WWE has a Rock-shaped problem on the road to WrestleMania 41
Expectations had been running sky-high since Thursday evening, when WWE made the surprise announcement that 'The Final Boss' would be showing up in New Orleans. 'Everything could change in an instant,' Triple H teased, suggesting he was well aware that most of fan base had come to the reluctant conclusion that the former world champion was skipping WrestleMania 41 this year.
Despite the anticipation, WWE chose not to have The Rock open the show, instead opting for almost two hours of filler matches beforehand. At the risk of being unkind, it reminded me of that episode of 'The Office' where Michael Scott promises to auction off some Bruce Springsteen tickets, only to test the patience of everyone with numerous inferior prizes beforehand.
But things didn't improve much when The Rock finally showed up. Naturally, the home crowd were delighted with his announcement that WrestleMania 42 would be taking place in "The Big Easy" next year. But then he went on to deliver a meandering promo which misfired on several counts. It was slow, flabby, repetitive and did little to revive any excitement in his long-running storyline with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes — despite The Rock calling Rhodes down into the ring.
Remember the magic we got when these two were standing across from each other in the run-up to last year's WrestleMania? If that was box office, this felt more like deleted scenes — or perhaps even blooper reel.
"I want your soul." 😳@TheRock will be expecting an answer from @CodyRhodes at #WWEChamber...#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/cN9f6cHzC7
— WWE (@WWE) February 22, 2025
The appearance also repeated the same mistake from January's Netflix premiere, in that the promo seemed to come from Dwayne Johnson (or 'TKO Board Member Dwayne Johnson,' to give him his full title) rather than The Rock. We even had the first ever on-screen mention of Ari Emanuel — TKO's all-powerful chief executive — and a plug for Johnson's latest animated money-maker, 'Moana 2,' to boot.
Maybe some fans will give it the benefit of the doubt, on the basis that they'd rather have The Rock involved than not. But Friday night's segment didn't suggest that we'll be seeing Rock vs. Rhodes or Rock vs. Roman anytime soon. On the contrary, "The Tribal Chief" didn't even get a mention.
The problems stem from a fundamental issue with WWE and The Rock. Having the world's highest-grossing movie star is obviously a massive boon commercially, but it also creates problems when you're willing to hand over so much creative control in return for his involvement, or when you can't create a suitably big role for him.
Let's not forget what happened last year, when this problem manifested in a segment that will live long in the memory of WWE fans: Cody Rhodes suggesting that he would delay his all-important title shot in order to let The Rock take the main stage. Like most people, I still wince when I hear that fateful line: 'I'm coming for you Roman, but not at WrestleMania.'
Yes, the WWE top dogs were able to call an audible and even try to spin the situation to their favor (at least if you believe what we heard in the company's in-house documentary, 'WrestleMania XL: Behind the Curtain'). But it still showed how the world's biggest wrestling company is happy to upend the entirety of its creative plans in order to accommodate a part-timer.
Neither does the WWE appear to have learned from the mistake. While things often move gradually in the run-up to WrestleMania, it's noticeable how non-committal things have been with the creative directions for Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes this time around — almost as if the WWE execs were keeping things open until they knew the whereabouts of a certain Hollywood star.
It was a similar story last fall, when The Rock's appearance at Bad Blood turbocharged speculation that "The Final Boss" might be the one pulling the strings in The Bloodline story. When the big twist never came, most of us assumed we'd let our imaginations run away with us. But could it be that it was just a case of schedules not aligning?
It's a tricky balance to strike, this legends business. Bringing them back for scene-stealing cameos works great — just look at Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 38, or even The Undertaker's appearance in last year's 'Mania finale. But keeping your biggest storylines on ice for them is a different proposition altogether.
Maybe I'll eat my words when the whole "I want your soul" thing blossoms into one of the greatest storylines in modern wrestling history. But based on what we saw last night, I'm not holding my breath.
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