Since the February 2nd episode of Friday Night SmackDown, The Rock has made a return to WWE programming, hinting at his regular appearances leading up to WrestleMania 40. His ongoing feud with Cody Rhodes implies that The Great One will play a significant role in WWE in the coming weeks. With that said, there was also a time when The Great One refused to travel with his old tag team partner, due to one big reason.
Fans are eagerly anticipating a potential showdown between The Rock and Roman Reigns, but there’s also a collective desire to ensure that Cody Rhodes’ storyline isn’t overshadowed. Initially, there were concerns about this imbalance, but a more balanced approach has been adopted. As a result, there has been a shift in the trajectory of WrestleMania 40’s storyline. However, fans are now genuinely enjoying the direction it has taken, especially after the initial backlash.
The Rock Rejected Travelling With Old Tag Team Partner For One Reason
Dwayne Johnson was known for his camaraderie with various WWE Superstars throughout his illustrious career, but there was one condition he couldn’t overlook: no smoking marijuana in the car, as recounted by The Godfather on the Such Good Shoot podcast.
The Godfather shared a humorous anecdote about Dwayne Johnson breaking the news to him that they couldn’t ride together anymore:
“One day Rocky came to me and said, ‘Hey, Papa, I can’t ride with you no more,’” The Godfather recalled. “I’m like, ‘What do you mean you can’t ride with me no f–king more?’ He goes, ‘Bruh, everywhere I go I smell like weed and I’m telling people I don’t smell like weed. And then the next time they see me, they say every time I see you you say you don’t smell like weed, but you smell like weed!’”
The Godfather wasn’t willing to give up smoking marijuana to maintain The Rock as a travel partner, leading to the two men parting ways.
“As soon as I got in the car, bro, as soon as I got in the f–king car, I’m firing up [smoking] all the way to the building, you know,” The Godfather recounted. “And so, bro, I’m not gonna stop smoking, so that’s when I started riding with Ron [Simmons] and John [Bradshaw Layfield], The Acolytes, and then him [The Rock], D’Lo, and Mark Henry started riding together.”
The Godfather then began traveling with the APA (Faarooq and Bradshaw), while The Rock started riding with D’Lo Brown and Mark Henry.
Roman Reigns Likely Made A Mistake By Trusting The Rock
With recent developments, it’s clear that Cody Rhodes is intensely focused on Dwayne Johnson, almost ignoring his upcoming match against Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
During an episode of WrestleBinge, former WWE writer Vince Russo shared his thoughts on Cody Rhodes’ approach and speculated on why he seems to have shifted his attention away from Roman Reigns.
“I’m listening to him, and I’m saying to myself, first of all, here’s my first question. Who are you wrestling at WrestleMania? The Rock or Roman Reigns? Because the way he’s cutting this promo, The Rock has already gotten in his head. You’ve forgotten all about Roman Reigns. Not a tag match, bro. The match against Roman Reigns, you waited a year for this. You’re not talking about Roman Reigns at all.”
According to Russo’s analysis, it seems The Tribal Chief of WWE may have made a significant error by placing too much trust in The Great One ahead of WrestleMania 40, where they are scheduled to team up against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins on Night One of the Show of Shows.