A new controversy has emerged surrounding an official WWE YouTube video featuring Cody Rhodes reclaiming the Undisputed WWE Championship from Drew McIntyre on SmackDown.
The video quickly drew attention after screenshots circulating online showed a massive number of dislikes—reportedly exceeding 100,000 dislikes—despite a relatively modest number of views and likes. The unusual engagement metrics led to speculation that the dislikes may have been artificially inflated through a coordinated bot campaign.
The situation escalated when a user on X, identified as @rawaftermania40, claimed responsibility for manipulating the engagement numbers. The user allegedly stated that they had paid money to artificially generate dislikes on the video.
“It already took $250 to bot 65k dislikes,” the user wrote, while also claiming they had paid for an additional 100,000 dislikes to be added later.
The reports drew reactions from across the wrestling community, including Matt Hardy, who addressed the situation in multiple social media posts.
Hardy initially reacted strongly to the idea that engagement metrics could be manipulated so easily.
“The fact this is possible is outrageous,” Hardy wrote.
He later clarified that he was not confirming whether the specific claims about the Cody Rhodes video were legitimate but said he was surprised to learn such services even existed.
“I have no idea how real or not real the bots are the guy claimed to purchase,” Hardy explained. “I don’t comment on things I can’t speak about without knowing what’s actually happening.”
He added that the concept itself was troubling regardless of the specific situation.
“I was today years old when I learned that you can purchase bots to dislike YouTube videos and it’s ridiculous.”
As of now, neither WWE nor YouTube has publicly commented on the alleged bot activity connected to the video.
I have no idea how real or not real the bots are the guy claimed to purchase. I don’t comment on things I can’t speak about without knowing what’s actually happening.
I was today years old when I learned that you can purchase bots to dislike YouTube videos & it’s ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/4EvNn10nRp
— MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) March 8, 2026