Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson opened up about returning to WWE.
Back in September, The Rock made waves when he made a surprise return to WWE on SmackDown alongside Pat McAfee. Earlier in the day, Rock appeared on The Pat McAfee Show and teased that he was open for WrestleMania 40.
Fast forward to January 1st, and The Rock once again shocked WWE fans by returning, this time on Monday Night Raw. After confronting Jinder Mahal, Rock dropped another major tease: he asked if he should sit at the head of the table, a clear indication that a confrontation between himself and Roman Reigns was on the horizon.
In late January, it was announced that the real life Dwayne Johnson had joined the board of WWE parent company TKO. He returned to SmackDown once more on the February 2nd episode, being introduced by Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes and facing off with Reigns in a move that proved unpopular with WWE fans who want to see Rhodes and Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania.
On the February 8th episode of The Pat McAfee Show, The Rock teased a heel turn when he called out “Cody crybabies” for whining about Rhodes not finishing his story. Sure enough, at the WrestleMania 40 press conference later that night, Rock insisted that he wanted to face Reigns on the Grandest Stage of Them All – only to be interrupted by Rhodes, who declared that he was using his Royal Rumble win to choose Reigns.
Triple H later made it official: Cody Rhodes will face Roman Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania, leaving fans to wonder what’s in store for The Great One.
“I Love Pro Wrestling” – The Rock
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight ahead of the press conference, The Rock opened up about his return, revealing the reason for his comeback: he loves professional wrestling.
“I love it. I love what I do, I love this world of wrestling, I love pro wrestling, I was born into pro wrestling, I will always be a pro wrestler at heart and in attitude too.”
The Rock then detailed a trip to WWE Headquarters in Stamford, CT, where Triple H showed him a photo of his father Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas when they became the first Black tag team champions in WWE history. He got emotional at seeing the photo, and continuing, he reflected on how much the wrestling industry has grown since his father’s day.
“I have never seen that picture before and I was so choked up… I was really moved. In that moment, I thought, ‘Man, they were wrestling in what was a field house back then and wrestling has changed!’ My dad just made history and the bumps and the bruises and the sacrifices that he made and that all those guys made. Now we’re talking about the biggest WrestleMania of all time and the company signs a $5 billion deal with Netflix. It’s just incredible.
“I’m so grateful for the work that he put in and the ground that he laid, [with] my grandfather and all the other wrestlers,” Johnson said. “But also, I’m so grateful to come back in this capacity that I could come back and give to this business and give to the men and women in that locker room, and try and do my little part to do this with everything and create greater opportunities for all of them.
“It’s the greatest thing in the world, so I’m so grateful now.”
During another recent interview, The Rock gave a surprising choice for the toughest wrestler he ever faced in WWE.