Rock's Writer Blasts Cody; Heyman Reveals 'Tribal Chief' Origins; CM Punk-WWE Update
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.
Gewirtz Takes Shot at Cody Rhodes
The Rock's longtime personal writer and the senior vice president of his Seven Bucks Productions company, Brian Gewirtz, responded to Cody Rhodes' heated promo from Monday night's episode of Raw.
On last week's SmackDown, The Rock performed his signature "Rock Concert," and it featured him taking several shots at Cody and those close to him.
Rhodes responded in kind on Raw, and among his criticisms of The Rock related to his new "Final Boss" moniker.
Cody opined that Gewirtz had come up with the nickname for The Rock, but Gewirtz took to X and denied any involvement. Gewirtz did, however, take credit for The Rock making fun of Cody's dog, Pharaoh:
In recent weeks, The Rock has been releasing lengthy promo videos on social media prior to his SmackDown appearances, and he hasn't shied away from mentioning Rhodes' family.
The Rock has zeroed in on Cody's mom lately, but he also mentioned Pharaoh on several previous occasions, calling him "goofy."
Issues between The Rock and The American Nightmare began at the WrestleMania 40 Kickoff press conference in Las Vegas last month when Rhodes chose Roman Reigns as his WrestleMania opponent after previously making it seem like he was stepping aside in favor of The Rock.
The Rock slapped Rhodes across the face at the press conference, and they have been at odds ever since.
As a result, The Rock and Reigns are teaming up to face Rhodes and Seth Rollins on Night 1 of WrestleMania. If the Final Boss and Tribal Chief win, then Rhodes' undisputed WWE Universal Championship match against Reigns on Night 2 will be fought under Bloodline rules, but if Rhodes and Rollins win, The Bloodline will be barred from getting involved in the title bout.
Heyman Reveals Inspiration Behind Tribal Chief
For the past few years during his dominant run as undisputed WWE universal champion, Roman Reigns has been referring to himself as the Tribal Chief.
Reigns has claimed in promos that he is the Tribal Chief and Head of the Table since he is the champion and provider of his family, and while that may be true, Paul Heyman divulged recently that he and Reigns also drew some inspiration from outside sources for the moniker and character.
Speaking at the BSM Summit (h/t Ishaan Rathi of Ringside News), Heyman revealed that Marlon Brando's character in the movie Apocalypse Now heavily influenced Reigns' current gimmick:
"The character of Roman Reigns as the Tribal Chief is inspired by Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now. When we first started talking about the presentation of the Tribal Chief, I had Roman Reigns watch Apocalypse Now multiple times. To me, that was the heart and soul of the character of the Tribal Chief. A warrior so great that he conquered his own island. We call it the Island of Relevancy. Someone who now, all the natives, which is the WWE Universe, all the fans and performers on the roster, look to for guidance because he's the top star.
"In Apocalypse Now, Brando presented himself as a pseudo-God. We call it a Tribal Chief. ... That's where the villainy of Roman Reigns comes in because he says, 'Acknowledge me,' and once you acknowledge him, he says, 'Someone else I'm responsible for.'"
After returning from a several-month absence in the summer of 2020, Reigns aligned himself with Heyman and began referring to Heyman as his "Wise Man."
That resulted in Reigns turning heel for the first time in his solo career on WWE's main roster, and the greatest success of his career came along with it.
Fans oftentimes pushed back against Reigns being positioned as the face of the company while he was a babyface, but they have been far more accepting since he turned heel and became the Tribal Chief.
Reigns is in the midst of one of the longest and most entertaining world title runs in WWE history, and his status as Tribal Chief is a big reason why.
Punk Says He Will Be Present at WrestleMania 40
CM Punk won't be able to compete at WrestleMania 40 next month due to a torn triceps suffered during the men's Royal Rumble match, but he will be in Philadelphia for the Showcase of the Immortals nonetheless.
As part of a video package hyping Punk appearing on Raw next week in his hometown of Chicago, Punk revealed that he will indeed be at WrestleMania:
It is unclear what Punk's involvement will be with WrestleMania, but it could potentially be announced next week on Raw.
Before his injury, all signs pointed toward Punk facing Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania.
Once Punk was ruled out, Drew McIntyre stepped up, established himself as the top heel on Raw and won an Elimination Chamber match to earn a title bout against Rollins on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
McIntyre also made enemies with Punk by mocking his injury and subsequently attacking him.
As a result, it seems likely that Punk will do something with McIntyre and Rollins on Raw, and he could possibly parlay that into getting involved with their world title match at WrestleMania.
It remains to be seen if WWE would allow him to be physically involved to the point of being a special guest referee, but even if he isn't cleared for that, Punk could perhaps be at ringside and on commentary for the match.
Punk being unable to compete at WrestleMania is a huge disappointment for fans since there was a ton of excitement surrounding his WWE return in November, but he is a multi-talented performer who could still help elevate WrestleMania in a different role than originally anticipated.
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