Rhodes Family Blasts The Rock; WWE Rumors on Carmelo, Trick Williams, WrestleMania 41

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

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Dustin, Brandi Rhodes Comment on The Rock Attacking Cody

After The Rock viciously attacked Cody Rhodes to close Monday night's episode of Raw, two of Cody's closest family members commented on the segment.

Cody's older brother, AEW star and pro wrestling legend Dustin Rhodes, wrote the following on X in reference to what happened on Raw:

Cody's wife, Brandi Rhodes, also took to X to give her thoughts on what The American Nightmare must do to avoid a similar fate at WrestleMania 40:

Rhodes opened Raw on Monday with a passionate promo, but he was interrupted by The Rock, who was not previously advertised to appear.

The Rock did not say anything on the mic, but he did whisper in Cody's ear. It isn't 100 percent clear what The Rock said, but it seems he may have told Cody that he was going to make him bleed.

During the Raw main event between Jey Uso and Shinsuke Nakamura, Bloodline members Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa came to ringside only for Rhodes and Seth Rollins to cut them off and attack them.

Cody's portion of the brawl spilled over into the backstage area, and The Rock came from out of nowhere to take the fight to him, hitting him with trash cans and throwing him outside the building.

In the pouring rain, The Rock attacked and talked trash to Rhodes, throwing him into the side of his tour bus multiple times.

Raw went off the air with Cody covered in blood while The Rock reveled in what he did to his cousin Roman Reigns' WrestleMania 40 opponent.

It was among the most dramatic and entertaining segments in all of pro wrestling in recent memory, and it went a long way toward getting fans even more excited for WrestleMania 40, which will emanate from Philadelphia on April 6 and 7.

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Reported WWE Main Roster Plans for Hayes, Williams

WWE is reportedly already thinking about the next steps for Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams following their grudge match at NXT Stand & Deliver next month.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), Hayes was earmarked as a main roster call-up since before the Royal Rumble, and he is expected to e a full-time main roster member by the summer.

As for Williams, WWE higher-ups reportedly took notice of the reaction he received during a surprise appearance on a SmackDown earlier this year, and while there has been talk of Hayes and Williams continuing to feud on the main roster, it isn't yet clear what Williams will do coming out of Stand & Deliver.

Additionally, there has reportedly been a push from WWE decision-makers for Hayes vs. Williams to be the main event match at Stand & Deliver.

There is no championship involved, but Hayes vs. Williams undoubtedly has the most intriguing and engaging story surrounding it, so it would be tough for any other match on the card to top it.

Although Ilja Dragunov vs. Tony D'Angelo for the NXT Championship could possibly headline, that feud only recently began, so it doesn't come close to having the same amount of heat as Melo vs. Trick.

There is precedent to NXT having a blood feud between former best friends supersede a title match, as Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa was the main event of NXT TakeOver: New Orleans during WrestleMania weekend six years ago.

Hayes and Williams have earned that spot, and it is tough to envision them going on before the main event given how invested fans are in their rivalry.

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Minneapolis Reportedly Expects to Host WrestleMania 41

A city that has never hosted a WrestleMania is reportedly a strong front-runner to be the home of WrestleMania 41.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), Minneapolis is "working on the assumption" it will host WrestleMania 41, and organizers are hopeful it will be made official in the coming weeks.

Earlier this month, Minnesota Sports and Events CEO Wendy Williams Blackshaw strongly suggested that Minneapolis would be the host city of WrestleMania 41.

Per Nick Halter of Axios, Williams Blackshaw teased Minneapolis hosting a major event in 2025 and said it would "provide an economic impact second to only the Super Bowl."

Minneapolis has never hosted WrestleMania, perhaps due in large part to the fact that it is in a cold-weather climate, but WWE hasn't exactly shied away from them in recent years.

WrestleMania 35 was held outdoors in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and next month's WrestleMania 40 will emanate from Philadelphia.

While Minneapolis could potentially be quite cold in the month of April, the Minnesota Vikings play indoors at U.S. Bank Stadium, which would almost certainly be the venue for WrestleMania.

U.S. Bank Stadium is a state-of-the-art facility, and WWE has shown an affinity for holding big events at NFL stadiums when they are still relatively new.

WWE has not had a show at U.S. Bank Stadium since it opened in 2016, but WrestleMania 41 would be the ideal way to debut.

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