Should Cody Rhodes Lose the Undisputed WWE Championship Before He Faces The Rock?

It’s exhausting out here and, yes, it is definitely the time to be aware, determined, and vigilant about our crumbling world, but jeeezzus freakin’ cracker do I need some bread and circus. And there’s nothing more carbs and carnival these days than wrestling, so let’s dive into it.

I raised this question last week but I wanted to get a lay of the IGN reader landscape right now. We’ve got Cody Rhodes vs. The Rock on the horizon. The best bet is WrestleMania 41 (the actual 40th Anniversary of ‘Mania). So does Cody hold the WWE Undisputed Championship until then? Like, is that a given? After years of Roman Reigns being guaranteed a safe title ride between ‘Manias, are we back at it again?

That’s not to say Cody couldn’t lose the belt and then win it back before ‘Mania. That used to happen all the time. But now, with The Rock looming, would that diminish Cody somehow? Make him less of a champ if he dropped it briefly?

Also, is there a world where The Rock’s physical People’s Championship comes into play? Would it work if Cody wasn’t champ come ‘Mania time and the two battled over that particular prize? The one, perhaps, The Rock values more? It would spread the world title wealth while still providing the marquee Sunday Main Event.

Cody making sure Solo doesn't see his surprise birthday bash.

So what say you? Sound off. I’ve got two polls here, and niether of them contain a Coal Miner's Glove. Or Dominik Mysterio's custody papers. Feel free to poke them both even if you answer “big fat no” on the first one.

Don't worry, I’m not going to go into all the latest happenings with Liv Morgan or Uncle Howdy, my two recurring WWE obsessions this summer – despite Liv actually blundering things for Daddy Dom this week and Bo Dallas giving his maybe final (?) Howdy interview (they seemed to merge at the end) – but I will piggyback off the Bo stuff and bring up Jeff Jarrett now since Dynamite was pretty locked in this week.

Wow. Jeff just f***kn’ lost in Round 1 of the Owen Hart Cup, didn’t he? That was unexpected given the heartfelt promos he did regarding Owen Hart and their bond. Jeff’s video dropped the same week as the first of the Howdy Bo-mos, making for a pretty heart-wrenching week involving people remembering and mourning those they’ve, and we’ve, lost in the industry.

And Jarrett's words seemed to be teeing him up for, in the very least, two wins in the tourney and a match against Daniel Bryan in the finals. And the brackets seemed to be setting him up for a semifinal bout with Jay White. But nope! J-A-Double R-E-Double T was over and done with right out of the gate when Adam Page returned (with new subpar heel music) and brutalized him.

Do we think Jarrett’s just out of this now for real? And now Page will take down Lethal with the same relative brooding ease? Like, there’s no “wild card” spot Jeff could take to hop back in? I appreciate the coldness of this. That was way harsh, Tai.

This week's Dynamite also got me immediately interested in the MJF/Daniel Garcia match at All In. I’m glad they didn’t drag out Maxwell’s heel turn any long and just sort of skipped to the good part since he’s felt like a somewhat middling presence since his return. Also it gives me hope that they’ll finally pull the push trigger on Garcia, even though he’s not “the guy” in my mind. He’s fine but I think I’d just be happy if they let someone escape the A-E-Dub shuffle from which too many folks find themselves lost inside. So regardless, I’m in.

All In? Who can say?

Despite being advertised at one point for mid-April, the WrestleMania XL: Behind the Curtain doc finally set sail this week, complete with an intro that includes a voice over saying “few roads we travel in life are straight, the journey lies in how we navigate the turn and forge the paths before us.” I haven’t watched it all yet but I’m amused that it begins with the messaging of a story of, like, a guy who climbed Mount Everest with no feet. Not a wrestling promotion pivoting from Rock vs. Roman Reigns because no one wanted it.

Now, with this doc finally out, there’s some online chatter -- which is absolutely the worst chatter to ever chatter -- about whether it was right or not for Cody to “go into business for himself.” I guess completely ignoring the fact that just Rocky being back was all about himself and his new board seat and stock payouts and whatnot. But, it does set me up for ONE MORE POLL.

When Cody and Rock square off again, should it be the same as it is now? With Cody as the babyface vs. Hollywood Rock? Or should Cody be heel at that point? And then The Rock comes back as an earnest favorite?

Like Third Eye Blind once asked, “How's it going to be?“