Dwayne ‘The Rock' Johnson Breaks Silence on Recent Absence
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is sharing the real reason that he didn't attend Wrestlemania 41 in Las Vegas over the weekend. Many wrestling fans were disappointed with his absence, but he explained his thinking on the matter while chatting with Pat McAfee.
"A lot of people thought you were going to show up," McAfee told Johnson during a video interview.
Advertisement
"They know, when I come to them — and them meaning Triple H and Nick [Khan] and Ari [Emanuel] as well — and lay this out, 'Here's how I feel it should go. We can insert Final Boss in the end of this finish, but then where do we go?'" Johnson said.
"There's other commitments that I have and I want to also be careful that we're not overstepping and leaning over our skies too much here. I can get involved in the finish, and I said, 'but why get involved in that finish when the spotlight should just be on, in my opinion, John... 17... heel champion. What does 2025 look like if this man is saying he's going to ruin professional wrestling?'" he added, referring to John Cena, who won his 17th WWE world championship.
Many wrestling fans weren't too pleased with Johnson's comments and stated such on X.
Advertisement
"If we just could have at least got an explanation of what the Cena and Rock connection was...we're hearing more about how it was all planned out than the actual story," one person wrote.
"Wrong and shows your newness to sports entertainment. If the turn started that way sure, but it didn't. The whole turn started with the Rock calling the shot and Cena accepting the sale out to get 17. Had one good week post flaming that sold out angle pushing Cena all the way dark. Then the road to payoff at WM. Then no Rock, Cena had to go too hard on some tangents to find traction. Maybe by plan for the Rock to be at WM, but no show. No payoff to the original story. Feels cheap and lazy," someone else said.
"Everything about this response makes me vomit in my mouth. Do they think we are all stupid??? I guess we really are all Marks aren't we... for taking this nonsense," a third reaction read.
The Rock announced his decision to return to professional wrestling in February.
Advertisement
'Bold and disruptive. Unpredictable and dangerous. The Final Boss returns,' Johnson, 52, teased on X at the time.
Johnson's appearance at Wrestlemania was even teased by WWE Chief Content Officer 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," Levesque said in a press release.
But while fans were upset with Johnson's no-show — and his reasons as to why — the promotion was a huge success nonetheless. According to ESPN, Wrestlemania 41 was "the most successful and highest-grossing event in the promotion's history."
Related: Dana White Sends 3-Word Message to Country Music Star Jelly Roll
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bob Myers shattered Stephen A. Smith's tiresome gimmick before Game 7
It's been a rough NBA Finals when it comes to whatever smoldering mess is now left of Stephen A. Smith's reputation. First, Smith was caught playing Solitaire during the pivotal fourth quarter of the Oklahoma City Thunder's win in Game 4. Smith responded to the controversy by laughing it off and saying he's capable of multitasking while still watching games he's ostensibly paid to pay attention to for ESPN. That, of course, was an obvious lie. Advertisement HE CAN'T HELP HIMSELF: Ja Morant ripped Stephen A. Smith's tasteless comments about Memphis With only the fourth NBA Finals Game 7 this century on tap for Sunday night, hoops fans were begging the famously brash and loud Smith to do a more responsible job of setting the stage for what should hopefully be an epic evening in Oklahoma City. They wanted him to respect the magnitude of the game more, rather than making his coverage as part of ESPN's in-game studio panel all about himself, like he always does. Unsurprisingly, Smith did not oblige. Early on ESPN's broadcast, what should've been a simple conversation about an over/under for Chet Holmgren's final Game 7 point total devolved into Smith totally veering off track so he could yell about his frustrations with Kendrick Perkins' analysis (which is normally a fair criticism, to be clear). That's right, dearest readers. Smith turned pregame coverage of a potentially legendary Game 7 into a manufactured First Take debate segment. His shamelessness boggles the mind. Advertisement During Smith's aimless (and needless) rant, you could actually see former Golden State Warriors executive Bob Myers growing frustrated when the camera panned over to his face. And after Smith finished bloviating about nothing, Myers said what we've been thinking about him for quite some time. You don't have to yell to make your points. You just don't: If ESPN has any self-respect about its live NBA coverage remaining, it's clear that this studio show needs to be blown up before the next NBA season begins. I'm talking torn down to the studs. I'll hold off on salting the earth because I think it could still be redeemed with enough earnest effort and creativity. Advertisement Anything else, and we risk further exposing ourselves to the Stephen A. Smith Show, er, I mean, the winner-take-all championship game. This article originally appeared on For The Win: Stephen A. Smith's annoying shtick destroyed by Bob Myers before NBA Finals Game 7
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Watch WWE's SummerSlam Kickoff
WWE has a SummerSlam Kickoff event happening today (Sat., June 21) live at 3 pm ET from Fanatics Fest in New York City. For the first time in its history, SummerSlam is a two-night event this year, scheduled to take place on the weekend of Aug. 2 & Aug. 3 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. That's more than a month away, and WWE still has some important events coming up before then, so we don't have any matches official for the card just yet. Advertisement Even so, this Kickoff show is here to get the hype train rolling. Some of the stars advertised for this event include John Cena, CM Punk, Becky Lynch, Nikki Bella, Randy Orton, Jey Uso, Tiffany Stratton, and Rhea Ripley. We'll find out what happens when the stream goes live at 3 pm ET. So click play on the video at the top of this post, hang out, and talk about the Kickoff with your fellow Cagesiders in the comments below! More from
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Isaiah Hartenstein gets the And-1
Joey Logano on Stephen A. Smith, 'First Take' appearance: 'I'd do it again' Joey Logano talks about his recent media appearances and speaks about his time on "First Take" with Stephen A. Smith.
