The Rock's Best Choices For Corporate Champion

The Rock said he wants Cody Rhodes’ soul, but it sounds like he’s looking for a “Corporate” Champion to join his ranks.

The Final Boss told Rhodes that he wants an answer at Elimination Chamber: Toronto. The Rock had an interesting proposition for Cody Rhodes on the February 21 episode of WWE SmackDown, and his words seemed to have shaken the American Nightmare to the core. The segment at Elimination Chamber will be interesting.

Speaking of Elimination Chamber, the PLE card at the time of this writing features Cody Rhodes and The Rock’s segment, and the following matches:

Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens – Unsanctioned Match
Trish Stratus & Tiffany Stratton vs. Nia Jax & Candice LeRae
Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley vs. Bianca Belair vs. Naomi vs. Roxanne Perez – Women’s Elimination Chamber Match
CM Punk vs. Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre vs. John Cena vs. Logan Paul vs. Seth Rollins – Men’s Elimination Chamber Match

Now that we’ve got the Elimination Chamber 2025 match card out of the way, it’s time to predict the five best possible choices for The Rock’s Corporate Champion. Rhodes might accept the offer, but it seems unlikely (at least right now).

We’ve still kept Rhodes in the mix (in case he does accept) and make a case for the four other men who would be great choices to join The Final Boss at the top of WWE.

Randy Orton

Randy Orton is the only non-champion WWE superstar on this list who isn’t part of the 2025 Men’s Elimination Chamber line-up. The Viper has been out of action since November 2024. It seems the piledriver did more damage to him than Sami Zayn, who’ll be in action this Saturday in his home country of Canada.

Orton is at a stage in his career where WWE probably won’t turn him heel. Fans love him. However, an exception can always be made. Orton has been eyeing his 15th world title since he returned to WWE at Survivor Series: WarGames 2023. He isn’t getting a shot at the world title anytime soon unless a certain fellow third generation superstar makes it happen.

Fans still remember World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton under Triple H. Undisputed WWE Champion Randy Orton has a ring to it. Now, only if this word somehow gets to The Rock and he pits Orton against Rhodes because this writer knows Cody isn’t selling his soul – not at least on this Saturday in Toronto.

John Cena as Corporate Champion will be a mega heel

The pandemic gave us nWo Cena but that was just a tease. Cena never fully turned heel, even though there were plans for him to work the gimmick during his feud with the man who now sits on the TKO Board. And if you are chronically online like this writer, you know the internet is hoping for John Cena heel turn under The Rock.

John Cena inserted himself in the Chamber match. Yes, he has earned the right to call his shots, but what if that doesn’t stop in Toronto. What if Cena fails to win the high-stakes match-up? Would he still talk his way into the world title picture? Truth be told, this writer won’t mind seeing John Cena turn heel to win his 17th world title.

Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins was the crown jewel of The Authority back in 2014. Triple H handpicked him to betray The Shield. Rollins would spend the following months as Hunter’s lapdog before hitting arguably the greatest Money in the Bank cash-in in WWE history. His first world title run would’ve been far more compelling if it wasn’t for the injury.

Fast forward to 2025 and Rollins is warning Cody Rhodes against making the mistakes Seth did. That doesn’t sound like the guy who stabbed his brothers in the back some 11 years ago. But can Rollins resist the opportunity of being The Rock’s Corporate Champion if given the opportunity to take the title off of Cody Rhodes?

The Rock wants Cody Rhodes to be his Corporate Champion

Cody Rhodes is getting closer and closer to losing his sanity. The writing is on the wall for the American Nightmare to give in to the pressure. Rhodes has spent the past few months losing friends and making new enemies. Everyone wants the title when you’re the champion; it’s just the nature of this business.

The WWE Universe is dying to experience a “Homelander” version of Cody Rhodes. But it wouldn’t be fair to witness the turn without watching Rhodes heel work in the indies. YouTube has this great commentary on Cody Rhodes’ ROH run, which this writer strongly recommends. They say a young MJF was taking notes watching his then future mentor in ROH.

This writer doesn’t see Cody Rhodes accepting The Rock’s offer at Elimination Chamber. That said, ideally, Rhodes would still sell his soul to the Final Boss – planting the seeds for a massive storyline between Rock and Roman Reigns. The idea of Cody Rhodes as The Rock’s Corporate Champion looks intriguing on paper, to say the least.

Drew McIntyre

Let’s cut straight to the chase. Drew McIntyre would be the perfect Corporate Champion. McIntyre has lived through the pressure that comes with being the “Chosen One.” He helped carry WWE through the pandemic. His heel turn gave fans a truly memorable feud with CM Punk, and he’s had The Rock’s support since day one.

In fact, it was The Final Boss who broke McIntyre’s WWE re-signing news to the internet. Drew said he asked Rocky for a “little favor” backstage at RAW’s Netflix premiere. McIntyre’s favor from The Rock would see him get a world title shot, assuming he fails to win the upcoming Men’s Elimination Chamber in Toronto.

Here’s how this writer would book Drew McIntyre’s road to becoming the Corporate Champion. John Cena wins the Elimination Chamber. He beats Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania. The Rock inserts McIntyre into the title picture. Drew wins the title in a triple threat also featuring Rhodes and Cena at SummerSlam 2025. However, knowing how Drew won (and lost) the title at WrestleMania 40, he might not want to wait that long. It might be an interesting storyline wrinkle to see Drew get what he wants at WrestleMania and leave with the title this year, thanks to The Rock’s help.

WrestleZone will have full coverage of Elimination Chamber: Toronto as it airs.