During his recent appearance on the Will Cain Show, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed an unexpected behind-the-scenes event that occurred before WrestleMania 40. The Rock, who is well-known for his extravagant character, showed vulnerability while talking about the thinking behind his spectacular comeback to the organization following a twenty-year break.
During his recent appearance on the Will Cain Show, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed an unexpected behind-the-scenes event that occurred before WrestleMania 40. The Rock, who is well-known for his extravagant character, showed vulnerability while talking about the thinking behind his spectacular comeback to the organization following a twenty-year break.
The Rock revealed that the initial idea was for him to face his cousin Roman Reigns, the Tribal Chief, in a dream match in the WrestleMania XL main event. This would have been the result of years of bloodline accumulation, a confrontation of the giants. With his “little bit of influence here in the WWE,” The Rock, however, revealed a different plot line in which The Final Boss—everyone’s favorite heel—returned to action in a manner that only the Brahma Bull can.
“I have some influence in the WWE; we could have continued to push through, but something bothered me. While I was in Hawaii, I realized that there is a group of fans who are just disappointed, and it broke my heart to consider that I don’t want to push through and let these fans down.” The Rock said.
What was the outcome? a change in the plot. Unexpectedly, The Rock adopted a heel turn, teaming up with Roman Reigns to take on the crowd favorite Cody Rhodes. This began an era of greatness in the WWE Universe, where the previous two months had been jam-packed with incredible surprises, intense action, and events that felt almost like a throwback to the attitude era, which was the pinnacle of professional wrestling.\
This incident further demonstrates The Rock’s ongoing comprehension of the entertainment value at the core of professional wrestling. He admitted that although a match between Rock and Reigns would have been spectacular, a sizable percentage of the fan base would not have found it appealing. The Rock made sure that WrestleMania promised to be a more exciting and emotionally packed spectacle by putting the fans first.