WWE SmackDown Preview: How Will The Rock Respond to Cody Rhodes's Challenge?
Rhodes wants a singles match against The Great One.
The American Nightmare wants a piece of The Great One. This past weekend at WWE Elimination Chamber, Cody Rhodes declared that he wants to issue a receipt to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for the slap he dished out to him at WWE WrestleMania 40 Kickoff. Rhodes noted he doesn't just want to hit The Rock back: he wants him in a singles match. This challenge shocked the wrestling world, as the expectation going into WWE WrestleMania 40 was that Rhodes and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins would battle Rock and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a tag team match on WWE WrestleMania 40 Night 1.
What Will The Rock's WrestleMania 40 Match Be?
The Rock returns to WWE SmackDown tonight.
While it has only been two weeks since The Rock was on WWE programming, the landscape heading into WWE WrestleMania 40 has drastically changed. Ahead of his WWE WrestleMania Night 2 main event title match against Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes wants to fight The Rock in a singles bout.
The Rock is expected to respond to Rhodes's challenge on WWE SmackDown, but don't expect it to be a simple yes or no answer. With WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins telling Rhodes that he has his back in the fight against The Bloodline, this singles contest is likely just a red herring for what will turn into Rhodes and Rollins vs. Reigns and Rock.
How WWE gets there is the question. With still one month to go until WWE WrestleMania 40, tonight's WWE SmackDown will likely reveal at least one more of WWE's cards for this storyline without giving away the full hand. Expect Rock to further flesh out his refound heel persona while also dropping more subtle teases about his long game play to take down Reigns.
If WWE does announce The Rock's WWE WrestleMania 40 match on WWE SmackDown, it will lock in the Brahma Bull's first in-ring contest in over eight years. His last match came at WWE WrestleMania 32 against Erick Rowan, where he defeated The Wyatt Family's big man in just six seconds. Prior to that, Rock's last extended match came at WWE WrestleMania 29 in a losing effort to John Cena.
WWE SmackDown goes down at 8 PM ET on FOX. Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for live coverage of the show.