The Rock’s Elimination Chamber Promo Sparks Backstage Heat Over Ad Controversy

The Rock has been shaking things up ever since his return to WWE SmackDown, but now, it looks like some people backstage aren’t thrilled with the way things are playing out.

His latest promo saw The Final Boss declare his intention to mold Cody Rhodes into the champion he sees fit—going as far as saying he wants to take a piece of Rhodes’ soul. That answer is expected to come at Elimination Chamber on March 1st. But while The Rock is commanding all the attention in front of the cameras, there’s a different kind of tension brewing behind the scenes.

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, some within WWE were not happy when Elimination Chamber’s main ad was completely changed—removing everyone else and replacing them with a solo image of The Rock. “There were several people upset internally this week when the main Chamber ad took everyone off the ad and it was replaced with a new ad with only the photo of Dwayne Johnson,” Meltzer reported.

This comes after reports that WWE’s creative team wasn’t even given a heads-up about The Rock’s recent appearances until just hours before he made his return. Now, with Elimination Chamber right around the corner, some are wondering if The Rock’s presence is overshadowing the event’s main focus.