WWE Expected Cody Rhodes Would Be Seen As 'A Martyr' With WrestleMania Switch-Up

The Rock returned to WWE so he could take Cody Rhodes' WrestleMania match against Roman Reigns. Fans are not happy about this, and they're rallying behind Cody. That was apparently WWE's plan.

During Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer stated that WWE expected to make a martyr out of Cody after The Rock took his spot. That intention to turn him into an even bigger babyface was there, but the end result of The Rock getting booed might not have been in the cards.

"I don't know what they were expecting, but they were expecting for Cody Rhodes to turn into Daniel Bryan, yes. That one, they were expecting, to make Cody Rhodes into a martyr and make him a bigger babyface out of that. Were they expecting people to boo Dwayne, I don't know, because you know, I've asked that one, and I haven't gotten a straight answer."

WWE fans have been quite open about the fact that they do not 100% approve of The Rock coming back to take Cody Rhodes' match. This might not have been something WWE really planned for, but they certainly expected for fans to love Cody Rhodes even more coming out of this situation.

Fans are speaking out in a big way about this WrestleMania match, but that doesn't mean it will do any good. I was explicitly told that this match is still happening.

After asking around, I received an additional note that said, "No chance this changes unless The Rock backs out. This has been The Rock calling the shot since January 1st." That is when Rock showed up on the Day 1 episode of RAW and made his first head of the table comment.