We're 40 days away from WrestleMania 40 and it's been made clear that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will be a big part of WWE programming in the weeks ahead.
Original plans called for the Brahma Bull to face Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns in place of Cody Rhodes, but the immense backlash from fans - leading to #WeWantCody trending worldwide for days - saw WWE shake things up a little.
For starters, The Rock has turned heel and joined The Bloodline. The prevailing theory is that Rhodes will get to finish his story in a match with Reigns, but only after he and World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins face him and The Rock the night before in a tag team match.
Johnson has taken to Instagram to confirm he will be present for this Friday's episode of SmackDown and the following two instalments after it as well. That's the most we've seen of him on WWE programming for a very long time!
Earlier this month, the Hollywood A-Lister had this to say about the response to him potentially facing Reigns on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
"I expected, we expected it because it’s right there, and you go back, and again you like to think ‘Hey I got my finger on the pulse’, we all try to keep the finger on the pulse, ultimately what the fans want, and what they’re saying, and often times, in sports, entertainment, anywhere, there’s a wave of noise that happens right out of the gate, that you just wanna pause for a second, let’s not make any rash decisions, let’s wait and see how it all shakes out and see what happens from there."
"Was not surprised at it, did expect it but here’s the fun part. Love Cody, love his passionate fans, then there’s the other passionate Cody fans and they're called ‘Cody crybabies’. These are grown ass men. ‘Cody’s gotta finish his story’. It’s like, wait a second, hold on, ‘Hey dad, you wanna go outside and play catch with me?!' 'Not now. Cody’s gotta finish his story and I’m upset.' Wife comes in, 'Hey honey you wanna go have sex?' ‘Not now Cody’s gotta finish his story!’"
Check out Johnson's latest Instagram post below.
You can feel the uptick, excitement, energy & disruption [happening] now in pro wrestling.
It’s super [frick]ing cool to see.
Glendale, Arizona 💯 SOLD OUT
Your city will never be the same 😈 🎤
Up next:
📍DALLAS • March 8th
📍MEMPHIS • March 15th
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