The Rock Reportedly Pitched His Heel Turn – The WWE WrestleMania Kickoff press conference caused quite a stir among fans, particularly with the announcement of Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40.
The tension escalated when The Rock, known for his sharp wit, dubbed Rhodes’ supporters as “Cody Crybabies,” a response to the backlash over The Rock seemingly taking Rhodes’ spot. The situation reached a boiling point when The Rock, in a surprising move, slapped Rhodes during the presser, marking a definitive heel turn for the Hollywood megastar.
Speculation has been rife about additional matches at WrestleMania, with rumors suggesting a showdown between The Rock and Reigns against Rhodes and World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Rock was said to have quickly changed his pitch for the match with Reigns because of the backlash and wanted to go heel as he felt “the booing can be explained as him playing heel wrestler and he’s even said he is very happy to do that.”
A few people have said that the heel turn was necessary for The Rock due to the backlash, bad publicity he got from the Black Adam debacle, and Young Rock being canceled, so the decision was made that it wasn’t good for Rock to be booed heavily as a babyface.
Meltzer wrote, “There is said to be far more behind the scenes that hasn’t come out but, given the timing, can’t be talked about now.”
Meltzer added, “But Johnson over the weekend said it was best to be out of the Reigns match, put Cody in, which by this point everyone conceded by then. It was Johnson who then pitched the heel turn and he did pitch the idea of the Reigns & Rock vs. Rhodes & Rollins match for night one. So that was his idea if that is how it turns out.”
The Rock and Reigns will appear on tonight’s SmackDown to further the storyline.
The Rock Reportedly Pitched His Heel Turn
