Cody Rhodes Talks The Rock and Heel Turn; WWE Rumors on SuperBrawl and MVP Contract

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Cody Rhodes Talks The Rock's Return

The biggest story in WWE so far this year was the return of The Rock and how it impacted plans for both nights of WrestleMania 40.

Cody Rhodes, who was a key figure in that angle, recently spoke on The Pivot Podcast (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News) and talked about some of the frustration he felt about potentially being asked to step aside for The Great One to get the main-event spot against Roman Reigns:

"Where we would butt heads is in the idea that you could just come back in the midst of a story that was taking place, and just because you're The Rock, you can step into the starting lineup and take WrestleMania for yourself. A lot of people said, 'He's The Rock. He can do whatever he wants.' I even saw a podcast with two wrestling heads talking, and they said, 'I'm sure Cody is fine stepping aside for WrestleMania and doing it later in the year.' In my mind, I'm thinking, 'That's insane.'

"That's the Super Bowl of what we do. To get to Sunday, the last day of WrestleMania, the last match, it's our literal Super Bowl. The idea that somebody thought I would be cool with it. They don't know me. That's nonsense. I worked my whole life for this. Rock should know I wouldn't be cool with it. Maybe that's an understanding that him and I have. He found out, I'm not cool with it. That's a good thing. You know who wasn't cool with The Rock? Steve Austin. They made magic together. They rubbed together so much it created diamonds. I do have a lot of respect for him."

It was obvious early on that the objective of The Rock returning to WWE in January was to set up a match with Reigns for WrestleMania.

After Rhodes won the Royal Rumble and fans started turning on the idea of Rock taking his spot, especially since WWE had been building the story of the American Nightmare finishing the story for the past year, something had to change.

It's to the credit of everyone involved that WWE did pivot by aligning Rock with Reigns and the Bloodline, giving Rhodes the moment he earned. It also worked out great in the long-term because instead of potentially just one match for the Brahma Bull, WWE could a total of three WrestleMania matches from him.

Rhodes and Rock have already teased doing a singles bout after the Final Boss pinned the undisputed WWE champion in the main event of WrestleMania night one. The match between Rock and Reigns is also still floating out there.

Rhodes Addresses Potential Heel Turn

In the same interview on The Pivot Podcast, Rhodes also talked about the possibility of eventually turning heel and what that might mean.

There does come a point when the top babyface runs the risk of alienating at least some portion of the audience, for whatever reason. John Cena spent years being booed by a vocal group of WWE fans, but he and the promotion resisted the urge to turn him heel.

Cena recently admitted in an interview on Insight with Chris Van Vliet (h/t Nick Miller of Wrestling Inc.) there was a plan for him to turn heel in 2011 when he was feuding with The Rock:

"I got word that they were gonna do it. I went out and recorded a new song. I went out and got all new gear. ... I was ready to go and already thinking about what I can do with the story. What is a heel? A heel is not just new gear. ... The message behind the singlet and the boxing robes and the boots is it's the exact opposite of what you saw with the street gear."

The plan was aborted, according to Cena, because the company was concerned about what it would mean financially since heels don't sell as much merchandise as babyfaces.

There is no reason to think about turning Rhodes at this point. He's the biggest star in WWE right now, and he moves merchandise like few other people in the industry can.

It wouldn't be a surprise if there comes a point when Rhodes turns heel, but fans shouldn't expect it to happen for a long time.

Rumors on WWE Trademark Filing, MVP's Contract Status

WWE has taken advantage of some iconic WCW events, including WarGames, Great American Bash and Halloween Havoc.

The company could add another former WCW pay-per-view to that list.

Per Subhojeet Mukherjee of Ringside News, WWE filed to trademark SuperBrawl for broadcast media.

This would seem to indicate WWE plans to use the name for an upcoming event. It wouldn't be a surprise if SuperBrawl gets used for an NXT special event, since the developmental brand has been using Great American Bash and Halloween Havoc since 2020.

SuperBrawl was one of WCW's signature events from 1991 to 2001. The 2001 show was the penultimate pay-per-view in WCW history before the company was sold to WWE.

Another rumor from WWE involves MVP's status. The former manager of the Hurt Business is still under contract to the company, per Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select (h/t Jenkins).

Since MVP is currently managing Omos, whose only television matches this year were the Royal Rumble and Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the April 5 episode of SmackDown, there hasn't been an opportunity to get the former United States champ on TV.

MVP's in-ring career might be over at this point. His last match was nearly two years ago to the date in a tag bout with Omos against Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford on Raw on July 18, 2022.

Given how deep WWE's roster is at this point and how packed both Raw and SmackDown are each week, it's going to be hard to find time to get all of the people under contract time on television.

If there is a good creative idea for MVP and/or Omos, he will likely be back on the red brand when that happens.

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