The Rock Explains Slapping Cody Rhodes: ‘Your Hero F–ked Around and He Found Out’

Adam WellsFebruary 11, 2024

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The Rock has addressed his reasoning for slapping Cody Rhodes in the face during the WrestleMania 40 media event in Las Vegas on Thursday.

In a post on Instagram, the Great One wrote that Rhodes “f–ked around and he found out quick what happens” for talking about his family:

“I was born into this crazy world and I love every second of it. It’s been decades since pro wrestling has been buzzing like this for WRESTLEMANIA and this has become rare air that we’re all breathing, and it’s very f–king cool & exciting for us, as wrestlers, our company and most importantly—all our fans.

“Your hero f–ked around and he found out quick what happens when you talk about our family with disrespect. Lines crossed and blurred—bring it. We don’t toe the mark for no one. Road to Wrestlemania begins…”

There’s still more explaining that needs to be done for this storyline to make sense. Rhodes didn’t say anything bad about The Rock’s family. He pointed out the Bloodline family tree in response to Roman Reigns’ continued insistence on bringing up Cody’s father, Dusty Rhodes.

Cody said if Reigns’ grandfather and Peter Maivia, Rock’s grandfather, saw Reigns right now, they would “be ashamed” of how he has treated other members of the Bloodline over the past two years.

Somehow, this prompted The Rock to decide that Cody was in the wrong and slapped him in the face. The Brahama Bull did write #longgamer in the caption, so perhaps there is some long-term explanation that will make all of the pieces fit together.

One thing that’s been made perfectly clear is The Rock is a full-blown heel in this angle. It’s the first time he’s been an outright villain in WWE since 2003.

There will likely be some answers coming soon. Paul Heyman announced that Rock and Reigns will be on the Feb. 16 episode of Friday Night SmackDown.

WWE @WWENEXT WEEK @HeymanHustle is bringing @WWERomanReigns and @TheRock with him to #SmackDown… 👀☝️ pic.twitter.com/VhzW7Gt8P5

WWE has confirmed Reigns and Rhodes will fight for the undisputed WWE universal championship at WrestleMania 40. The incident at the media event seemed to be teasing a tag match with Rock and Reigns squaring off with Rhodes and possibly Seth Rollins.

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