Feb 4, 2024 11:05:43 GMT Todd said:

Hot take - Cody is a much bigger star than most want to admit. Raw in the last two years has had more sellouts than any period since the Attitude era. Nothing to do with Roman or the Tribal Chief story when it was really good - that was on SmackDown. People just love Cody.

Which is exactly why the RAW brand and title needs him now more than ever. Unless you're up for switching major titles again for both shows. 

There's nothing wrong with being in one of the 10 main events.

Feb 4, 2024 11:05:43 GMT Todd said:

Hot take - Cody is a much bigger star than most want to admit. Raw in the last two years has had more sellouts than any period since the Attitude era. Nothing to do with Roman or the Tribal Chief story when it was really good - that was on SmackDown. People just love Cody.

I mean, this is a reasonable thing to think if I am honest.

Not to deny all of it being true, but I trust there are other factors that can back it up? Merch sales and I suppose interest in social media since ratings are mostly not a thing in 2024? I genuinely hate Cody and wish he would die, but if the fans are on board it's hard to deny that.

Hot take, WWE knew people would be insanely pissed off about this. And that is why they did it. To drown out stories of Vince shitting on people opening a federal investigation with people raging about Cody and Roman instead.  Stock untouched in aftermarket trading means the rage of fans is not touching the company's value in anyway so far.   

So it was a success to the people who TKO cares about the most, the shareholders.

Feb 4, 2024 15:52:47 GMT c said:

Hot take, WWE knew people would be insanely pissed off about this. And that is why they did it. To drown out stories of Vince shitting on people opening a federal investigation with people raging about Cody and Roman. This is about protecting stock prices, not WM itself.

I think you’re half right. I doubt very much they designed it to be this controversial, but putting the Rock in the match to take the mainstream media’s attention off Vince? I think that’s probably true.

Feb 4, 2024 15:29:32 GMT @ness said:

Not to deny all of it being true, but I trust there are other factors that can back it up? Merch sales and I suppose interest in social media since ratings are mostly not a thing in 2024? I genuinely hate Cody and wish he would die, but if the fans are on board it's hard to deny that.

It’s really tough to use anything other than live attendance to make cross-era comparisons because so much changes in how content is consumed all the time. The one constant is buy ticket to see show. Cody holds up well in that regard.

Feb 4, 2024 15:58:30 GMT Todd said:

Feb 4, 2024 15:52:47 GMT c said:

Hot take, WWE knew people would be insanely pissed off about this. And that is why they did it. To drown out stories of Vince shitting on people opening a federal investigation with people raging about Cody and Roman. This is about protecting stock prices, not WM itself.

I think you’re half right. I doubt very much they designed it to be this controversial, but putting the Rock in the match to take the mainstream media’s attention off Vince? I think that’s probably true.

I think they assumed people would love this or hate this and both were perfectly acceptable outcomes as long as they made noise about it.  It was not the storyline they wanted to go with at all, but something had to be done to shore up the stock in light of the federal investigation.

This is the type of fan who when Rock was a full time actor was begging for to see him grace TV but now he's villain #1. Absolutely embarrassing. And this is coming from someone who has had issues with Rock and how he handled his Black Adam stuff with Zach Levi by wanting Superman/Cavill to be his major foe over Levi/Shazam due to Cavill being the bigger actor and a close friend.

Feb 4, 2024 8:43:09 GMT System said:

Feb 4, 2024 7:35:28 GMT Jake said:

I am now a fan of Logan Paul.

I will buy a lifetime supply of Prime, if it leads to Cody facing Reigns at mania, and winning the title

The Rock cut contact with Logan after the Japan controversy, not surprised he is team Cody.

He literally gave a sob story to John Cena on Impaulsive the other week about how he regretted his falling out with his “hero” The Rock. 

If the fans and even some wrestlers backstage just completely turn their back on The Rock after so many years of wishing he'd come back to wrestling, I would not blame Rock for walking out outright and just be a business man and alum to come every now and then. Again, he doesn't need WWE. He's got tons of business projects such as the XFL(Or whatever it's called now post merger) and his drink and probably has his phone ringing for acting gigs.

The only mistake was him not being at the Rumble match or having Cody win the event for a 2nd straight year. That was a misfire, if Rock wanted this matchup they should have had him come in and win the rumble and throw Punk out or something. Could have had Rollins or someone come in and throw Cody out if the buildup was warranting it weeks prior.

R-Truth gets as much fan reaction as the top hitters of the company yet what will he be doing in WM? Tag Team match (maybe) for the tag belts(Which both he and Miz deserve). and that is a maybe. And R-Truth has been wrestling since the 90's on North American TV?

Imagine taking rasslin' that seriously LMAO.

"HHH I will never fucking forgive you for this"

Yeah my boy I don't think he thinks about a jabroni like you at all.

Maybe I've been sleeping on social media this whole time. Seeing these dorks lose their minds might be worth looking into.

What a fucking dork. 99.9% chance he’s also an incel.

People like that dude who make reaction videos play it up for attention. They get revenue based off interactions of their posts. Even negative attention gets them paid. I don’t think he is that serious, he just wants those clicks and views. Looks like it worked.

Go to instagram and look up any thot in her early 20s. Guaranteed they have a reel that has a caption like “would you date this 57 year old mother of 3?” and there will be 5,000 comments from idiots that all say “no way ur 57.” because those videos are monetized and the more engagement they get the more money they get.

Feb 4, 2024 18:57:19 GMT RT said:

People like that dude who make reaction videos play it up for attention. They get revenue based off interactions of their posts. Even negative attention gets them paid. I don’t think he is that serious, he just wants those clicks and views. Looks like it worked.

Go to instagram and look up any thot in her early 20s. Guaranteed they have a reel that has a caption like “would you date this 57 year old mother of 3?” and there will be 5,000 comments from idiots that all say “no way ur 57.” because those videos are monetized and the more engagement they get the more money they get.

Stop breaking kayfabe.

IMO, this backlash is a testament to WWE’s booking since Trip’s took over. The fans bought into Cody’s story and are fully behind him being the one to dethrone Roman. In the past, a vocal part of the fan base was always against WWE’s hand picked guy. I think credit goes to Triple H and his team for building up babyfaces that people care about. Whether it’s Cody or Sami or Jey or LA Knight. The backlash is a positive in a way and they can definitely use it to their advantage in the future and build on the sympathy that Cody is receiving from this.

If they're hell bent on Rock/Roman, I want rock in a pool of his own blood, Roman must absolutely destroy the vain twat that is Dwayne.

Feb 4, 2024 19:46:59 GMT Jake said:

If they're hell bent on Rock/Roman, I want rock in a pool of his own blood, Roman must absolutely destroy the vain twat that is Dwayne.

Show us on the hideous Rock doll where Dwayne touched you.

Feb 4, 2024 18:57:19 GMT RT said:

People like that dude who make reaction videos play it up for attention. They get revenue based off interactions of their posts. Even negative attention gets them paid. I don’t think he is that serious, he just wants those clicks and views. Looks like it worked.

Go to instagram and look up any thot in her early 20s. Guaranteed they have a reel that has a caption like “would you date this 57 year old mother of 3?” and there will be 5,000 comments from idiots that all say “no way ur 57.” because those videos are monetized and the more engagement they get the more money they get.

He's a Mets fan, it's legit. They are a psychotic bunch of people. 

I've thought about this a fair bit, and honestly I don't hate it. I am admittedly not a fan of legends coming in and 'taking someone's spot' - see Hogan.

But, I think this could all work out. I do think the plan was always Rock/Roman as the endgame. Is it perhaps poor timing for Cody? Maybe but to be honest, if they were going to put Cody over Roman they'd have done it last year. I think this could work out even better for Cody - at this moment everyone hates The Rock for what he's done to Cody. Good, use that. It will elevate Cody to being an even bigger babyface than he is right now, and when he does take Seth's title, it elevates that too, being with the biggest babyface in the company.

Meanwhile, let Rock and Roman do their thing, I'd also have Roman drop the title the Rock - he has to lose it at some point, and I'd pull the trigger on that too while everyone hates Rock anyway. Then see where it shakes out from there with Cody/Rock etc. They needed a marquee match for WM 40, and Rock/Roman is it. You might all hate it, but I can see some good coming out of this.

Now you can tell me I'm wrong and I don't know anything. Proceed.

I know he had some heart issues a few years back. But I’d give WWE a pass on this Cody story if we get Cody v Triple H at Mania.

This has been the rumoured endgame for over a year, that being the eventual Rock v Roman match.

It feels a little bit over-complicated - why have Cody even address Roman or cast any doubt on his decision if it was the plan all along to go with Rock v Reigns?

I'd almost suggest it was only a hypothetically scenario and probably sat in an internal WWE basket called " it'd be cool if... " but when Rock returned, drunk on his own ego, tequila and faked positivity he big balled his way into the Wrestlemania picture.

It certainly adds value, and brings a lot of hype to the show. Absolutely no doubt there, but it screams of someone pulling rank and flopping his dick out on the table and telling everyone, that he's the captain now.

Can they pivot back to Cody? Sure they can. Social media reaction has been poor and in a strange way it echos the time they used Rock to give Roman some credibility at the end of The Rumble when the people's overwhelming choice was Daniel Bryan.

Maybe, Cody challenges and defeats Roman at Elimination Chamber?

But my money is on Seth v Cody. And if it's the case, give both men a live mic and free reign and let them sound off on the deliberate politicking of The Bloodline in and outside the ring, and how The World Heavyweight Championship regardless of the outcome at Wrestlemania will represent the real heroes of this business and not the self centred, egotistical, lazy assholes who have hijacked The WWE Championship.

Fun fact, this is the first time that two non-white wrestlers will close out wrestlemania weekend.

Plans seem to be Seth vs Cody for night 1 with Cody winning.  Much better match IMO given their history.  Also since this time Seth is hurt, the series will likely continue with stipulation matches and what not throughout the summer giving Cody a hot program rather than one match with Roman where he wins the belt then Roman instantly moves on.

A lot of people are making it seem too like the Rock pushed for this but it sounds like the decision came from Emanuel to try to give the media something else to focus on, and to move as much Rock merch as possible which they just got access to.

You might as well take a seat because here we go...

I really can't understand wrestling fans at times.

When Roman turned heel, formed The Bloodline and became 'head of the table' all the fans clamored for 'Rock vs Roman', but there were other things at play. So they played out the Jey Uso/Sami Zayn storylines to rave reviews. Then Cody comes back to WWE and sets his sites on Roman at WM39, but the Jey Uso storyline was not quite done and at that time many were disappointed Rock vs Roman didn't happen at WM39, but lots of fans said 'that's okay because Cody is better chasing then he is holding the title'. Now we finally get Rock vs Roman and people are losing their minds.

If you don't want to admit it that's fine, but let's not pretend Cody vs Roman II is a bigger draw overall than Rock vs Roman at WM 40. That's just foolishness. This is one of the only dream matches left that can still be done. The Rock has 395 Million followers world wide. He's one of the top actors in the last 20 years and despite all the speculation and defamation people throw at his character, I don't believe for one minute he's as 'toxic' as you believe. I believe he is a businessman who has built his brand, fights for that brand and will always do business - like most good businessmen. Whether you agree with how he does his business matters not because in the end none of you pay his bills or all the people he's in charge of employing and charities and other business endeavors he's supporting. Which brings us back to WM40. The Rock has never forgotten where he came from. He has always come back when he was requested/needed. He is doing this for WWE because it's his first love and I truly believe Rock vs Roman was the plan all along.

Did plans maybe change a bit because of Punks' injury? Perhaps. Does this take some of the heat of the sex scandal? Maybe - even though I don't think this was the goal. Do I think it needed to be a title match? Maybe not, but let's not forget Cody is STILL fighting for a title and not just any title the WHC, which to me is more prestigious than either of the 2 titles that make up the Undisputed title, but somehow this is a downgrade simply because it's not what you want to see? '

I see where this is going and I believe the payoff is going to be HUGE for Cody. I mean how long did Daniel Bryan chase his dream and how many things happened that we didn't understand until the final payoff. So implore all those losing their heads over this to sit back and enjoy the ride. Or by all means, continue freaking out because nothing the WWE loves more than passionate responses - good or bad. You are just making their case for them.

Also, Logan Paul can eat a dick. In fact, he can choke on it. Further proof he knows nothing.

IM, you bring up Bryan …

His journey was SummerSlam to Mania. That was his story.

Cody will be going on three years if it doesn’t go until next year. That’s the WWE of old—delaying Babyface moments until it loses its sense of meaning.

I haven’t posted because I’m genuinely at a loss. I hope the WWE sees the reaction and realizes how foolish this move is. I doubt it, because this is seemingly all rooted in the bruised ego of Dwayne, but I can only hope.

One of the key issues is here is that the WWE refuses to decouple Roman from the WWE Title.

Rock/Roman does not need the belt. At all.

Cody’s story does not need Roman.

You could achieve all of this without having to choose.

Daniel Bryan only got his Wrestlemania moment because of fan backlash and the Yes Movement. So telling fans to “shut up and take it” in this situation is a bad argument.

I wouldn't call the World Heavyweight championship more prestigious, especially when its lineage begins and ends with Seth Rollins (as per WWE.com), being the second man to hold the title, won't do nearly as much for Cody's career as it would, if he became the man to conquer the unstoppable Roman Reigns and ended his legendary reign as champion.

One of them is a history-making moment (as far as wrestling goes), the other not so much. Beating Seth Rollins for his title is a major step down, from ending the historic reign of Roman Reigns.

Except Cody is winning a major title and will be the champ of his own show/brand...people act like the man is taking a seat on the bench. He won back to back rumbles and is getting to close out the 1st night(?) or hell if this reaction is the way it is, that match will be the closer of Night 2.

If he was going completely off the card entirely, I would feel terrible and be with you guys but he's going to get a healthy title reign with the big belt and may even beat Reigns down the road in some fashion or maybe Reigns loses his belt and tries to come and take Cody's and be thwarted. There's a lot of possibilities.

Rhodes is being treated pretty good here. Again, the way it was done is not what I would do from A to Z but the end result is him getting to be a full time champ and be a big deal which is why he left WWE in the 1st place. He's going to be the guy of his show, and it was something he never got to do in either WWE or AEW. 

Feb 4, 2024 21:35:50 GMT Blindy said:

Except Cody is winning a major title and will be the champ of his own show/brand...people act like the man is taking a seat on the bench. He won back to back rumbles and is getting to close out the 1st night(?) or hell if this reaction is the way it is, that match will be the closer of Night 2.

If he was going completely off the card entirely, I would feel terrible and be with you guys but he's going to get a healthy title reign with the big belt and may even beat Reigns down the road in some fashion or maybe Reigns loses his belt and tries to come and take Cody's and be thwarted. There's a lot of possibilities.

Rhodes is being treated pretty good here. Again, the way it was done is not what I would do from A to Z but the end result is him getting to be a full time champ and be a big deal which is why he left WWE in the 1st place. He's going to be the guy of his show, and it was something he never got to do in either WWE or AEW. 

Ignore ranking the titles against each other, Cody’s narrative is specifically about the WWE Belt.

Ranking the titles, Roman absolutely buried the belt Cody has said in character he’s not focused on, and Cody — who has his choice of belts — is randomly choosing the one he has never once been focused on.

It’s bad, bad storytelling.