[9.0] "Exactly what the Fed needed to pivot away from the poor reception the "but not at WrestleMania" promo received and start rebuilding that Mania main event hype all over again. Great work from pretty much everyone involved (though I found Seth's involvement a little unnecessary, hence why this isn't a 10/10 for me). Particularly loved The Rock in full Final Boss mode, being able to adapt his persona on a dime, and Cody fighting back and cutting a great babyface promo with more edge than his television appearances allow for."
[9.0] "Liked this segment a lot. It fixed the mistake WWE made by not having Cody challenge Roman before. Rock played his role incredibly well knowing that it had changed from the original plan."
[6.0] "Was it a well-presented promo segment? Yes, it was. But I am not going to give WWE a whole bunch of flowers for cleaning the metaphorical floor when they were the ones to shit all over it in the first place. As other people are saying, this was WWE saving itself from its own excesses, so why are we putting it in the echelon of the likes of the Sacramento concert or Cane Dewey? Because, yes, we can't talk about the Kickoff event without the context of the week prior, where Cody made himself out to be the world's biggest idiot by surrendering his rightful title shot to the Rock only to change his mind six days later at the Kickoff. The Rock inserting himself into the Bloodline story was, apart from one segment thirteen days before Mania, completely surplus to requirements, and this promo wasn't him turning heel to tell a better story, it was him turning heel because the alternative was go-away heat that could've caused another Starrcade '97 debacle. If you're generous, this promo represents good damage control more than anything, and a welcome course correction to whatever steaming turd the shambling zombie of the Bloodline storyline had left in the middle of the ring the Friday before. If you're cynical, this promo represents WWE's top brass flailing to create any distraction it can to make sure you don't notice the fact the company is being sued for its role in the sex trafficking scandal. Either way, the context leaves a sour taste in your mouth, and you can't wash it all away with just a good promo no matter how hard you try."
[10.0] "THIS was it. This reversed Cody being a cuck and an absolute idiot by giving his hard earned spot to The Rock, as well as built for both main events at the same time. Roman took shots at Cody by calling his dad irrelevant while Cody called members of his Bloodline lackeys and yes men. The MVP of this entire segment however was Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He saw how visibly the people were not happy with what was given to them, caused the WWE to pivot from their original plans due to the #WeWantCody movement, and decided to turn heel by siding with The Bloodline and slapping Cody Rhodes. Soon after slapping Cody, Seth Rollins, who was the least active member in this entire segment, buried all his dislike of Cody due to the presence of an even bigger threat being Rock and Roman, the first ever instance where he acted as Cody's shield."
[10.0] "The segment that saved WWE from itself. Cody Rhodes had won the Royal Rumble again, he was set to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania for another shot at the title, then The Rock shows up and stole that opportunity. Nobody wanted that and thankfully WWE was smart enough to lean into the anger, changing their own plans to craft what would turn out to be one of the best storylines in a very long time. The Rock showing off the family tree and going into detail why he should be the one to face Roman out of respect for their bond was a great way to set up what would happen next. Cody saying that Roman's and Rock's grandfathers would be ashamed of Roman for what he's doing was the last straw for Rock. The Rock slapping Cody and the ensuing chaos was so well done. Instantly the battle lines were drawn and sides were taken. The Rock's run as The Final Boss from here was incredible, it helped carry a fantastic build and payoff to WrestleMania XL. 10/10"
[8.0] "Only three things that make me not give this a 10 is Seth Rollins role in this story before he revealed on RAW why he wanted to fight The Bloodline. It was so forced and the only reason behind it was just making the Tag match to make this story look bigger; the fact this didn't hit me as much as other promos like the "Ucey" one, the trial of Sami Zayn or the Punk/Rollins/McIntyre tirade; and how Cody Rhodes, all of a sudden, changes his mind (actually, for the better, but everything they did with him prior to this event made him the dumbest guy in the world). Anything else was just perfect. The Rock's heel work as The Final Boss as been superb. The way he reads the room and adapts to the situation with so much ease is indescribable. He made the entire segment mean something, while Seth and Roman were mere supporters and Cody entered to take the spotlight as the hero and bring out the hyprocrisy of Dwayne."
[10.0] "The start of the big story of Mania 40, never think a Press Conference would interest me, but it's real feeling, the presentation, the stars, and to show their willing to give the fans what they want puts this a perfect ten. Having Rock turned heel when he was such a boring babyface creating the greatest babyface of this gen with Cody, it's so fascinating to turn a bad decision to a king maker. Feeling like it's real with the intensity, the extras with the GMs and HHH, the unhinge anger and Cody winning the main audience is just incredible. Seth, Cody, Rock, and Roman did their role, and this help turn Wrestlemania 40 to one of the best Manias of all time. Incredible pivot and incredible emotion, made an incredible experience."
[10.0] "I consider it easily one of the best/most important segments of 2024. Not only it saved us from Rock vs. Roman singles match and from having to wait another year for Cody to finish his story, it also gave us "The Final Boss" version of The Rock and a shocking moment of him slapping Rhodes. I'm glad WWE managed to address media's reaction and decided to pivot - that way it turned from potentially unwatchable feud between two cousins (with Rock being a babyface) to a rivalry with insane dynamics, like Rock ruling everything and abusing his power, Cody forming an alliance with a former opponent in Seth, Roman getting more paranoid because of Rock taking the spotlight from him, etc. This is a must-watch segment for any WWE viewer/fan."
[10.0] "This was one of the most awaited segments ever. What happened in this segment determined whether WWE would abandon their 2 year story due to the Rock or continue it. The slap at the end lead to what was an incredible 2 months of Cody/Rollins v Rock and Roman."
[10.0] "The hype around this particular segment was astronomical. This was the deciding factor of wether WWE would fuck up a 2 year storyline or listen to all the backlash worldwide and reverse their decision. We all tuned in for that one decision, but did things take a massive fucking turn. Literally after so many years, I said a "HOLY FUCK" out loud when that slap happened. People may say that The Rock ain't a versatile actor, but goddamn did he raise the tension in the fucking room with his visible anger. A very strong start to one of the biggest storylines, and probably one of the best payoffs in professional wrestling. This was the promo where we got the first glimpse of the Final Boss, and started the whole Cody/Rock saga. Never did I think that I'd be so intrigued by a press conference but they did an awesome fucking job."
