Cody Rhodes Challenges The Rock At WWE Elimination Chamber 2024: “Any Time, Any Place”
WWE brought the Elimination Chamber to Perth, Australia on February 24th, and the event was graced with a very special Grayson Waller Effect. He also had very special guests for this segment, as Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins joined him to progress a prominent WrestleMania angle.
The Rock re-inserted himself into WWE's picture on the road to WrestleMania, and that brought a big change to everything that they previously had planned. There was a time when it appeared that Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes would collide for the World Heavyweight Championship instead, but then The American Nightmare decided to finish his story.
Now, Cody and Seth are on the same side, and they are in a very interesting situation. The two were in Perth, Australia for the Elimination Chamber event, but neither of them wrestled. Rollins is currently nursing a knee issue, and Rhodes was simply not booked to compete on the show.
Austin Theory had the mic first, and he dissed Australia's love of Vegemite, and then he said he prefers Outback Steakhouse. Both of those jabs received a heel reaction. Then he introduced Grayson Waller, who came out to a mixed reaction. Waller also did a shoey at ringside.
After doing a chant with the Australian crowd, Waller introduced Seth Rollins, who came out to a big pop. Fans also sang his song in massive numbers, and that is always great to hear in a big stadium. Cody Rhodes received an even bigger pop and his "WOAH" was massive as well. He also got legit fireworks over the stadium during his Kingdom entrance after the second pose in the ring.
Seth Rollins said that he is days away from being medically cleared to compete. He can't wait to face whoever win the Elimination Chamber match later on.
Then, they were questioned about The Rock coming back. A "Rocky Sucks" chant broke out in the crowd, Cody asked if there are any "Cody crybabies" here tonight? He asked it twice to really rile up the crowd and get them to accept the moniker.
Cody addressed why he stepped out of the Mania main event, just to step back in. Waller called The Rock "The People's Champion," but then Cody proposed that to be the People's Champion, "you have to be around the people."
This was followed by Cody Rhodes making a bit of an announcement himself. Then he told The Rock that he is "wide open" before the WrestleMania main event match. He said he wants to wrestle The Rock one on one, "any time, any place."
Seth said that he admires Cody's hatred toward the Bloodline, so he stepped in. He said that if The Rock takes him up on the challenge, he won't be fighting the battle alone.
Then Austin Theory got in the middle of things, and he did an impression of The Rock. This was not received well by Cody and Seth, who proceeded to take him out.
WrestleMania 40 takes place from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on April 6 and 7. The show of shows promises to be a massive two-night spectacle, with massive main event matches on each night. Since Roman vs Cody will main event night two, so Rhodes can finish his story, night one also needs a main event match.
It certainly appears that The Rock and Roman Reigns will team up to take on Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins at the show of shows. While this is a big match, it is not the contest that The Rock wanted.
The Rock wanted to face Roman Reigns, and his eyes were set on that match alone. As we previously reported, he called his shot for WrestleMania 40 during the Day 1 episode of WWE RAW. WWE planned an injury angle to take Cody out of the situation, but that was abandoned after the public outcry that Cody received on his behalf.
