Since returning properly on RAW Day 1 up through his current spot heading into the first SmackDown of March and beyond, there's been one question above all others that has racked the minds of the WWE Universe: what happened between The Rock and Cody Rhodes? How did they go from being not only being friendly but confidants to heated rivals who are now gearing up for a fight at or just WrestleMania 40?

Well fans now have their answer, or at least one side of the story,  as The Rock decided to cut an expansive, 21-minute promo on social media ahead of the promotion's SmackDown stop in Glendale, Arizona, with “The Great One” opting to deliver all of the juicy, dramatic details to his millions of fans on social media.

“Let The Rock drop some gospel on you. Here’s the common sense. When Roman Reigns, years ago, dropped the words, ‘Head of the Table’, those words were specifically and solely set up and created so one day, Roman Reigns, the champion of the WWE, would come face-to-face with his cousin, The Rock, ‘The People’s Champion,’ and together, combined, they will make the biggest WrestleMania of all time,” The Rock explained on social media via Fightful. “The biggest match of all time. The biggest match in the history of professional wrestling. When Roman Reigns said those words, that’s why he said it. Because that is Roman Reigns’ story. That is The Rock’s story. At one time, that was Cody Rhodes’ story. But it was last year. What happened last year at WrestleMania? What's the technical term? [Laughs] Oh, he s**t the bed. That’s what happened.”

After running through his initial path through the WWE Universe, The Rock explained how his initial plans for a Bloodline Main Event were altered by Rhodes winning the 2024 Royal Rumble, which gave him a chance to shoot his shot at the “Showcase of the Immortals.” Still, after talking to Rhodes, The Rock felt as though they had come to an agreement, which may raise a few eyebrows around the IWC.

“What happens? Cody Rhodes, he wins the Royal Rumble. Fair and square, works his a** off, and he wins that Royal Rumble, baby. Yeah. He going to WrestleMania,” The Rock noted. “Yeah, good for him. Good for him. The Rock was happy. But what happened? The Rock called Cody Rhodes, had a conversation, but it was a conversation that a few have had with Cody Rhodes before. Because Cody knew the biggest match of all time was looming… You know, Cody, you got the biggest WrestleMania main event of all time right here. You have an opportunity to bring this business up to places it’s never been before. You can always, with all due respect, finish your story another time.’ You agreed. You agreed. ‘Rock, it stings, but I agree. It stings, but I’m a team player. It stings, but I want what’s best for the business.’ Good man. Good man.”

Whoa, interesting stuff, right? Well wait, it gets better, as Rocky revealed multiple oppertunities for Rhodes to make things right, only for the “American Nightmare” to betray his trust once more.

The Rock reveals how Cody Rhodes kept going rogue on WWE TV.

Fast forwarding a bit into the future, to The Rock's surprise appearance in Birmingham, Alabama after the Royal Rumble, and “The People's Champ” revealed the conversation he had with Cody Rhodes in the ring before his big promo with Roman Reigns, which is certainly interesting to learn, all things considered.

“Birmingham, Alabama. A city we selected because of its rich history, and we knew we were gonna make history. It was to it job, Cody, to introduce The Rock, thus setting up the biggest main event of all time,” The Rock noted. “What’d you do? You did exactly what we agreed on. Brother, you introduced The Rock, and that place went crazy. The Rock came out, and he dapped you up, he pulled you in and gave a big hug. I whispered something in your ear. ‘Let’s put on the biggest WrestleMania of all time. Let’s do it for ‘The American Dream’. Let’s do it for ‘The Soul Man.’ I gave you a hug, you hugged The Rock back. What’d you do, Cody? You walked out of that ring on live TV. You turned back and you looked at The Rock. Instead of looking at The Rock and saying, ‘Yeah, go get him! Let’s make history.’ Instead of that, you gave The Rock a look, and ya the same look you gave the world, like The Rock went out and ran over your goofy-a** dog. That’s the look you gave. Then sometime from that moment on, until Las Vegas, you changed your mind… To all the Cody crybabies and all the goofs out there and the idiots who still complain, Cody, you had a right to change your mind, you won the Royal Rumble. But what The Rock doesn’t accept is how you did it.”

From there, Rock had one more story to share, what happened backstage in Las Vegas before the WrestleMania 40 Kickoff show. While Rhodes very publically used that oppertunity to change up the WrestleMania 40 main event, according to The Rock, they had a conversation backstage where everything seemed cool before the show.

“I saw you in Las Vegas, saw you backstage, 20 feet away, Rock dapped you up, gave you a hug. Did you say anything to The Rock then? ‘Hey, Rock, I got something on my mind. I got something that’s eating me up inside.’ Cody, go ahead, tell me about it. Let’s talk in private. Did you say any of that?” The Rock asked. “No, you didn’t say a thing. But what’d you do? You waited until Roman Reigns walked out there and announced he’s facing The Rock. Then The Rock went out there, showed the entire family tree, proof of the most dominant family in professional wrestling, in entertainment, and in sports, in the world, and accepted Roman Reigns. Accepted the challenge, blood oath, and we were gonna put on the biggest WrestleMania of all time. What’d you do? Then you came out, and you interrupted. You said it was bulls**t. Yeah, it was bulls**t. You can think it’s bulls**t, brother. Not a problem. But you know where you really screwed up? It’s when you talk s**t about my family… I did to you Cody Rhodes in that moment what I would do to you a million times, which is slap the taste right out of your mouth. Then what happened? [Laughs] The Rock embarrassed you in front of the world, boy. Slapped the s**t out of you. You had it coming. Talk s**t about my family again. Said it to you then, I’ll say it again. I’ll say it forever. Talk s**t about my family again, and I’ll do worse than that.”

Alright, so the one major question surrounding The Rock's very interesting promo is the legitimacy of his claims, as “The Great One” isn't exactly a reliable narrator, especially in this hardcore attempt to convince fans that he's a heel. Still, if his words are true, it sounds like Rhodes may be a little less innocent in this situation than some fans may have assumed, which should lead to more interesting interactions in the future.