WrestleMania 41 was a spectacular show, but the main event on Sunday night left fans disappointed. The Rock was responsible for John Cena betraying Cody Rhodes at the Elimination Chamber, but he has not been seen since. The Rock felt it was best for the story if he distanced himself from Rhodes and Cena.
Rhodes declined The Rock’s request for his “soul” in March, and Cena appeared to accept The Rock’s offer. The “soul” plot was never fully explained, but one could deduce that The Rock was offering his influence and leverage in exchange for his personal world champion.
However, Cena’s relationship with The Rock was never expanded upon. On Tuesday, Johnson argued that it was best to pause the story element he first introduced and watch WrestleMania from home.
“We’ve established this idea of Cody’s soul, we can always come back to it, I did feel — and I made the call, I don’t want to be involved in that (Cena’s chase for 17),” Johnson commented on “The Pat McAfee Show” after Mania had finished. “Take a step back and allow ‘The Final Boss’ to return to the shadows. Allow the entire spotlight to shine on John. Let it go to Cody. Let us not make this about Cody’s or John’s soul. “Let them do what they do.”
Johnson praised Cena’s villainous turn as much as Hulk Hogan’s famous turn in 1996, when he formed the New World Order with Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. The Rock claimed to have spoken with Cena and Rhodes about the change in creative direction.
“I called John and spoke to him,” Johnson said. “I called Cody and said, ‘I believe The Final Boss’ work is complete. We just pulled off the greatest angle in pro wrestling history, aside from Hulk Hogan’s heel turn. I said, “This is amazing.” We have 6 weeks.
Now let us build, and you guys crush it. I’ll be right there with you, and I’m always available if you need me, but I believe it’s best for The Final Boss not to be involved in that finish.”
The Rock claimed that a phone call from TKO and Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel prompted his involvement. Emmanuel told The Rock that ticket sales were slow and that Chamber could benefit from a significant event before Mania.
“He said, ‘We need help at the Elimination Chamber. Ticket sales are a bit slow. Aside from that, we’ve discovered that Elimination Chamber is not only an entertaining pay-per-view for fans, but it also serves as a conduit to WrestleMania. How do we set up an Elimination Chamber that requires viewers to tune in? Right now, we do not have that. He asked if ‘The Final Boss’ would appear.”
Johnson credited WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque with making the decision to trigger Cena’s character shift. Though Johnson chose not to participate physically at WrestleMania, he still supports The Rock acquiring Rhodes’ soul later.
“I advocated for [turning Rhodes]. Johnson stated that Cody will not be turned heel anytime soon, but rather later in the future. “I like the idea.”
