Dwayne Johnson had been focusing on his acting career for quite a long time now, and his surprise return to WWE last year was a shock to the fans. He hasn’t fought for over a decade then, but he managed to win against Cody Rhodes in one of the biggest matches in WrestleMania history.
It was not even planned from the beginning, but the negative reactions of fans prompted The Rock to do an unexpected heel turn, which, in the end, proved to be a hit for the viewers. It was not just about the talents of the people involved but the layers of story wrapped around The Bloodline saga that made the match highly anticipated.
Did Dwayne Johnson’s epic fight against Cody Rhodes involve some cheating?
Dwayne Johnson established himself as one of the biggest villains in WrestleMania 40, especially after ultimately defeating Cody Rhodes—with a People’s Elbow power move—and Seth Rollins in a tag team match with Roman Reigns. Their win was a massive achievement as The Rock was able to deliver a good performance even after years of not competing. The match also paved the way for him to continue being a part of The Bloodline saga.
This was Cody Rhodes’ only clean loss since his return to WWE 💀 pic.twitter.com/oESQl1oT02
— tribal chief ☝🏻🩸 | Fan Account (@luireigns) February 19, 2025
Many fans claimed that The Rock’s fight against Rhodes involved some bending of rules, therefore they don’t consider this a clean defeat. Check out their thoughts below:
This wasn’t clean lol. The rock manipulated the rules with his board member status, used a weapon and yanked the referee out when Cody had the visual pin.
— Nesh Incognito (@kobetwofour1997) February 20, 2025
That was not a clean win. The Rock had to make different rules for the Bloodline during the match. Sure he hit his move and pinned him but I would not call it clean.
— Richard Collis (@RichardCollis91) February 20, 2025
U clearly know they cheated, for the fact that the match had rules only prior to rock kayfabe using his authority role, then it’s clear cheating
— Chive (@GinikaEvan) February 19, 2025
That wasn’t a clean loss lol. They cheated REPEATEDLY. Brock to this day is the only wrestler to beat Cody without cheating since the return.
— saxman game photos (@SaxmanPictures) February 19, 2025
this was supposed to be a normal tag match but the rock enforced his own rules, therefore it’s not clean
— Blade (@B1adeIsHere) February 19, 2025
Pllanna on YouTube explained there were four reasons why The Rock defeated Rhodes. The first one was that Johnson wanted to win, and it was evident that the match was booked to give him a victory. The second was that the fight was set to plant the seeds for a potential feud between him and Rhodes.
The third is part of the storytelling as Rhodes has faced a significant loss prior to the controversial match, and he has done a lot of good things to rebuild himself, therefore another loss would add more drama. The final reason was that they needed The Bloodline rules.
Cody Rhodes maintained a good streak until his match with The Rock
As mentioned, Rhodes has worked his way up to success over the past year, becoming a beacon for WWE. Babyface champs like him face an uphill battle in the ring as heel victors proved to be historically better for business.
Up until his match against The Rock, Rhodes was the undisputed champion. We know that Triple H, who is the Chief Content Officer of the company, had watched over him throughout his career. In fact, he reportedly followed his matches even after WWE.
Still, it was a great dramatic twist to witness on television—The Rock returning and immediately turning heel, giving fans a spectacle worthy of anticipation.
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