Cody Rhodes Curses At The Rock And Cena Turns Heel

WWE Elimination Chamber on March 1, 2025 marked the most important day of WrestleMania season to date. The Rock wanted Cody Rhodes’ soul. For Cody to be his champion. And the proposition left the squeaky clean top babyface in a dilemma that will shape (or shake) the foundation of WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas.

WWE Elimination Chamber moved around 5,000 tickets for Elimination Chamber since it was announced that The Rock would appear. The Rock’s apparent involvement in WrestleMania has also moved WrestleMania ticket sales for the high-priced affair in Vegas.

John Cena Turns Heel, Joins The Rock

The Rock, dressed in all black and accompanied by Travis Scott, demanded Cody’s soul. With Scott and Cena still in the ring, Cody pondered his decision as the fans begged him to say no. “I want it all, Rock,” began Rhodes. “My soul no longer belongs to me. You know why? I gave my soul to this ring, and these people a long time ago. Hey Rock: Go f*** yourself!” said a defiant Rhodes. The Rogers Centre, and Cena, celebrated. But only temporarily;

Cena shockingly turned heel, brutally beating down Cody Rhodes after a low-blow and an AA. Cena used Rhodes’ famous Rolex to beat the WWE champion bloody. The Rock, and even Travis Scott, entered the festivities. Scott punched Cody in the face while The Rock beat him with his commemorative Dusty belt.

Michael Cole pleaded with Cena to stop, but Cena continued his beatdown before a shocked Toronto crowd, kicking off an already heated WrestleMania 41 storyline.

The Rock returned to WWE in a last-minute announcement on the February 21 broadcast of SmackDown in New Orleans. In a deliberately unhinged performance, Rock confused viewers just as much as he entertained with a WrestleMania 42 announcement (the PLE will return to New Orleans in 2026), constant shifts between playing a babyface and a heel, and ultimately, an ultimatum for Cody Rhodes to deliver his soul to the People’s Champion.

“Thanks for watching the show, we got some disruptive moves coming up so tune in,” The Rock posted on Twitter. “Love playin’ this audacious, unpredictable character known as Final Boss Toronto – I’ll see you this weekend at Elimination Chamber.”

Last night on SmackDown in Toronto, The Rock doubled down on his offer to Cody Rhodes by putting him up in a luxurious private dressing room while offering Rhodes a custom truck decked out with Cody’s American Nightmare aesthetic. Rock took one step further in his offer, which now seems more like a taunt, by brandishing a custom-made heavyweight belt emblazoned with the words “Cody’s Soul.” The belt also donned the date: June 11, 2015—the death of Dusty Rhodes.

In an age of impatience and an ADHD approach to consuming wrestling storylines, the fact that fans and media were not given an immediate roadmap to what, exactly, is happening with WrestleMania 41’s top angle infuriated the typical know-it-all social media audience.

“What’s this Rock bloke up to?” wrote a baffled Bryan Alvarez.

Ango, one of the few adults in the room when it comes to wrestling media, posted a more reasonable response.

“Hate to tell you guys this, but nothing has been changed last minute. Doesn’t matter what ANY reporter puts out there, WWE has kept this stuff under wraps and VERY few people have known what’s going down. Because of the limited people knowing what’s going on, it comes off as hectic, chaotic, and last minute change, but everything has been calculated. [sic]”

Just as WWE had a plan for Cody Rhodes to finish his story despite the unpopular decision for Roman Reigns to win, the Triple H Era will have a plan for Cody Rhodes’ “Soul-Gate” storyline.

WWE has an all-star cast of top stars and storytellers to turn WrestleMania 41’s storyline between The Rock and Cody Rhodes into another cinematic masterpiece. The main hurdle will be inescapable comparisons between this angle and the ending of WrestleMania 40, which is considered by many to be the greatest WrestleMania main event of all time.

Even if WWE lands the plane effectively, as they have time and again during the Triple H Era, this may not be good enough for some fans whose expectations are unreasonably high in the era of cinema.