I did not like The Rock’s promo on Smackdown for plenty of reasons.

Whether it was the constant heel/face turns within the 30-minute segment. The repetition of him explaining why Cody should be his champion. To the lame exposition dump of him and Cody squashing their beef following WrestleMania 40. Actually, it didn’t explain why he decided to squash their beef, he just stated that they unexpectedly became friends. There was no reason why The Rock had a change of heart about the Undisputed Champion, which made it more infuriating. 

But my biggest gripe with this promo is that I like the idea that’s presented here. 

I don’t necessarily feel that Cody NEEDS to turn heel right now, but given the lack of credible heel challengers then a heel turn may be best for business. Plus, if John Cena did win the Elimination Chamber match then it instantly makes the build to Cody/Cena five times better. WWE has never been great with babyface vs. babyface builds. The history between Rock and Cena adds another interesting layer to something that’s a complex story. 

But when you sit down and think about it, this story doesn’t work for Cody.

Why Would Cody Sell His Soul To The Devil?

There’s no motivation for him to do so. He’s the top guy who holds the biggest prize in the company. This isn't a CM Punk situation where he's holding the WWE Championship, yet WWE is making it clear that someone else (John Cena) is the number one guy in their company. Exactly what is The Rock promising? Is it more money? A sequel to Black Adam? None of this makes sense because there isn’t much of a benefit for Cody. 

More importantly, I hated The Rock saying that he wanted Cody’s soul. It took all of the subtlety and nuance out of this story. A villain shouldn’t tell the protagonist their evil plan. This has Saturday morning cartoon nonsense written all over it. Why would Cody turn to the dark side when it’s clear that The Rock wants to corrupt his heart?

The Rock Has Forgotten The Beauty Of Nuanced And Subtle Storytelling

Take Walter White. He started selling drugs because he was going to die of Cancer if he didn’t get any treatment. By season five, White didn’t need to keep selling drugs, but his SOUL was corrupted working in such a dark and cold world. But the key thing here is that White went into drug dealing because of desperation.

Cody is not desperate. He’s not down on his luck. He’s not dying of cancer. He’s not even a greedy human being. WWE didn’t take the time to build such a massive story. The only problem I think that Cody could have is that his feud with Kevin Owens emotionally scarred him. But there haven’t been any signs that it did. Cody seemed a bit darker after his match against Owens, but nothing has come of it ever since. This story is something that should’ve been done months in advance. 

It should’ve all started with The Rock repairing his relationship with Cody. If he didn’t want to have a match with the Undisputed Champion then I would’ve been fine with a simple diner scene or something where The Rock apologies for his actions and offers peace/friendship. I know that’s not exactly the pro wrestling way, but WWE is on this cinema kick and there's been great diner scenes in movies like Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, and Heat. 

We needed to see The Rock and Cody get on the same page. Not some lame exposition dump that doesn’t allow us a chance to invest in their story. You could’ve easily played with the dynamic between the two; The Rock’s ulterior motive could’ve been to corrupt Cody’s soul slowly through friendship. Like gangs. There are two reasons that someone will end up becoming a gang banger, and one of the biggest ones is that they fill a void that's not being met at home - a loving family. This is an arc that should’ve started after WrestleMania 40. 

And don’t get me wrong, the diner thing wouldn’t be my first choice, but given The Rock’s crazy schedule, I imagine that’s the best thing he could do at this time. 

The Issues With The Rock

But I’m very frustrated with The Rock because this feels more about him taking the spotlight. As I stated before, I like the concept of this storyline, but the beginning is very weak so far. It feels that The Rock doesn’t understand the importance of storytelling. That’s the major reason WWE became so hot in the past few years because of their remarkable storytelling with The Bloodline. 

All of it wasn’t perfect, but it showed the best qualities of what wrestling should be. I don’t feel any connection to this arc so far because the company has not put in the work to even get to a point where Corporate Cody Rhodes is an exciting possibility. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if this story turns around and makes the WrestleMania 41 main event really exciting. It’s pro wrestling, not Breaking Bad, so that caliber of storytelling is not to be expected. But it is disappointing that character development is being tossed aside because Rock’s schedule changed so now he has some time for WrestleMania. 

How can I get invested in characters when motivations flip and flop because of “reasons”? WWE did the right thing last year by pivoting back to the Cody/Roman feud because they were ruining a beautiful story for no good reason. And what’s worse is that this may not end with Cody vs. The Rock. So what’s ultimately the point of this entire story then?

Maybe I’m crazy, but a story of this caliber should lead to Rock/Cody. But again, this is something that needs to take some serious time.

I know I should just let this play out, but just because this might turn into something great doesn’t make the first chapter good. The first chapter is BAD and it’s a big reason so many fans turned away from the product during the Vince McMahon era. This story may have given WrestleMania 41 the juice that it needed, but someone needs to remind The Final Boss that toying with booking decisions can harm the product in the long run.