Cody Rhodes Addresses WWE Fans Amidst The Rock and Roman Reigns WrestleMania Controversy

Cody Rhodes went from having concrete WrestleMania plans to an uncertain road to the grandest stage of them all. After winning the Royal Rumble and becoming the first consecutive winner in 26 years, Rhodes called out the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns who was seated in a suite. By the time SmackDown rolled around it seemed that the main event wouldn't be his after all. Rhodes rescinded his championship opportunity and instead made way for The Rock who returned and stared down the champion in the ring.

Rhodes left the ring somberly, causing a ripple effect on social media. Fans began trending #WeWantCody which was a top trend for two days straight, as well as disliking the segment between Reigns and The Rock, making it the most disliked video on WWE's YouTube channel. Rhodes has largely kept quiet about the ordeal on social media, but after the opening segment of WWE Raw that saw the fans booing The Rock and holding "We Want Cody" signs, Rhodes took to his X (formerly Twitter) account with a short message of appreciation for fans."Appreciate the passion, God bless y'all …but trust me," Rhodes wrote on X.

According to reports, WWE is "monitoring" the reaction to The Rock replacing Rhodes at WrestleMania 40. On Raw, Rhodes and Rollins met in the ring where Rollins referred to his title as the most prestigious title in the industry despite what Reigns said on WWE SmackDown. The crowd boos him but he ignores them and instead says he needs the match as much as Rhodes because he needs to know he's better than he was the last time they faced each other at WrestleMania 38. Rollins notes that the only way he will know he's the best is if he faces Rhodes. 

Drew McIntyre's music hits the speakers and he claims he's laid everything out for them perfectly but now Rollins and Rhodes are going to mess it up. McIntyre says he was supposed to be talking to Rollins about their world title match at Mania. McIntyre wants Rhodes to go finish his story and tells him not to let his dad down. Rollins interjects, noting that even if Rhodes rejects his invitation for Mania, what makes him think McIntyre is getting a shot when he beat him twice already? McIntyre reminds him it's basically the pot calling the kettle black because Rollins lost to Rhodes three times already. McIntyre throws a cheap shot at Rollins with the Glasgow Kiss, so Rhodes grabs him and punches him, throwing him out of the ring.