WWE Rumors: Huge Backstage News On The Rock Heel Turn Ahead Of WrestleMania 40

Big plans for The Rock heel turn.

An update on The Rock's current heel role in WWE has surfaced.

Fans were stunned at the conclusion of the WrestleMania 40 Kickoff media event in Las Vegas on Thursday. After Cody Rhodes announced he's challenging Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL with the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at stake, the two got into a war of words over family members. When Rhodes namedropped the grandfathers of Reigns and The Rock, that's when Dwayne Johnson delivered a slap to "The American Nightmare's" face.

The Rock had been playing up the heel role prior to slapping Cody, but some still weren't fully sold on this being a full-blown heel turn. Well, it appears there's no doubting anymore.

WWE Raw Today: Cody Rhodes Drama With The Rock Recapped, Qualifying Matches

WrestleVotes is reporting that The Rock is ready to go full-on heel, taking inspiration from his "Hollywood Rock" gimmick from 2003. The report also notes that WWE is planning merchandise for "Cody Crybabies," an insult hurled by The Rock towards Cody's fanbase, or at least the most passionate side.

Paul Heyman appeared on the post-WrestleMania Kickoff edition of WWE SmackDown on Friday night. He told WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque that both Roman Reigns and The Rock would be present on the February 16 episode of SmackDown.

It'll be interesting to see what Johnson has to say about Cody Rhodes, as well as Levesque. Triple H cut a promo on SmackDown making it clear that The Rock isn't in charge. The power struggle begins at the end of the week.

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