Wrestling and acting icon Dwayne Johnson has a long history with the WWE, spanning decades before transitioning to a successful acting career. Although he has appeared on WWE shows several times over the years, his recent return to WWE Smackdown was quite a surprise for fans. His presence electrified the crowd as Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes settled for their WrestleMania XL main event. To everyone’s surprise, Rhodes pulled out of the scheduled fight.
Johnson recently joined the boards of WWE and UFC parent company TKO Holding Group, so he keeps a close eye on the wrestling world. According to fans, he used his powers to essentially save the WrestleMania 40 main event.
The Rock Reportedly Pushed for WrestleMania XL Main Event
It looks like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the Great One himself, may have been flexing his muscles behind the scenes to secure the main event spot at WrestleMania 40. According to reports, The Rock lobbied hard for a match against Roman Reigns, even convincing key executives to switch gears from the originally planned Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes showdown.
Sources claim The Rock’s motivation wasn’t just personal glory but a desire to “save WrestleMania” after other big names like CM Punk and Brock Lesnar became unavailable. His star power and position as a TKO board member reportedly held significant weight in the decision.
“While WWE had been expertly building to a Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns rematch, some sources believe it was done by The Rock to, as one source stated, “save #WrestleMania” after CM Punk and Brock Lesnar, for very different reasons, were taken off the board from the biggest weekend of the year,” PWlnsider reports.
To have Dwayne Johnson in the match was reportedly based on the belief that The Rock’s involvement would be the most lucrative option for the company at present, given his influential position as a board member for TKO.
How Fans of the WWE Universe Reacted to This Report?
This decision was met with a lot of mixed reactions. Some fans are worried that this move would destroy all the works WWE has been working on for the last two years, and some think that this would WWE’d future.
This could literally ruin WWE forever man
— Lukas (@Twister32733092) February 3, 2024
Oh HELL NO. That would ruin all @wwe has been working for over the past 2+ years. Rock needs to go, he had his time.
— Agent X (@MI_Agent_X) February 3, 2024
he is so selfish
— stunna (@sorealcoded) February 3, 2024
This shows how selfish the rock is. He cares more about himself than anyone else. Boo both Roman & The Rock out at Wrestlemania.
— Brian Wookiee (@brianallelite) February 3, 2024
Wait, what?
I understand he's trying to position himself in the main event, but winning the title?
His cousin is literally making history, what would he take that away?— Elis Daniel (@juuzouboo) February 3, 2024
The outcome of the match and its reception by fans will only be revealed once WrestleMania 40 unfolds. It was announced that Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, would host WrestleMania 40 on April 6 and 7, 2024.
