John Cena poured gasoline onto the WWE fire Monday by posting an Instagram photo showing last Friday night's face-to-face showdown between Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Roman Reigns.
Cena posted the photo without a caption -- as he strategically does with all of his IG posts -- so the message behind the image was up for interpretation. But it nevertheless added to the debate that's been raging among WWE fans in recent days: Cody Rhodes or The Rock?
Rhodes recently won the men's Royal Rumble match, thereby punching his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania 40 at Lincoln Financial Field. The WWE Universe was thrown a curveball last Friday night on "SmackDown," though, when Rhodes declined the opportunity to face Reigns for the undisputed universal championship and instead introduced The Rock.
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Now, it appears The Rock and Reigns will square off in Philadelphia on wrestling's biggest stage, with Rhodes perhaps shifting his attention toward WWE world heavyweight champion Seth Rollins. But the backlash among fans on social media has been intense, to say the least.
Rhodes long talked about having to "finish the story" by defeating Reigns and winning his title. So, it was strange to see him change course last week, especially after Rhodes pointed to Reigns immediately after winning the Royal Rumble match at Tropicana Field.
Some believe The Rock is flexing his muscle after joining the TKO Group's board of directors, a position that undoubtedly comes with power. And thus, the whole idea of The Rock vs. Reigns isn't sitting well with a huge segment of the WWE audience, to the point where it's reasonable to wonder whether the company will pivot back to Rhodes.
It's not that The Rock vs. Reigns isn't a massive attraction. It's quite possibly the biggest match WWE could make, given the former's global stardom and the latter's lengthy run of dominance. Rather, it's a reflection of how beloved Rhodes has become and how invested WWE fans are in his quest to "finish the story" on wrestling's biggest stage. The Rock doesn't really fit -- right now.
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Again, Cena didn't share his two cents with the Instagram photo, which is nothing more than a screen grab from WWE's "SmackDown" broadcast. But he's sure leaning into the debate that's been making national headlines and has everyone wondering what will happen next.
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