Cody Rhodes almost went a completely different direction during his 2025 feud with The Rock, when The Final Boss demanded the then-Undisputed WWE Champion hand over his soul.
Speaking with Simone Johnson (the former NXT General Manager known as Ava) on a recent episode of his What Do You Wanna Talk About? podcast, Rhodes said he considered accepting the offer, but with a major change. Instead of handing his soul to The Rock, he would have given it to The Rock’s daughter.
Under the plan, Rhodes would have stopped speaking entirely, with Ava acting as his mouthpiece in WWE. He said only Johnson and two friends who work in WWE creative ever heard the pitch. The Rock himself was never told.
“My soul goes to you and we would’ve wreaked havoc. Sold out every night. That was our idea. It never happened,” Rhodes said.
The storyline kicked off on the February 21, 2025 episode of SmackDown, when The Rock asked Rhodes to become his champion. Rhodes gave his answer at Elimination Chamber on March 1, turning The Final Boss down. John Cena appeared moments later as The Rock’s ally, launching a vicious attack on Rhodes.
Cena went on to beat Rhodes at WrestleMania 41, capturing his record 17th world championship. Rhodes won the Undisputed WWE Championship back at SummerSlam later that year.
Johnson left WWE on January 30, 2026, after choosing not to renew her contract. She had served as NXT General Manager since January 2024 and is now a junior executive at Seven Bucks Productions.
The plan never got off the ground, but Rhodes hasn’t ruled out revisiting the idea down the road.