Cody Rhodes Casts Doubt on The Rock's WWE Return as the 'Soul' Story Stalls

Quick Facts

• Who: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes
• What: Addressed The Rock's unresolved "I want your soul" angle on ESPN's Get Up
• Trigger: Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns bought the 1/1 "He wanted my soul?!" Topps card
• Context: The Rock has not been on WWE TV since Elimination Chamber 2025 (Toronto)
• Status: No confirmed return; storyline officially unresolved

Cody Rhodes does not know whether The Rock still wants his soul, and the way he answered suggests WWE may not have a plan either. That uncertainty is the real story now sitting at the center of the dormant The Rock and Cody Rhodes soul storyline.

Speaking on ESPN's Get Up ahead of WWE Clash in Italy, the Undisputed WWE Champion was asked about New York Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns acquiring his rare Topps card, inscribed "He wanted my soul?!" Rhodes called it a special piece, then said The Rock "appears when he appears." It was a light line about a story that has gone cold.

The angle began at Elimination Chamber 2025, when Rhodes refused The Rock's demand and cursed him out on live television. What followed, an attack involving John Cena and Travis Scott, drew heavy criticism. The Rock has not been seen on WWE programming since.

A storyline frozen in place

That absence matters more than the soul gimmick itself. The Rock now sits on the board of WWE parent company TKO Group Holdings, which complicates any clean return as a regular on-screen villain. A main-event thread was opened and left hanging, and Rhodes' shrug acknowledges it without forcing it.

For a champion carrying the brand, that is an unusual position. Most title runs are built on a defined rival. Rhodes is instead defending against a roster of present challengers while his biggest unfinished business stays offscreen and undated.

What this means next

Nothing here points to an imminent payoff. Rhodes offered no timeline, and there is no announced date for The Rock. Reports last year of a forced heel turn were dismissed by WWE sources, so the likeliest reading is patience, not pivot. If the story returns, it will be on The Rock's schedule, tied to a marquee event rather than weekly television.

For now, the soul remains unclaimed, and that may be the point. WWE has kept the door open without committing to a room. Rhodes seems content to let it stay that way until the company, and The Rock, decide the moment is worth it.