SUMMARY
- During the press conference, The Rock slapped Cody Rhodes on the face.
- Triple H took to his X handle to officially announce the fight between Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40.
To put it mildly, the WWE’s WrestleMania 40 opening press conference on February 8 was crazy. Cody Rhodes gave his response to the query that has had the industry abuzz for more than a week. Even though Dwayne Johnson’s revelation was significant, what he did next has turned into the show’s high point. However, fans have a clearer picture of who Roman Reigns will face at WrestleMania.
The American Nightmare made his much-awaited decision on who he would be facing at WrestleMania. He elected Roman as his main event opponent and fueled up the fans on the road to WrestleMania. This was long overdue, as fans hijacked everywhere, chanting for Cody and wanting him to finish his story. It seems that fans are getting what they want but in a rather confusing way.
The press conference not only saw Rhodes making his decision but also saw one of the most heated arguments in a press conference. After a war of words between Seth Rollins, The Rock, Cody Rhodes, and Roman Reigns seemed to end, Rock shocked the WWE Universe. In the heat of the moment, fueled by a lot of anger, The People’s Champion slapped The American Nightmare, making a huge statement.
Moments after the press conference went off the air, Triple H made Rhodes’ decision to face Reigns at WrestleMania official. However, Cody also spoke for the first time about the whole incident after getting slapped by The Rock. He took it to his X (formerly Twitter) handle to address him, finally facing Reigns once again. “For everything,” wrote Cody, hyping his match against The Tribal Chief.
For everything https://t.co/vmwuYwngkZ
— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) February 9, 2024
Fans were elated to see Cody Rhodes finally get the chance at Reigns’ coveted title. However, it has also added a lot of unpredictability, given that The Rock is also involved in the scene. By the looks of it, Rhodes is fully determined to dethrone Roman Reigns, as this is his last shot at the title. By putting everything on the line, Rhodes will undoubtedly have a classy road to WrestleMania.
A look at the heated confrontation at WrestleMania XL press conference
At the massive press conference, The Rock did not receive the expected response and looked frustrated when he took the stage. The fans would chant, “We Want Cody” to the 51-year-old on several occasions. He was progressively going back to his “Hollywood Rock” stage. He called those who admired Rhodes “Cody crybabies.”
The Rock calls out the ‘Cody crybabies’.
— Pat McAfee Show pic.twitter.com/a5GIyDX2JP
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) February 8, 2024
The Hollywood celebrity asked everyone to respect his Bloodline and stated they are the only royal family in the world of professional wrestling. Cody then showed out without any introduction music and called it all “bullsh*t.” After making suggestions that he had chosen his WrestleMania opponent before the press conference, the former vice president of AEW ultimately selected Roman Reigns.
But ‘The American Nightmare’ did not hold back after Roman called his father, Dusty Rhodes, irrelevant. Rhodes further talked about Roman’s and Rock’s families and stated that their grandfathers would have been ‘ashamed’ seeing them. This made the Brahma Bull angrier than ever, which saw him slapping The American Nightmare.
The Rock slaps Cody Rhodes!#WrestleManiapic.twitter.com/0aSM6KarWC
— meraWRESTLING (@meraWRESTLING) February 9, 2024
Johnson was clearly agitated following his family’s involvement in an intense verbal altercation. It’s possible that he and Roman teamed up to defeat Rhodes. The excitement and unpredictability of WrestleMania 40 are increased by all of this. What might come of this abrasive relationship between Rock, Rhodes, and Roman is unknown at this point.