Related
Dwayne " The Rock " JohnsonshockedWWEfans on Thursday night , announce thathe’ll appear onSmackDownon February 21st at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans . Johnson write inan Instagram post , " Bold and riotous . Unpredictable and dangerous . The Final Boss returns , LIVE on # SmackDown tomorrow at 8 ET/7 CT on @USANetwork . " WWE then fell a press release confirm the announcement , complete with a statement from Paul " Triple H " Levesque .
" Strap in . When The Final Boss shows up at this sentence of year , the audience knows absolutely anything is possible . Everything could commute in an moment . "
Johnson last appear on WWE TV when he reach the Netflix premiere ofWWE Rawon Netflix on Jan. 6 . His appearance raise quite a few eyebrows , given that he made no reference of his premature appearance at theBad Bloodpay - per - sentiment in October 2024 , where he made a throat slash gesture towards Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns after they had team up up to defeat The Bloodline ’s Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu .
The Rock vs. Roman Reigns Can Finally Be A Reality
WWE Has Been Teasing This Match For A Decade
Rock ’s promo on theRawNetflix premiere seemed toabandon any variety of storyline he had with Rhodes and Reigns , going so far as to thank " The American Nightmare " for successfully stage the company as the Undisputed WWE Champion . That interaction caused such a reaction online that Johnson address it the following night onWWE NXT .
" Last Nox , The Rock want to give props to William Frederick Cody , give him his flowers,“Johnson tell . " He ’s been kicking a — carrying the society on his shoulder joint . And then what did they ( the on-line grappling fans ) say ? ' You ca n’t be nice to Cody ! Do n’t be nice to Cody ! Do n’t drink tequila with Cody ! ' At the end of the day , let us all remind them that The Rock is ' The Final Boss ' thought process 20 steps in the lead . So the best thing for them to do is to know their function , shut their mouth , and enjoy the ride that The Rock is taking them on . "
Reports indicated at the fourth dimension thatJohnson would not be actively wrestling atWrestleMania 41due to scheduling battle with his various acting roles . However , now that he ’s add up back just as theWrestleManiacard is begin to take shape , all mansion aim to him playing some sort of character at the Showcase of Immortals . And what better role could he play than finally giving fans the dream match against his full cousin ?
Ever since Johnson publicly support Reigns at the 2015Royal Rumble , the theme of a Rock vs. Reigns dreaming matchhas been percolating among WWE fans . Once Reigns turn heel in 2020 and proclaim himself " The Head of The Table " within the Anoa’i Family , it only seemed a matter of time before the two collided . Johnson would later reveal that WWE intimately pull the initiation on the mate forWrestleMania 39 in 2023 , only for negotiations to come down through . Then , just as the build forWrestleMania XLwas getting underway in other 2024 , Cody Rhodes seemed to volitionally step apart from a match with Reigns in favor of letting The Rock challenge " The Tribal Chief . "
History would prove this was a bad approximation . Thebacklash among WWE fans for the booking decision was so loudthat the party had no choice but to change course of action . Reigns vs. Rock was give up , Johnson debut a fresh heel persona in " The Final Boss , " and he would wind up teaming with Reigns against Rhodes and Seth Rollins in theWrestleMania XLNight One main event , setting the stage for Rhodes to defeat Reigns the next night .
The Rock’s Inclusion Gives WrestleMania 41 Some Much-Needed Direction
A Rock Vs. Reigns Match Would Enable The Rest Of The Card To Take Shape
The Rock explicitly remark his " Final Boss " persona , along with the conspicuous deficiency of an opponent for Roman atWrestlemania , have set the rassling community on fire . There seems to be no better time than now for this 10 - years - in - the - making ambition match . Heading intoWrestleMania 41 , WWE has too many star and not enough main issue spots . Gunther vs. Jey Uso for the World Heavyweight Championship is locked in . Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship remains the salient rumor for the Night Two independent event . But where does that get out big names like CM Punk , Seth Rollins , Drew McIntyre , The Bloodline , and Roman Reigns ?
WWE ’s raw epoch can transcend the Attitude Era in a major way of life at WrestleMania 41 in April . Here ’s how .
" The Tribal Chief " is n’t even on WWE programming the right way now , having been written off with a storyline injuryafter taking a span of Curb Stomps from Rollinsat theRoyal Rumble . sure , Rollins vs. Reigns would be that form of high - visibility catch tolerate by a very farseeing storyline that Triple H seems to get laid , and fans would sleep with it too . However , a Johnson vs. Reigns catch would not only give the show another viable main upshot but would also cause a cocksure domino impression .
Rhodes vs. Cena can happen without any bickering , Rollins and Punk can be mate up , McIntyre can have his rumored mate with Damian Priest and The Bloodline can carry on their implosion with Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu . What started as a show lack focussing will suddenly be loaded with matches rich in storyline potential , bolstered by two must - see primary events . But willThe Rockfinally set forces in motion for a catch with Reigns ? Only time will recount .
