“I’m Going to Hit You Back”: Cody Rhodes Challenges Dwayne Johnson After “Cry Babies” Jab at WrestleMania 40 Kickoff

WWE’s WrestleMania kickoff went crazy, with the Rock slapping Cody Rhodes in the face in a savage on-stage confrontation. When Rhodes said that Roman Reigns and Rock’s grandparents would be embarrassed to see what they had become, the People’s Champion lost his mind and slapped Rhodes.

And now, Cody Rhodes has come forward to address the incident on tonight’s edition of RAW, and he has vengeance in his mind as he challenges the Rock.

Cody Rhodes to defend the “Cry Babies”

In his promo tonight, Cody Rhodes highlighted a clip of the Brahma Bull calling fans of the American Nightmare crybabies for showing their support towards Rhodes. He further shed light on what he thinks of the infamous slap, saying he never disrespected the ancestors of the legend. And it was then that the American Nightmare challenged the Rock. However, he received a slap in the face for it. Cody made it clear that he would strike back.

However, what he is most focused on is his match against Roman Reigns. Rhodes claimed that it was the only way for him to pay back his fans for their constant support and the #WeWantCody movement through which he got the opportunity to face Reigns.

But how did the slap happen in the first place? What caused such a reaction from a usually fun guy like Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson? For all those who skipped the WrestleMania kickoff. Here’s what happened.

The infamous slap

The incident took place in Las Vegas on Thursday, where Roman Reigns addressed the crowd and announced that he would face Dwayne Johnson in Philadelphia, stating that it was his decision and that there was nothing the American Nightmare could do about it. At that moment, The Rock took the microphone and stated that no matter what fans think, they will have to respect the matchup, as The Rock and Roman come from The Bloodline, the Samoan families with the richest history in wrestling. Basically, acknowledge it.

Watch This Story: 5 Deserving WWE Stars Who Never Main Evented WrestleMania

And just like that, everything seemed to be set in stone as they shook hands, but Cody Rhodes disagreed. He went on stage and called the whole thing “bulls***” as he won the Royal Rumble and earned the right to get in the ring with ‘The Tribal Chief’.

And then the feud went personal. The two exchanged nasty insults about each other’s families and when Cody told them that Roman and Rock’s grandparents would be embarrassed to see what they had become, the People’s Champion lost his mind and slapped Rhodes in the face.

Read More: WWE Raw 2/12: Cody Rhodes’ Instruction to Seth Rollins During Crowd Reaction Leaked in Fan Footage