Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s savage and expletive ridden beatdown of Cody Rhodes on Raw this week has left wrestling fans on social media stunned.

Johnson appeared unannounced at Monday’s live broadcast of Monday Night Raw as the company’s road to WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia next month continues.

Just as Rhodes was talking about defeating the ‘Final Boss’ The Rock arrived unannouncedCredit: WWE

He’ll be in action on night one of the two-night spectacular as he teams with WWE Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns to battle Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a tag team match.

While not confirmed – that tag bout carries stipulations pertaining to the next night’s main event featuring Rhodes and Reigns – it’s almost certain that Johnson will feature on night two as well.

With such a high-profile event looming, it’s perhaps no surprise that Johnson has pulled out all the stops to make his latest WWE run meaningful.

That included the seemingly impromptu stop on the penultimate Raw before ‘Mania’, where Johnson confronted Rhodes in the ring before later returning to carry out a sinister attack.

After the night’s main event between Jey Uso and Shinsuke Nakamura, Rhodes, Rollins and Brit Drew McIntyre all ended up amongst those brawling backstage.

It was at that point that Rock appeared once again to pick off Rhodes in what was the broadcast’s final segment.

In a decidedly dark twist to the generally entertaining nature of his appearances over the last few weeks, the Hollywood star berated not only the fans at the arena, but also Rhodes and his mother.

“Upset that The Rock wasn’t saying anything!?” he barked towards the camera, referring to the fans who’d booed his earlier appearance after the veteran merely whispered words to Rhodes before promptly leaving.

The Rock turned heel as he abused the crowdCredit: WWE

He then took Rhodes outside and humiliated himCredit: WWE

“The Rock’s got your attention now, doesn’t he? You pieces of s***!”

Rhodes, having been dragged through the backstage area, was then beaten further outside the arena, being thrown into the side of his own truck.

The Moana star then crouched down to a bloodied Rhodes, taunting his foe’s mother having wiped Rhodes blood onto his trademark weight belt.

It made for a chilling end to Raw and represented a significant departure in The Rock’s character, even allowing for his turning heel – the wrestling term for a bad guy on screen.

The Rock brought Rhodes’ parents into thingsCredit: WWE

Nevertheless, the segment certainly hit its mark with fans looking forward to next month’s WrestleMania.

One posted on X: “This was maybe one of the best beatdowns in a long time if not ever”

Another added: “The rock dropping bombs, Cody blades, greatest ending to an episode raw in quite a while.”

A  third weighed in: “I love his villainous character right now. Best Heel work he’s ever done. I’m still cheering for Cody though but man is The Rock making this interesting.”

Rhodes was left in blood with The Rock’s spit next to himCredit: WWE

Johnson will again appear on WWE Raw next week as the company airs its red brand show for the final time ahead of WrestleMania.

In addition to night one’s titanic tag team main event, the weekend also sees McIntyre challenge Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight championship.

Brits can tune in to WrestleMania via WWE Network or  TNT Sports Box Office.