How Did Cody Rhodes Get Away with Expletive Promo on 3/18 WWE Raw?

WWE was willing to make a special exception for Cody Rhodes on the March 18, episode of Raw, given his high-profile ongoing war of words with The Rock.

During the show, Rhodes held nothing back in his scathing comments about The Bloodline's newest member. Rhodes, dressed in an all-dark suit, dubbed the Brahma Bull an "asshole" and added that the Hollywood megastar is deep down a "little b*tch!" Still not finished, Rhodes said that The Rock will have a case of LDS (Little d*ck syndrome) when WrestleMania 40 comes around.

Cody's comments shocked fans given WWE's recent memo reminding talent about the importance of adhering to PG guidelines. This memo has led to some in WWE feeling frustrated, believing that The Rock, who has been cursing up a storm on social media, should be forced to play by the same rules as everyone else in WWE.

The apparent double standard between The Rock and the full-time roster is hard to ignore. Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer confirmed that there had been a memo. It was stressed that WWE realized that Rhodes had to have something big on Raw in rebuttal to Rock's expletive-laden promos fans have been seeing regularly.

"They knew that he [Rhodes] had to come back... [Cody] was given the opportunity to do it because they wanted him to stay babyface... if he came off badly on this promo and Rock came off so great in Memphis, that's not what they want.”

Rhodes & The Rock will be on opposing sides of a tag-team match that will almost certainly headline WrestleMania 40: Saturday. The next night, Rhodes will challenge Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. This will be Cody's final opportunity at Reigns, a stipulation made by the Brahma Bull.

Rhodes and Reigns will come face-to-face on the March 22, episode of WWE SmackDown. Paul Heyman has promised that no Bloodline members other than himself and Reigns will be there, as long as Cody shows up to the confrontation alone.