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Ahead of the March 1 edition of WWE SmackDown, The Rock uploaded a 21-minute promo to his social media accounts, where he took shots at Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, and Cody's dog, Pharoah. Later, The Great One appeared on SmackDown to address the challenge Rhodes made at the Elimination Chamber Premium Live Event last month.
With the promo not being featured on WWE TV, many speculated as to what could be the main reason. Many, including Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, had ruled out the possibility that the Stamford-based promotion was short on time because one would assume that being a member of TKO's Board of Directors would give The Rock some pull.
However, Meltzer reported that he was wrong in assuming so because, contrary to popular belief, The People's Champ can't get as much time as he wants.
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On the recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer shared the input he received from a higher-up from inside WWE. He said:
A top AEW star just called one of his colleagues 'spoiled' and 'narcissistic' HERE.
"So I woke up on Friday morning. And I’d seen messages that he did this promo because they weren’t gonna give them enough time on SmackDown. And I said, That’s ridiculous! Rock can get as much time as he wants. I mean, who’s gonna say, 'Hey, you know, we’d rather run a five-minute Austin Theory match, or we can let Rock be on for five more minutes and all that?' So I checked with somebody who I know was over there, pretty high up. And I said there’s a story going around; I know it’s bullsh*t, and they go it ain’t bullsh*t. Because he can’t get as much time as he wants, this isn’t working this way." [H/T: Inside The Ropes]
The Rock responded to Cody Rhodes' challenge on SmackDown
While The Great One went all out with the promo on his socials, he took Rhodes' challenge with great seriousness and modified it a bit. Instead of it being a one-on-one, The Rock suggested that it be a tag match between himself and Roman Reigns on one side and Cody and Seth on the other.
With WrestleMania Night 1 being chosen as the suitable occasion for the match, The People's Champion added that if Cody and Seth lose, The American Nightmare's match with Roman would be Bloodlines rules.
With the match all but set, Cody will likely respond to The Rock's counter-challenge tonight on RAW.
Who do you think will emerge victorious in this dream match? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
