The Rock, WWE Criticized for Altering Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns Storyline

The Rock may be cooking in the WWE once again … but some fans aren’t super happy about it — ’cause it seems his return has knocked a major storyline off track.

Here’s the deal … last night, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson got into an intense staredown with current Undisputed WWE Universal champ Roman Reigns at the end of ESPN’s WWE SmackDown — an insane moment seemingly setting up a match between the two wrestlers.

Indeed, rumors have been floating around today that they will fight in the next couple of months — maybe at WrestleMania in early April — and the online response … is a bit lukewarm if we’re being totally honest.

Sure, there are diehard Rock supporters who want to see their champ-turned-actor wipe the floor with Reigns … but a lot of people are pointing to recent Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes and asking why it seems his story’s now taking a backseat to The Rock’s.

See, right before The Rock came out for his staredown … CR talked about taking RR’s title from him — a right to challenge Cody earned by winning The Royal Rumble just last week — and then seemingly stepped aside as he introduced The Rock to the crowd as if to indicate DJ’s getting the chance instead of him.

That’s all kinda shocking for fans … ’cause Rhodes has been on the road to Roman for a while now while The Rock only recently hopped back into the ring.

As we previously reported … Dwayne called out Roman Reigns back in early January during a surprise appearance on RAW during which he asked if he should be sitting at the “head of the table.”

So it seems clear The Rock wants the title … and that’s where people are starting to voice their frustration — because it sounds like the WWE’s not really interested in furthering Cody Rhodes’ journey anymore. Basically, they’ve backed a different dawg in the ring, and — based on the X trend — fans just aren’t totally on board.

The major question here … is it fair for fans to voice their frustration with The Rock at all? After all, the guy’s not writing his own storylines as far as we know, and he’s a legend in the sport, so it makes sense the WWE wants to use him.

But, Johnson recently joined the TKO Group board — the governing body of the WWE and UFC — and he now holds “The Rock” trademark … so you could say he’s got a lot more agency than your average WWE superstar.

Plus, Johnson’s got a bit of a rep as someone who gets what they want in Hollywood. When he was working on “Black Adam,” for example, he said he worked his magic to make a standalone film instead of first appearing in “Shazam!” … a departure from the OG plan.