The Rock vs Cody Rhodes: The Real Story Behind The WWE Real-Life Animosity

Cody Rhodes has finally revealed the true tension between him and The Rock when it came to one of the most memorable plots in WWE. To what fans believed was an act in a scripted angle at WrestleMania 40, Rhodes said it was infinitely more personal than anyone could have ever imagined.

The Rock vs Cody Rhodes storyline shift

Originally, the main event of WrestleMania was going to be The Rock vs Roman Reigns. To do that, Cody Rhodes was told to vacate his Royal Rumble-won title shot. Fans heavily protested the move forcing WWE to change and turn The Rock into a heel.

That twist was realised at a pre-WrestleMania press conference in Las Vegas. During the verbal exchange, Rhodes mocked the Anoa family belonging of Reigns and The Rock. The act instantly created a hot reaction, as The Rock slapped Rhodes and he had to be held back by Triple H and Seth Rollins.

Tension behind the scripted rivalry

The slap appeared to the majority as a typical wrestling routine used to create a buzz. The Rock/Cody Rhodes feud led to a tag-team match at the opening night of WrestleMania which saw Rhodes and Rollins against The Rock and Reigns. But Cody later acknowledged the stress behind the scenes was agonizingly real

In a podcast What Do You Want To Talk About, Rhodes revealed that he would go on spending sprees as a result of the stress of the feud. He conceded that the hostility with The Rock was as real as anything that has ever happened in wrestling, but he did not make it clear as to whether the animosity was just part of the performance or off-screen as well.

A gift, a loss, and a bigger victory

The slap appeared to the majority as a typical wrestling routine used to create a buzz. The Rock/Cody Rhodes feud led to a tag-team match at the opening night of WrestleMania which saw Rhodes and Rollins against The Rock and Reigns. But Cody later acknowledged the stress behind the scenes was agonizingly real

In a podcast What Do You Want To Talk About, Rhodes revealed that he would go on spending sprees as a result of the stress of the feud. He conceded that the hostility with The Rock was as real as anything that has ever happened in wrestling, but he did not make it clear as to whether the animosity was just part of the performance or off-screen as well.

The Rock vs Cody Rhodes future feud

After the career-defining win by Cody, The Rock vs Cody Rhodes rivalry did not stop. The Rock said that their story was just starting, seeding the future. This all culminated at Elimination Chamber 2025, when Cena turned on Cody when he refused to side with The Rock.

That backstabbing led to Rhodes vs Cena at WrestleMania 41. In the interim, The Rock has not appeared on WWE televisions since the Elimination Chamber and it is unclear what his future will entail in terms of on-screen status. His rivalry with Cody is one of the most intense to be seen in recent history, as it is hard to tell where the story ends and reality begins.

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