For the second year in a row, Cody Rhodes is made to look like a fool.
Beginning at Elimination Chamber in 2025, The Rock, John Cena, and rapper Travis Scott wiped the mat with Rhodes as Cena turned heel. That set up a match at WrestleMania 41 between Rhodes and Cena, presumably backed by Rock and Scott.
Instead, Rhodes was left holding the bag — and his pearls — when The Rock was a no-show. He lost the Undisputed WWE Championship unceremoniously at Mania after Cena capitalized on interference by Scott, kicking Rhodes in the yams to win the title.
When it was over, Rhodes sat dejected with egg on his face after one of the most critically panned main events in WrestleMania history.
Now, just two weeks before this year’s extravaganza, Rhodes finds himself in a tough spot. The audience is turning on him, and WWE is leaning into it.
Oh, but not by turning him heel, at least not directly. No, that would be too easy.
Instead, they recruited Pat McAfee to side with Randy Orton, Rhodes’ opponent for this year’s Mania.
The reason? McAfee and Orton are on a mission to save the business from Rhodes, whom McAfee blamed the company’s creative and commercial woes on, while accusing Rhodes of representing everything McAfee and the fans hate.
Allegedly, the call to install McAfee into Rhodes’ Mania storyline may have come from WWE’s parent company, TKO, and its corporate overlord Ari Emanuel.
Emanuel, who represents McAfee.
Emanuel, who’s tight with The Rock — the man Emanuel called to boost ticket sales for 2025’s Chamber show, according to Dwayne — whose absence torpedoed last year’s WrestleMania, then explained said absence on Pat McAfee’s show.
More context: this is the same Rock who cleared his Hollywood schedule to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL, only for creative head Paul Levesque to push Rhodes in that spot.
Initially, Rhodes handed over his shot against Reigns to Rock. But while doing so, he flashed the saddest puppy dog eyes you’ve ever seen, rallying fans to force a change.
At WrestleMania XL, The Rock ended up teaming with Reigns instead, facing Rhodes and Seth Rollins. Interestingly, Rock pinned Rhodes on Night One. The next night, however, Rhodes finished his story and beat Reigns for the Undisputed title.
It seemed like a happy ending. But looking back, maybe it wasn’t.
Heading into this year’s WrestleMania, Rhodes’ popularity has dipped. In the span of one SmackDown, he went from being presented as the face of the company to being cast as the face of its problems.
Maybe it’s a coincidence. Maybe it’s just bad booking.
Or maybe it’s something else.
As a spectator, it’s hard not to wonder if this is all by design, a quiet effort to crater Rhodes’ stock when it matters the most, at WrestleMania, the biggest event of the year.
And all because Levesque chose Rhodes over Emanuel’s boy, The Rock, two years ago.