The Rock brutally booed by fans just week into WWE return as crowd turn on legend ahead of WrestleMania 40

DWAYNE ‘THE ROCK’ JOHNSON received loud boos during a WWE live event ahead of his wrestling return at WrestleMania 40.

The Rock seems set for a dream match against his cousin and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania on April 7 at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was booed during a live eventGetty

The Rock looks set to face Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40Getty

Fans claim The Rock is stealing Cody Rhodes’ WrestleMania main-event spotGetty

WWE strongly hinted that would be the main event of Mania when Johnson made another surprise appearance this past Friday on SmackDown.

That was when the Men’s Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes appeared to be stepping aside and giving The People’s Champion his spot against Reigns.

That led to a massive backlash on social media as fans claim the 51-year-old, who recently joined the board of directors at TKO which is the company that owns WWE and UFC, stole Rhodes’ main-event spot at the Show of Shows.

The American Nightmare has been building immense momentum since his return to the wrestling giants two years ago and even won the Royal Rumble Match for the second year in a row.

Thus, the fans took to social media where the hashtag #WeWantCody trended worldwide.

And WWE’s video on YouTube showing the segment between The Rock, Reigns as well as Rhodes amassed a staggering half a million dislikes, making it the most disliked video in the promotion’s history.

The WWE Universe continued to voice its disapproval on Sunday during a non-televised house show in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The wrestling giants showed highlights of The Great One’s shock return on a megascreen and the crowd started booing in unison.

The Rock hasn’t received that kind of reaction since 2002 when he competed as a heel shortly before his departure to pursue Hollywood superstardom.

Rumours suggest WWE made the decision of booking the 10-time world champion with Reigns following CM Punk’s injury.

The initial plan would see Punk facing World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins and Rhodes challenging The Head of the Table.

However, it seems like The Rock will replace the ex-AEW superstar who in turn will challenge Rollins.

WWE fans, though, have urged WWE to rethink that decision or at least have Rhodes added to the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship picture.