Bully Ray Explains His Lack Of Surprise At The Rock Being Booed By WWE Fans

In many ways, the road to WWE WrestleMania 40 has been a rocky one, no pun intended. While it long seemed as though Cody Rhodes was destined to challenge Roman Reigns in the main event, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made his reappearance in WWE, becoming an immediate wild card in the main event scene. During a recent edition of "Busted Open Radio," former WWE star Bully Ray was asked if he felt any surprise at the way fans turned on Johnson, and the veteran expressed that he did not.

"Cody's been through so much," Bully said. "Cody is supposed to be the guy and it seems like Rock was just going to waltz in and take his spot. I don't think the people were gonna have it."

Bully admitted that Johnson is a bigger draw in terms of mainstream attention and box office potential, but stated that Rhodes had earned the right to the main event against Reigns. While a battle between The Rock and Reigns is something many fans would be happy to see, Bully doesn't believe this was the right time for the match.

"If there is anybody who has climbed that ladder of success and built a fanbase, brick-by-brick, fan-by-fan, in the WWE lately, it's been Cody," Bully continued. "[Rhodes has] been doing it the old school way and the right way. I am not surprised at all that people turned on The Rock in almost a heartbeat."

Whether or not it was the initial plan all along or a last-minute audible, Rhodes and Reigns are expected to headline WrestleMania 40, just as they did last year. Still, it seems likely that Johnson will remain involved in some fashion, whether that ends up as a tag match with Reigns against Rhodes and Seth Rollins or in some other way.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.