8-time WWE Champion would have buried Cody Rhodes on SmackDown, says veteran; if he were in John Cena's place (Exclusive)

Cody Rhodes had a rough start to his promo on SmackDown as the Undisputed WWE Champion's first words were treated to boos from the crowd. While The American Nightmare managed to turn the situation around, wrestling veteran Vince Russo believes that John Cena deserves a lot of credit for that, adding how the segment would have gone differently with The Rock.

Cody Rhodes and John Cena once again indulged in a war of words on SmackDown ahead of their championship match at WrestleMania. While Rhodes is a face heading into the match, he was initially booed by the crowd. However, the former AEW EVP managed to turn the boos into cheers.

Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's BroDown, Vince Russo stated that John Cena did everything in his power to help Cody Rhodes get love from the live crowd. The former WWE writer added that if The Rock were in Cena's place, he would have let the crowd bury The American Nightmare.

"Cena went all out, and he cut a hell of a promo. It was a good promo. And then when Cody started talking, they were booing him out of the building. I tell you, here’s why Cena is a pro: Cena was doing everything in his power to get the people behind Cody. If this were The Rock, Rock would have let them bury Cody. But Cena was trying to do everything he could to get the people back for Cody." [From 50:34 onwards]

The Rock has not shown up on WWE programming since John Cena's shocking heel turn at Elimination Chamber. However, he could get involved in Cody Rhodes' match at WrestleMania 41.

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