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The Rock received a huge ovation from the live audience when he returned after a month to confront Roman Reigns. After seemingly setting up a WrestleMania 40 match, Reigns' response to the situation was caught after SmackDown went off the air.
SmackDown looked like it was going to end with a fairly straightforward challenge from Cody Rhodes, the 2024 Men's Royal Rumble winner, to Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. The entirety of the past year has been leading up to that moment, but in a shocking twist, Cody revealed he wouldn't be facing Reigns at WrestleMania and brought out The Rock instead.
In their standoff, the two Samoan family members had a staredown for two minutes as SmackDown came to a close. After the segment, Reigns would simply walk away with the rest of The Bloodline:
The Rock would cut a post-SmackDown promo thanking the city of Birmingham, Alabama.
Where does Cody Rhodes go from here after actively targeting Roman Reigns?
The response to Cody Rhodes simply giving up his WrestleMania match for The Rock hasn't been well-received by WWE fans online. Given that, there were numerous teases of Cody versus Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, including as recently as Saturday when Cody made it clear who he was targeting, the logic behind the decision not to have the match at WrestleMania made little sense to a lot of fans.
It leaves a big question as to where Cody Rhodes goes from here after his match against Reigns at WrestleMania was essentially shelved. He can go after the World Heavyweight Championship, especially with Rollins campaigning for Rhodes to face him.
The American Nightmare could also face Reigns at any other WWE event, including at the Elimination Chamber or even in Saudi Arabia. It remains to be seen how things will pan out for Rhodes.
