4 WWE stars who openly declared their dislike for The Rock amidst backlash from fans
After joining the Board of Directors of TKO Group Holdings, The Rock returned to WWE programming on last week's episode of SmackDown.
The Great One showed up to confront his cousin Roman Reigns, who was involved in a segment with 2024 Men's Royal Rumble match winner Cody Rhodes at the end of the show.
The American Nightmare told Reigns that he would come after him, but not at WrestleMania 40. He then walked out of the ring as The People's Champion stared down the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
Over the last week, The Great One has faced a lot of backlash from the fans because he seemingly took away Rhodes' spot in the main event of WrestleMania. However, fans were not the only ones disappointed with WWE's booking as some WWE Superstars also voiced their opinion about how Rhodes deserved better than being sidelined by The Great One.
Let's take a look at four WWE Superstars who took a shot at The Rock after his return.
#4. Ricochet showed support for Cody Rhodes over The Rock
Ricochet has stated several times in the past that The Rock is his favorite pro wrestler of all time. However, the former United States Champion was not happy with the People's Champion seemingly replacing Cody Rhodes at 'Mania.
A few days after The Great One showed up on the blue brand, Ricochet took to Twitter to state that he, just like many fans, wants The American Nightmare to main event WrestleMania.
He sent out a tweet to show support for the #WeWantCody trend, which was started by a group of fans last weekend.
Check out his tweet below:
A fan responded to The One and Only's tweet and stated that he does not support the trend. Ricochet then stated that he would not mind seeing his favorite star of all time main event WrestleMania either.
"And the Rock is my all time Favorite. So, I wouldn't be mad at this either"
#3. Logan Paul joined the "We Want Cody" trend
Logan Paul turned out to be one of the most surprising names who showed support for Cody Rhodes.
The WWE United States Champion took to Twitter after The Rock returned on SmackDown and made it clear that he wants to see The American Nightmare main event WrestleMania against Roman Reigns.
"We want Cody."
The Maverick is currently a heel on WWE programming, but he broke character to express how he felt about Rhodes being sidelined by The Great One.
#2. Drew McIntyre threatened The Rock indirectly
Drew McIntyre has been one of the workhorses of WWE since his return to the company in 2017.
Despite being a heel on WWE programming and not liking Cody Rhodes, The Scottish Warrior was not happy with The Rock returning to change the booking plans WWE initially had for Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes II.
The former WWE Champion felt like The Great One disrupted the pro wrestling industry, which is why he sent out a tweet in which he threatened to disrupt Hollywood to get payback on the legendary WWE Superstar.
"I might head to Hollywood and disrupt their industry."
McIntyre not being happy with The Rock's return makes sense because The Great One's return could cause The American Nightmare to choose Seth Rollins as his opponent at The Show of Shows.
Rhodes facing Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at The Grandest Stage of Them All would significantly reduce the chances of McIntyre getting a title shot against The Visionary, which he desperately wants.
#1. Seth Rollins stated that WWE does not need The Rock
Seth Rollins is another one of the top stars to be featured on WWE programming weekly, and he has expressed his dislike for part-time wrestlers on multiple occasions.
The World Heavyweight Champion frequently takes shots at Roman Reigns for not being a "real" champion as The Tribal Chief has transformed from a full-time wrestler into a part-time wrestler over the past few years.
While speaking on Good Morning Football, Rollins made it clear that WWE is happy to have The Rock, but the company does not need him and would do well without him.
"Look it up, there's data behind that. Look at the numbers. Who has been on Monday Night RAW in the last ten years more than anybody? It’s me, it’s this guy. I get the credit, not him. So he can come in and take what he wants, he can take his little piece and go back to Hollywood and do his thing because we got this thing — We don’t need you. We love to have you, but we don’t need you, big guy."
The Great One's return has increased the chances of The Visionary defending his title against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania, which is something he said he really wanted.
But it is clear that the World Heavyweight Champion is not happy with part-timers like The Rock coming into WWE.