WWE may have subtly told us that Cody Rhodes will dethrone Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40

Cody Rhodes slapped The Rock right across his face on the latest episode of SmackDown. It was not unprovoked, of course. If there is one thing fans know about heel Rock, it is that he knows quite well how to get on his rival's nerves. Unfortunately, this time, it did not go so well for The Great One.

This was not the only thing The American Nightmare had in store for him. On behalf of Cody Rhodes and himself, Seth Rollins accepted The Rock’s tag team challenge. In a moment of fury and passion, it seems like The People’s Champion has given away the results of WrestleMania 40’s main event.

During the SmackDown segment, The Brahma Bull told The American Nightmare that if Rhodes did not finish his story at The Show of Shows, he would never get a shot at the title again. Well, if that is the case, The People’s Champion has seemingly thrown in this condition while reminding everyone that he was a member of TKO Group Holdings' Board of Directors and Rhodes’ “boss,” it most definitely means that Cody Rhodes will dethrone Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40.

The whole point of building the story for two years was to ensure that The American Nightmare finishes the story. The whole fiasco of The Rock returning, Rhodes giving up his WrestleMania spot, Rollins convincing Cody not to give up the spot, Rhodes getting convinced and challenging Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40, The Rock joining The Bloodline and challenging Rhodes and Rollins to a blockbuster tag team match will all be in vain.

If Cody Rhodes doesn’t finish his story at WrestleMania 40, it will be the most anti-climactic closure to a storyline that unfolded like a cinematic experience for the past two years. The story needs to end with Rhodes winning the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship from Roman Reigns, and if this is the last chance to do so, he is most probably doing it.

Now, let’s not get disheartened. WWE may have given away the winner of the contest, but this is the Stamford-based promotion. Nothing is straightforward, especially not the biggest WrestleMania ever. There is a high chance that The Rock will turn against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania and help Rhodes win to kickstart Reigns’ babyface turn.

---

Why did Cody Rhodes slap The Rock on SmackDown? Analyzing the clues

As mentioned earlier, Cody Rhodes slapped The Rock right across his face.

The Brahma Bull spoke about The American Nightmare's late father and siblings. He acknowledged the late Dusty Rhodes as one of his idols and then pointed out that there was a 20-year age gap between Cody and his siblings.

Well, a 20-year age gap is not common, and The Brahma Bull referred to Rhodes as a “mistake.” So, what does one normally do when their family is spoken about in a humiliating manner? They do exactly what The American Nightmare did: slap them across the face.

The American Nightmare got his payback against The People’s Champion, as the latter earlier slapped him at the WrestleMania XL kickoff press event for talking trash about Reigns’ grandfather.

The Road to WrestleMania 40 just became a lot more interesting.