The Rock Won’t Stop Making Fun Of Cody Rhodes’ ‘Goofy Ass Dog’

The Rock has gone full heel in his return to WWE, and very little has been off limits in his tirades. He called the crowd in Salt Lake City “trailer trash.” He called the crowd in Arizona “methhead Marys.” He’s repeatedly called Seth Freakin’ Rollins a “walking clown emoji” and has torn into Cody Rhodes about everything from his lack of starpower to how much older his brother is. For the most part, fans have loved watching Dwayne Johnson bring back his inner-villain, but there’s been one subject that’s proven a bit more divisive: Cody Rhodes’ dog Pharaoh.

Rhodes is sometimes seen with his Pharaoh in shots of him arriving at the arena. He’s spoken in interviews about how much love he has for the White Siberian Husky, but let the record show The Rock does not have the same affinity. The People’s Champion has shown no mercy on the “goofy ass dog” to the point where Rhodes got sick of all the insults and dropped an aside in a recent promo telling Johnson to never talk about his dog again.

Of course, that hasn’t stopped The Rock, who has only gotten more aggressive in his insults. In fact, he dropped a video a few days ago that really turned up the heat. Check out these quotes about poor Pharaoh…

Thankfully, Cody hasn’t been the only one to jump to the defense of the good boy. Fans have been creating all kinds of fun memes supporting Pharaoh, and WWE even created a graphic for him as if he was in the WWE2K24. The American Nightmare’s wife Brandi Rhodes has also gotten in on action. She’s been tweeting out fun pictures of the dog, and after The Rock’s most recent insults she responded with this Dave Chappelle gif…

Of course, all of this back and forth is part of the build to the upcoming tag team match at WrestleMania. The Rock is partnering with his cousin Roman Reigns to take on Cody Rhodes and Seth Freakin’ Rollins in what’s turning into one of the most anticipated matches in ‘Mania history. Fans were initially skeptical when The Rock first returned, but thanks to the combined starpower and some great promo work from all the men involved, it has turned into the hottest storyline wrestling has given fans in years. 

For those of you who might be out of the loop: here’s a quick backstory. The Rock, who hasn’t been a regular part of WWE programming in more than a decade, has returned and now holds a real life seat on the Board Of Directors of WWE’s parent company. Cody Rhodes has been trying to “finish his story” and win the WWE Championship for his late father Dusty Rhodes, a beloved wrestler who came close many times but never won. After The Rock returned, he sorta asked, sorta told Cody to step aside so he could wrestle his cousin Roman Reigns, as that would be the biggest match for WWE’s investors. Cody waffled and eventually said no, setting up this tag team match for WrestleMania Night 1 and a match between Cody and Roman Reigns on WrestleMania Night 2. 

At this point, it’s unclear whether we’ll get an appearance from Pharaoh at ‘Mania, but given his surge in popularity, it would be a fun surprise to see him there. You can check out a picture of him in all his glory below via a picture Brandi recently tweeted out…

I can't speak for all professional wrestling fans, but personally, this is exactly the sorta thing I love about WWE. You build a feud off whatever you have available and whatever the fans are responding to. If you take a shot at someone's dog and it causes fans to be outraged, well, then you just need to lean in and hit that poor Husky harder. 

The Rock's return has been a great reminder of how much he really gets the business and understands what it means to play a role. Right now, that role is as a villain, but I'm sure at some point in the future, it'll be as a hero again too, at least if he can stop insulting people's dogs by then.