Mark Henry was expecting Cody Rhodes to say something else before giving away his WrestleMania spot to The Rock

As controversy roils over Cody Rhodes' segment with The Rock this past Friday night, veterans and analysts are weighing in on the issue. AEW personality Mark Henry was expecting Cody Rhodes to say something different prior to giving away his Wrestlemania spot to The Rock.

In an interview with Denise Salcedo on the Busted Open podcast, the former World Heavyweight Champion shared his comments on WWE seemingly replacing Cody Rhodes as the Wrestlemania 40 opponent of Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.

In a segment on the February 2 episode of SmackDown, The American Nightmare controversially implied that he would not face Reigns at the Showcase of the Immortals in Philadelphia despite winning the 2024 Men's Royal Rumble. In a surprising twist, Rhodes brought out Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, who stared down The Tribal Chief to close the show.

Speaking to Salcedo, Henry revealed that he expected Rhodes to set up a future program with The Brahma Bull and speculated on the reasons behind WWE's abrupt change in plans.

"I was expecting Cody to say something else, too. I was expecting him to set up Roman and Rock, and so, all the talking is over. You wanted him, Rock, you got him. But in typical Rocky-Apollo (god bless you Carl Weathers, Apollo Creed, rest in peace): 'But after this is over, you're gonna owe me a favour'. And then you can, you can almost say, 'You know what, guys? We're gonna get, we're gonna get that down the road. We're gonna get Cody-Rock!' The legacy battle, something!"

Henry further speculated on the reason WWE changed plans:

"They didn't set nothing up because I think right now, the plan changed, and then it was like, 'Oh s***, we lost Punk, we need splash, we need sizzle.' I would not be shocked if Monday, John Cena comes out and throws his hat in there against somebody. You need sizzle. You got the steak, but you need the sizzle, you need to turn the heat up." (7:20 - 8:55)

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Mark Henry discussed why he is not mad about Cody Rhodes vs Seth Rollins at Wrestlemania 40

Former WWE superstar Mark Henry has revealed that he is not opposed to a showdown between Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40.

In a segment on the January 29 episode of Monday Night RAW, reigning World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins asked 2024 Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes to face him at WrestleMania 40. Claiming his World Championship to be a workhorse title that honors Dusty Rhodes, The Visionary tried to convince Cody to choose him as his opponent instead of Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.

Speaking to Denise Salcedo on the Busted Open podcast, Mark Henry discussed the perspective between Rollins and The American Nightmare at WrestleMania. Commenting on Rhodes' promo with Roman Reigns on the February 2 edition of Smackdown, Henry shared his views on Rhodes pursuing the World Heavyweight title.

"Cody said it was not about his father. But what did the promo say, Denise? The promo said it was about his father. So that was a change of plan mid-stride. He wants the working man's title. He wants the title that Bruno held, he wants the title that Hogan held. But, 'My dad was the working man, he was the guy that fought every night'.. Seth Rollins is that guy. And not to mention, we know Seth is hurt. He's a little gimpy. He's gonna heal up and he's gonna be fine down the road. But that being said, you need a healthy Cody Rhodes to take on that mantle right now. Somebody that can take that torch and run with it and hold it up real high and take on all challengers every night. Cody proved he could it." (9:00 - 10:30)

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Who will Cody Rhodes face at Wrestlemania? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!