The Rock‘s return on the road to WrestleMania made for a very special event in Philadelphia.
During an episode of SmackDown after the 2024 Royal Rumble, The Rock made his return to the blue brand. It seemed like Cody Rhodes gave up his WrestleMania main event opportunity and handed it to the Great One so he could wrestle Roman Reigns instead.
But that quickly changed as the WWE Universe spoke loudly about wanting to see The American Nightmare finish his story. This forced the company to pivot and return to its original plan, which resulted in The Rock turning heel and joining The Bloodline.
The Rock went on to main event night one of WrestleMania 40 in a tag team match. The Final Boss teamed up with cousin Roman Reigns to defeat Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins.
Following the Bloodline’s victory, at the WrestleMania Post-Show Press Conference, The Great One revealed why he was convinced that WrestleMania 40 was the right time for him to return to the professional wrestling business. The Rock also mentioned that plans for his return during the Road to WrestleMania 39 were made, but things did not work out.
“Yes, there was when Ari Emanuel called and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to buy the company,’” The Rock revealed. “I said, ‘Okay. What does that strategy look like?’ And we discussed that. There was talks almost two years ago about me returning to WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles. Again, it looked like everything was going to dovetail nicely into that.
The Rock wanted to revisit his return plans when it felt right
“It’s a great story. That didn’t shake out in the way that we anticipated and that’s okay. I had said back then to the people who we were negotiating with, ‘Maybe it’s time to put the pencils down. We will revisit when it feels right.’ So, I think between putting the pencils down about a year and a half, two years ago regarding WrestleMania 39.
“The clear shift and the actuality of the selling of the company. I think that kind of became the impetus to really look, I think, holistically at the opportunity of doing WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia. And a lot of things had to come together.”
The only thing that The Rock was worried about was if his return could add any value to the business
The People’s Champion also mentioned that he had no worries about his agreements and deals. He was more concerned about what impact his return could have on the business. The Rock also mentioned that he wanted to build not only a storyline and feud leading to WrestleMania 40 but also do something for the company’s future.
“Sure, the agreement and the deal — I’m not worried about that,” The Rock continued. “Especially when the negotiations are between myself, Ari Emanuel, and Nick Khan, both of whom I’ve known for a very, very long time. Nick and I actually go back to Hawaii when we were kids. And Ari, I have known for over twenty years.
“He’s my lead agent and business partner. So, I wasn’t concerned about the agreement. And I was more so, my number one priority was, ‘Can I come back and add real value this time around?’ And not coming back for hotshots one at a time.
“Maybe, I make an appearance one night; that’s fun. That’s fun for the fans. But I wanted something a little more, a lot more substantial. And not only a lot more substantial but something that we can really build upon, and these past two, three months.
“I think we have been laying the groundwork nicely, and not only building for WrestleMania this weekend but also, I think beyond that. And building for the future and what that could look like.”
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If you use any of these quotes, please credit the WrestleMania Press Conference with a link to this article for the transcription.
