WWE not giving freedom to Roman Reigns and 38-year-old star despite backstage complaints - Reports

There are only a few superstars to whom WWE gives leeway in terms of promos. While many may assume that top stars like the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and 38-year-old Cody Rhodes might have that freedom, that doesn't fully appear to be the case.

A new report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter sheds some light on backstage complaints and dissatisfaction with "double standards" in WWE. Many WWE Superstars are not happy with how The Rock is allowed to swear on live television while everybody else is given strict instructions to keep their language PG, even on their social media accounts.

The report from WON stated that there is a feeling among talent that, given The Rock's position as a board member of TKO, WWE's parent company, he should be the one following the rules to set an example.

The report went on to state that even Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes aren't given that much leeway, although the latter did use a couple of slurs in a promo and was allowed to do so.

"Some also complained they could get more traction on television promos and in social media if they had those handcuffs taken off them, and the handcuffs in this case are only off for [Dwayne] Johnson, and even people like Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes have had to adhere to the policy, although Rhodes was allowed a lot more leeway in his comeback promo on RAW."

A WWE personality thinks that The Rock vs Roman Reigns was never on the cards for WrestleMania 40

The wrestling world on social media erupted when it looked like Cody Rhodes gave up his spot against The Tribal Chief to The Rock. The Road to WrestleMania appeared to be headed in that direction until the Las Vegas press event, where Cody made his decision and chose to compete for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against The Tribal Chief.

On an episode of Insights with Chris Van Vliet, Sam Roberts stated that he thinks WWE never planned to go through with The Rock vs. Reigns at WrestleMania 40:

"It didn't have a graphic. That's my thing. The graphic, I'm all about the graphic. When you show me a graphic, it's for real. And they never had a Rock versus Roman Reigns graphic for WrestleMania."

It is difficult to say if the WWE used that angle to generate sympathy for Rhodes or if the fans influenced their decision. However, the way it was done made many believe that WWE higher-ups scrambled with the plans at the last minute to calm down the backlash they were receiving.