“Get ready to smell what The Rock is cookin’! The wrestling world is abuzz with speculation, and Unionjournalism has the scoop on the most electrifying rumor to hit the WWE universe in years. As the road to WrestleMania 41 heats up, whispers of a blockbuster return are sending shockwaves through the wrestling community. The question on everyone’s mind: is Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, the Great One himself, gearing up to make a thunderous comeback to the ring?
With his larger-than-life persona, unstoppable charisma, and a legacy that spans generations, The Rock’s potential return to the WWE’s grandest stage has fans salivating at the prospect of witnessing greatness. Will the People’s Champ answer the call and lay the smackdown on a new generation of superstars? Or is this just a clever ruse to get the rumor mill churning?
WrestleMania 41: The Stage for The Rock’s Return?
WrestleMania 41 takes place this weekend, and there are a lot of rumours regarding The Rock appearing. The American icon, aka Dwayne Johnson, made his name in WWE before transitioning to Hollywood. The Rock is arguably WWE’s biggest export.
The Great One, who remains wrestling’s most successful export ever, returned to the company where he made his name last year. The People’s Champion headlined night one of WrestleMania 40 – his first match inside the ring in over a decade. Since then, Rocky has made sporadic appearances at various WWE events without lacing up his boots, but with the Show of Shows approaching, fans want to know if The Rock will be there or not.
Will The Rock be at WrestleMania 41? As it stands, it is unclear if The Rock will be in attendance. The 52-year-old’s last in-ring appearance in WWE was in 2024 when he teamed up with his wrestling cousin, Roman Reigns. It was his first meaningful match in over a decade as he and Reigns defeated Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins, with Rock even pinning the American Nightmare along the way.
He then played a supporting role on night two of ‘Mania XL and the first Monday Night RAW after WrestleMania to complete Rhodes’s ascension to Undisputed Champion. However, The Rock vanished to continue filming commitments and wasn’t seen on WWE screens again until Bad Blood in October 2024.
That one-off appearance followed another exile until WWE’s arrival on Netflix in January, which kickstarted a flurry of semi-regular appearances. ‘The Final Boss’ aided John Cena’s epic heel-turn at Elimination Chamber: Toronto last month, but has not been a key part of the latter’s feud with Rhodes heading into WrestleMania 41.
Rock was involved in the WrestleMania main event with Cena last year Credit: Getty 4 The pair then joined forces to beat down Rhodes alongside rapper Travis Scott Credit: Getty Rock’s long-awaited contest against Reigns also still hasn’t happened, with the Tribal Chief set to take on CM Punk and Rollins at the event.
There is a possibility the Fast and Furious actor shows up in that match, having previously spoken about a deal to face Reigns at Mania. Speaking about the situation in 2023, he said: “The Rock headlining WrestleMania with Roman Reigns, SoFi Stadium, that was locked. “It was in, what can we create for the fans that has never been done before. A match, great. Roman, incredible athlete.
He’s gonna be on Mount Rushmore. Super handsome, good dude, my cousin, family. Amazing. “We can have the match, but the bigger thought was, what can we do for the fans and the business that we love, where WrestleMania isn’t the end of something, it’s actually the beginning of something bigger.”
When is WrestleMania 41?
WrestleMania Vegas will again be held across two nights on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20. It is taking place at Allegiant Stadium in Nevada, the 65,000-capacity home of NFL team the Las Vegas Raiders.
Rey Mysterio: A WrestleMania Legend
Few WWE stars can boast a WrestleMania record quite like that of Rey Mysterio. The hugely popular performer has a CV you’d need to sit with a cup of tea to get through, his wild list of accolades including three world title reigns in WWE, and multiple runs with United States and Intercontinental gold to name just a few.
Debuting in 1989, Mysterio has been flying high across wrestling rings all around the world for over 35 years. He has featured extensively for companies around the world, with time spent in New Japan and the now defunct WCW and ECW.
He wrestled on the final Nitro – WCW’s flagship show – before the company was bought out by Vince McMahon and WWE, Rey signing there in 2002 and, barring a three-year spell, remaining to this day.
WrestleMania Record
He’ll battle Chad Gable – currently performing under the storyline name El Grande Americano at this weekend’s WrestleMania 41 and, much like his unrivalled career, the masked magician has walked a path at the WWE megashow that few can follow.
All told, the diminutive Hall of Fame star has wrestled 15 times at the biggest annual wrestling show on the planet, his outings proving to be varied as well as many. He got off to a fairly inauspicious start, going down to Matt Hardy at 2003’s WrestleMania 19 in a challenge for the Cruiserweight title – failing to win the same gold again in a Cruiserweight Open a year later.
Perhaps his emotional WrestleMania appearance came next; he beat long-time friend Eddie Guerrero at WrestleMania in Los Angeles in 2005. Emotion gave way to sheer achievement at WrestleMania 22 in 2006 – perhaps the pinnacle of his career seeing him win the World Heavyweight Championship by downing Kurt Angle and Randy Orton in a short triple-threat match.
Praise from Fellow Wrestlers
In fact, short outings have punctuated Mysterio’s iconic appearances as The Granddaddy of Them All; he won the WWE Intercontinental title from John Bradshaw Layfield at WrestleMania 25 and took just 21 seconds to do it, forcing JBL to ‘quit’ the company.
JBL is far from the only name to throw praise of that stature Mysterio’s way. Even icon Bret Hart feels the same way, bemoaning the fact he never got the chance to get in the ring and throw hands with the veteran himself in his heyday.
[He is] one of the greatest, maybe the greatest wrestlers of all time that people don’t often forget about or don’t recognise,” hailed the Canadian. “Rey Mysterio is maybe one of the greatest. I wish I could have had one match with Rey Mysterio just to be in the ring with him. He’s one of my favourites and is always a class act.
Very few wrestlers have the respect that I have for Rey Mysterio.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, the whispers of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s potential return to the WWE at WrestleMania 41 have sent shockwaves throughout the wrestling universe. As discussed, The Rock’s busy schedule and Hollywood commitments have made it increasingly difficult for him to make a comeback, but the possibility of a one-off appearance cannot be ruled out entirely. The article highlighted the significance of The Rock’s link to WWE, his enduring popularity, and the potential impact his return could have on the event’s ratings and ticket sales.
The implications of The Rock’s possible return are far-reaching, with the potential to bring in a new wave of fans and inject fresh excitement into the WWE. Moreover, his involvement could pave the way for other legends to make appearances, further enriching the WWE’s nostalgic value. As the wrestling world eagerly awaits confirmation of The Rock’s involvement, one thing is certain – his presence would be a game-changer for WrestleMania 41. Looking ahead, the WWE would do well to capitalize on The Rock’s star power, ensuring that his return is not just a fleeting moment, but a catalyst for a new era of wrestling greatness.