Source: Jason Jimenez-Garrido
The Rock has returned to “lay the Smack Down” on World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) once again. Which begs the question, is main eventing next year’s WrestleMania in his plans?
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently made an appearance on the Sept. 15 edition of “SmackDown.” Rock came out to provide back-up for his friend Pat McAfee, who was engaged in a war of words with his once Mania opponent, Austin Theory. Theory ended up receiving a “Rock Bottom” from the WWE legend.
Rock is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats. His charisma, combined with his many accolades have made him, “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment.” Those same qualities are what have made him the household name he is today, and the fourth highest paid entertainer of 2022.
Since leaving the WWE in 2004 and becoming a full-time actor, fans have only been lucky enough to have his presence on special occasions. His busy filming schedule has kept him away from the ring where he originally made his claim to fame. That’s why his return came as a surprise to everyone who did not expect the actor to be on WWE programming any time soon.
In the past year, Rock was considered a clear favorite to face his cousin and WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, at WrestleMania 39. With the show taking place in California and its theme being Hollywood, most believed it was the perfect opportunity for the actor to have one more match.
Unfortunately, the long awaited battle between cousins did not happen. Instead, Reigns’ opponent at Mania was “The American Nightmare,” Cody Rhodes. Though the match never saw the light of day, it was confirmed by none other than The Rock himself that it was supposed to happen.
Hours before he returned to television, Rock was on McAfee’s podcast, where he mentioned an agreement made in 2022 between himself and WWE board members, Nick Khan and Vince McMahon, to be Reigns’ opponent. However, due to the company’s failure to come up with a “game-changing” storyline, Rock ended up backing out.
Rock gave the live audience a glimmer of hope for a match in the future by stating, “Hey listen, … there’s WrestleMania in Philadelphia… I’m saying that’s a potential too, I’m open.”
With his return, fans are currently wondering if this is the start of the buildup to a Mania match. The hype for the match has reached an all time high. Not only did replays of his return gather over 153 billion views all over social media, but the live crowds are as anxious as ever to see him pop up.
One possible way for the company to begin slowly putting him in a storyline with Reigns might be by inserting him in the current Cena vs. The Bloodline feud. Cena was set to team with AJ Styles to face Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa on the most recent episode of SmackDown. Though with the two brothers taking out Styles backstage beforehand, the match never happened.
With Cena being left on his own, Uso and Sikoa took the opportunity to outnumber him in an attack. Fans were clearly left waiting for the Rock to come to the aid of his former rival, as they chanted “Rocky” to no avail.
Despite the attack, the contract was signed by Uso & Sikoa, as well as Cena for a tag-team match at WWE’s “Fastlane” pay-per-view. However, Cena is now left without a partner.
Perhaps the company can decide to take advantage of the attention Rock’s return has gathered, as well as the potential freedom in his schedule during the ongoing actors strike going on at the moment. Having him team with Cena would be a smooth way to bring him in, as he has history with both sides.
Reigns has been out of action since “SummerSlam” in August. Through his absence, the members of his group, The Bloodline, have continued bringing chaos to WWE. If Rock plans to make his claim and take his cousin Reigns’ throne as “Tribal Chief,” he’ll have to start by taking down his right-hand men.
*This article was updated on October 2, 2023 to include the video of the Rock’s return.