The Rock costing Cody Rhodes after aligning with Roman Reigns is happening at WrestleMania XL, says ex-WWE star

The Rock shocked WWE to its core when he seemingly turned heel and aligned with Roman Reigns. However, a former star believes that The Great One is set to do further damage come WrestleMania XL.

During the WrestleMania Kickoff event, The Rock slapped Cody Rhodes and walked out with the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns to end the press conference, starting the build to WrestleMania XL.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ryback TV, former Intercontinental Champion claimed that Cody Rhodes would lose at WrestleMania XL against The Tribal Chief after The Rock aligned with The Bloodline and Paul Heyman. The former star believes the company might be building to a bigger story amongst the Samoan group.

"And if WWE is smart, Cody Rhodes is going to lose again. You see with The Rock turning heel and aligning with Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman, this could be just the beginning of an even bigger story and Cody trying to finish his story. If The Rock had not been involved and didn't turn heel and didn't do any of this, I would say go ahead and pay it off and give Cody the championship now."

Ryback added that the company would use this opportunity to build a bigger storyline around The Bloodline instead of finishing the story:

"But with The Rock infused, this is the perfect momentum booster that they desperately needed in this angle and Roman Reigns should hold on to the WWE Championship for as long as possible now. Personally, I truly genuinely hope that Cody wins the championship, but I've seen this play out before a little too close if you will and they love to dangle that carrot and take it away." [From 00:20 to 01:15]

Wrestling veteran praised Roman Reigns for securing a part-time WWE contract

Roman Reigns' part-time schedule is something that has bothered fans over the years due to the decline in his appearances on weekly shows.

Speaking on Keepin It 100, Konnan praised the current Undisputed WWE Universal Champion for securing a part-time similar to Brock Lesnar:

"I wouldn't call it genius, just smart. He saw Brock Lesnar do it, you know. Maybe, The Rock did it for a while, maybe Steve Austin ever do it?... Well, he's seen Brock do it, alright? And he was like well Brock [Lesnar] can get away with it, I can get away with it. You know, very smart."

The Tribal Chief has held the Universal Title for over 1200 days now. During his historic run with the title, Reigns came close to losing his title on multiple occasions.

However, with the help of his Bloodline members, The Head of the Table has managed to retain his Undisputed Title. It will be interesting to see when Roman Reigns will drop the title.

Do you think The Rock will cost Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40? Sound off in the comments section below.

If you use quotes from this article, please credit Ryback TV and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.