CM Punk Predicted The Rock Replacing Cody Rhodes in WWE WrestleMania Main Event

History repeats itself. This past Friday on WWE SmackDown, Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes seemingly gave up his title shot at Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, stepping aside so that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson could confront the Tribal Chief. Rock stared down Reigns as WWE SmackDown went off the air and a WWE WrestleMania 40 kickoff graphic flashed, revealing that WWE will be hosting a press conference event for the Showcase of the Immortals this Thursday in Las Vegas. It is expected that Rock vs. Reigns will be made official at that event, although WWE’s reported “monitoring” of the #WeWantCody uprising could always lead to another pivot being made.

While Rock stepping in to take Rhodes’s spot came out of left field on the day of, these events were actually foretold weeks prior.

CM Punk Predicted The Rock Replacing Cody Rhodes

Beyond the cult of personality, CM Punk’s eyes also show the future.

On the January 22nd edition of WWE Monday Night Raw, CM Punk and Cody Rhodes shared the ring together, hyping up their upcoming participation in the Men’s Royal Rumble Match. The civil exchange turned heated when Punk claimed to be “more of the American Dream” that Rhodes and Rhodes shot back by suggesting he “is more CM Punk” than Punk himself.

“You’re more CM Punk than I am? Well allow me to give you the full road to WrestleMania, CM Punk experience,” Punk responded. “Cody Rhodes, you have carried this company on your back for a soul-crushing two years, and you’re right around the corner and they hand you the cover to the WWE 2K video game. Congratulations, by the way. And right when you’re about to cross the finish line and finish your story, oh wait! What’s that in the distance? It’s a much bigger superstar that hasn’t been around in a very long time coming to take it all away from you.”

Rhodes and Punk’s Parallel Journeys

This 44-second monologue was a reflection on CM Punk’s journey to WWE WrestleMania 29, but as it turned out, it was also a foretelling of Cody’s road to WWE WrestleMania 40.

“You have carried this company on your back for a soul-crushing two years.”

CM Punk was on top of the wrestling world from 2011 until 2013. He was enjoying the hottest babyface WWE Championship reign in years, yet was constantly playing second fiddle to John Cena on pay-per-view cards. That included at WWE WrestleMania 28 when a non-title Cena vs. Rock match headlined over himself defending the WWE Title. That said, Cena vs. Rock headlining WWE WrestleMania 28 was announced a year in advance, long before Punk’s momentum hit a main event level.

Cody Rhodes has only been back in WWE for about two years, but that “soul-crushing” carrying sentiment rings true. The American Nightmare triumphantly returned to WWE at WWE WrestleMania 38, defeating Seth Rollins before declaring his mission statement the following night on WWE Monday Night Raw: win the WWE Championship. Two months into his comeback, Rhodes tore his pectoral muscle, yet still wrestled a Hell in a Cell Match with the injury. He returned from injury seven months later at WWE Royal Rumble and went on to headline WWE WrestleMania 39 but fell short in his championship opportunity. Nonetheless, Rhodes continued carrying WWE, winning a brutal feud against Brock Lesnar and working a full-time live event schedule.

“You’re right around the corner and they hand you the cover to the WWE 2K video game.”

Going into Summer 2012, all signs pointed to Punk remaining at the top of the card, and with no year-in-advance WWE WrestleMania 29 main event announced, that long-awaited headlining spot seemed to be in Punk’s hands. Punk was even given the cover of WWE ’13, that fall’s WWE video game.

Going into 2024, Rhodes looked primed to rekindle his rivalry with Roman Reigns. He won the Royal Rumble Match again and pointed at Reigns, signaling that he was set on avenging his WWE WrestleMania 39 loss. Rhodes was even given the cover of WWE 2K24, the next WWE video game that is marketed around Rhodes’s real-life mission of finishing the story.

“Oh wait! What’s that in the distance? It’s a much bigger superstar that hasn’t been around in a very long time coming to take it all away from you.”

Then, at WWE Raw 1000 (July 2012), The Rock returned to announce that he would be getting a WWE Championship match at WWE Royal Rumble (January 2013). Punk would be defeated by Rock at that event, ending his then-historic WWE Championship reign at 434 days and leaving him without a path WWE WrestleMania 29. Cena won the Royal Rumble, locking in a Cena vs. Rock rematch at that year’s Showcase of the Immortals. Despite fans clamoring for Punk to be inserted into the bout, it remained a one-on-one contest.

Then, at WWE SmackDown this past Friday, The Rock returned to seemingly take Rhodes’s spot at WWE WrestleMania 40. This has left Rhodes with a pivoted path that sees him challenging WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins instead.