the entire scenario was going.
BIG E on why Cody deserves to be the top guy
Absolutely loved this #WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/SN57scTchr
— CrispyWrestling (@CrispyWrestlin) February 9, 2024
The WWE superstar said, “Man, that’s explosive. I don’t know what we’re building, it looks like a tag, I don’t know where this is going. I have no idea and we have what, two months to WrestleMania.” Big E further said that it was a lot for him to digest at that moment.
Pat McAfee
Apart from CM Punk and Big E, Pat McAfee was also another host of the press conference. With that, after The Rock slapped The American Nightmare, he expressed his surprise on the matter. He further mentioned how he felt that Roman and Johnson were trying to showcase their dominance on stage.
The legend said, “The Rock just went to bat for his entire Bloodline…got offended, Smacked Cody Rhodes right in the mouth.” He once again expressed his astonishment by stating how The American Nightmare got smacked in the mouth. He added, “I think we overheard The Rock say ‘We’ll do whatever the hell we want’. It’s almost like a little flexing from The Bloodline.”
The Rock just went to bat for his ENTIRE bloodline..
He SMACKED Cody Rhodes right in the mahth #WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/fq0KN63I0T
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 9, 2024
With that, it now remains to be seen who else will react to Cody Rhodes getting slapped by The Rock. Also, fans will look forward to any comments from The American Nightmare himself. It also remains to be seen if Rhodes will try to get his revenge against Dwayne Johnson in the upcoming days. Whatever the case, the recent incident has shaken the entire pro wrestling world.
Meanwhile, it’s now certain that The American Nightmare will face The Tribal Chief at the Grandest Stage of Them All. With that, it remains to be seen if Cody will finally be able to finish his story by winning the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship from Roman Reigns. However, it will be interesting to see how the largest wrestling promotion decides to go ahead with the storyline from now on.