The Rock comments on ‘undeniable’ crowd reaction from WWE SmackDown

The Rock has commented on the live crowd’s response to his segment with Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns on Friday. 

WWE SmackDown this week closed with Rock coming out to confront Reigns and seemingly setting up a WrestleMania 40 main event between the two while Rhodes stepped aside. 

On Sunday, Rock posted to social media about the live crowd’s reaction to the segment. 

Rock wrote on X:

There’s a word for this explosive, insane reaction – undeniable. No matter the era, the decade, or the city, the energy and connection between the People’s Champ and the People can never be broken and is truly an electrifying experience that creates chills every single time. Thank you Birmingham, Alabama, we made magical history in the “magic city”. Thank you WWE and thank you Cody for the love and the house (dream & soulman). Roman, there’s only one head of the table. I’ll see you in Vegas…Uso.

He posted similar comments on Instagram as well.

So f#%king blown away by this insane energy from the People. Undeniable – and one of the loudest ovations I’ve ever experienced in my career. Thank you Birmingham, Alabama, thank you WWE, thank you to the man himself, Cody Rhodes – and most importantly, thank you to the People. Our connection is unbreakable and our bond is ELECTRIC.

~ People’s Champ ps, tough skin, love the passion

He later added on Instagram, “This is gonna be so much fun. Long game. ~ people’s champ.”

Despite the crowd reaction in the building on Friday, there has been a strong negative response to Rock facing Reigns at WrestleMania rather than Rhodes. The response garnered media coverage including from USA Today, TMZ, and Forbes. 

While the segment on SmackDown occurred after the publication of Friday’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, our own Dave Meltzer wrote that Reigns vs. Rock at WrestleMania was something Rock was pushing for. 

Meltzer wrote:

As late as last week, Reigns vs. Rock was not out of play. Rock wanted it and even said so in media interviews. We were told he was heavily pushing for it. But at that point, as late as after the Rumble, the plan was for Reigns vs. Rhodes and to do Reigns vs. Rock at some point in the future.