What The Rock's Return on WWE SmackDown Could Mean for WrestleMania 41
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson shocked WWE fans on Thursday night, announcing that he'll appear on SmackDown on February 21st at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Johnson wrote in an Instagram post, "Bold and Disruptive. Unpredictable and dangerous. The Final Boss returns, LIVE on #SmackDown tomorrow at 8 ET/7 CT on @USANetwork." WWE then dropped a press release confirming the announcement, complete with a statement from Paul "Triple H" Levesque.
"Strap in. When The Final Boss shows up at this time of year, the audience knows absolutely anything is possible. Everything could change in an instant."
Johnson last appeared on WWE TV when he opened the Netflix premiere of WWE Raw on Netflix on Jan. 6. His appearance raised quite a few eyebrows, given that he made no mention of his previous appearance at the Bad Blood pay-per-view in October 2024, where he made a throat slash gesture towards Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns after they had teamed up to defeat The Bloodline's Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu.
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Rock's promo on the Raw Netflix premiere seemed to abandon any sort of storyline he had with Rhodes and Reigns, going so far as to thank "The American Nightmare" for successfully representing the company as the Undisputed WWE Champion. That interaction caused such a reaction online that Johnson addressed it the following night on WWE NXT.
"Last night, The Rock wanted to give props to Cody, give him his flowers," Johnson said. "He's been kicking a— carrying the company on his shoulders. And then what did they (the online wrestling fans) say? 'You can't be nice to Cody! Don't be nice to Cody! Don't drink tequila with Cody!' At the end of the day, let us all remind them that The Rock is 'The Final Boss' thinking 20 steps ahead. So the best thing for them to do is to know their role, shut their mouth, and enjoy the ride that The Rock is taking them on."
Reports indicated at the time that Johnson would not be actively wrestling at WrestleMania 41 due to scheduling conflicts with his various acting roles. However, now that he's coming back just as the WrestleMania card is beginning to take shape, all signs point to him playing some sort of role at the Showcase of Immortals. And what better role could he play than finally giving fans the dream match against his cousin?
Ever since Johnson publicly endorsed Reigns at the 2015 Royal Rumble, the idea of a Rock vs. Reigns dream match has been percolating among WWE fans. Once Reigns turned heel in 2020 and proclaimed 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 nearly pulled the trigger on the match for WrestleMania 39 in 2023, only for negotiations to fall through. Then, just as the build for WrestleMania XL was getting underway in early 2024, Cody Rhodes seemed to willingly step aside from a match with Reigns in favor of letting The Rock challenge "The Tribal Chief."
History would prove this was a bad idea. Thebacklash among WWE fans for the booking decision was so loud that the company had no choice but to change course. Reigns vs. Rock was abandoned, Johnson debuted a new heel persona in "The Final Boss," and he would wind up teaming with Reigns against Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the WrestleMania XL Night One main event, setting the stage for Rhodes to defeat Reigns the following night.
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The Rock explicitly mentioning his "Final Boss" persona, along with the conspicuous lack of an opponent for Roman at Wrestlemania, have set the wrestling community on fire. There seems to be no better time than now for this 10-years-in-the-making dream match. Heading into WrestleMania 41, WWE has too many stars and not enough main event 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 prominent rumor for the Night Two main event. But where does that leave big names like CM Punk, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, The Bloodline, and Roman Reigns?
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"The Tribal Chief" isn't even on WWE programming right now, having been written off with a storyline injury after taking a pair of Curb Stomps from Rollins at the Royal Rumble. Surely, Rollins vs. Reigns would be that kind of high-profile match supported by a very long storyline that Triple H seems to love, and fans would love it too. However, a Johnson vs. Reigns match would not only give the show another viable main event but would also cause a positive domino effect.
Rhodes vs. Cena can happen without any fuss, Rollins and Punk can be paired up, McIntyre can have his rumored match with Damian Priest and The Bloodline can continue their implosion with Solo Sikoa vs. Jacob Fatu. What started as a show lacking direction will suddenly be loaded with matches rich in storyline potential, bolstered by two must-see main events. But will The Rock finally set forces in motion for a match with Reigns? Only time will tell.
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