Eagle-eyed WWE fans think they’ve spotted something that deepens The Rock WrestleMania controversy
The Rock has revealed he was never planned to appear at WrestleMania despite a huge clamour for him to do so. Dwayne Johnson as ‘The Final Boss’ was instrumental in the biggest WWE storyline of 2025 – John Cena’s heel turn. Fans expected The Rock at WrestleMania and were never going to get himGetty After a bizarrely out-of-context arrival at Bad Blood last Autumn, Rock’s appearances in the wrestling sphere were next to nil until he showed up at March’s Elimination Chamber. There, he was presented as the orchestrator of Cena’s heel turn – morphing from a ‘good guy’ into an on-screen villain – at the expense of Cody Rhodes. The drastic change in Cena’s presentation after decades of being cheered by fans was hugely significant so Rock, as the character behind it, remained a key factor in the minds of fans all around the world. Johnson, however, failed to appear at any WWE show in the build-up the marquee event, WrestleMania, or the two-night spectacle itself. It’s a point worth noting that WWE never promoted Rock as appearing at the event, but the sheer lack of even his name, much less his presence, at shows between the Chamber and ‘Mania left fans perplexed. When the WrestleMania bout between Cena and Rhodes reached its climax, fans were convinced he would appear – it would have made absolute storyline sense – and anticipation heightened further when Travis Scott appeared. Rapper Scott was alongside The People’s Champ for Cena’s heel turn, so viewers could be forgiven for thinking they’d be given the same sight on Sunday, only for The Rock to be nowhere in sight. The multi-time wrestling champion turned Hollywood star did, oddly, emerge as a last-minute guest on Tuesday’s Pat McAfee Show where, naturally, wrestling was the hot topic. Many were furious that Rock made time for the talk show appearance and not WrestleMania – some even calling for a boycott of the episode – but what Johnson went on to say confused matters even further. He claimed it was never the plan for him to show up at any stage of WrestleMania, instead feeling Cena was better benefited by holding that spotlight alone. Cena turned heel at Elimination Chamber but has largely done it on his ownGetty “I did feel and I made the call, I don’t want to be involved in that (climax at WrestleMania). Step back. Let the Final Boss step back, back into the shadows. “Let all of the spotlight go to John, let it go to Cody… I called John after Elimination Chamber, spoke to him, called Cody, and I said: ‘I think the Final Boss’s work is done.’ “We’ve established it, we’ve just pulled off the greatest angle in the history of professional wrestling other than Hulk Hogan turning heel back in the ’90s. I “I said: ‘this is amazing, we have six weeks, now let’s build. You guys go and crush it. And I’ll be right there with you and I’m always here if you need me, but I think it’s best not for the Final Boss to be involved in that finish.’” So as far back as March – six weeks before Mania – Rock had effectively bowed out. Some WWE fans in Vegas for the blockbuster weekend were less than convinced, however. Rapper Scott interfered in the main event of WrestleMania on Sunday night, but Rock did not.Getty XFans spotting one item of merchandise at WrestleMania weren’t letting it slide[/caption] Photos shared online from the vast, sprawling WWE superstore of merchandise at the event featured Vegas-specific shirts for none other than The Rock. “Finally,” the design read, in-keeping with the star’s catchphrase. “The Rock has come back to Vegas.” Some were left pondering why WWE, even as a billion-dollar company, would go to the trouble of designing, producing and selling a shirt at an event they had long since known The Rock wouldn’t appear on. One fan wrote on social media: “They sold it to people at WrestleMania, so they would assume he would be there.” Another noted: “The most unsold tees of all time,” while a third joked: “He must’ve stolen Cena’s gimmick because I couldn’t see him.” A third quipped: “Send them to where the losing teams Super Bowl shirts go.” YouTube/PatMcAfeeShowThe Rock’s Pat McAfee appearance threw up far more questions than it answered[/caption] Is all not well at the top level of WWE?WWE While being sold this past weekend, other fans mused the shirt might actually have been produced well in advance of the Show of Shows but, in any case, this all begged another question: If Rock was never supposed to show-up in Vegas – t-shirts aside – why did he play a starring role in Cena’s heel turn at Elimination Chamber to begin with? The answer, Johnson said, was simple – WWE were struggling to sell tickets to the show. He went on to say: “I got a call about a month before Elimination Chamber [from] Ari Emanuel, who we know owns TKO, TKO owns WWE, he’s been my long-time business partner and one of my best friends for over 20 years. “He said we need help at Elimi
The Rock has revealed he was never planned to appear at WrestleMania despite a huge clamour for him to do so.
Dwayne Johnson as ‘The Final Boss’ was instrumental in the biggest WWE storyline of 2025 – John Cena’s heel turn.
After a bizarrely out-of-context arrival at Bad Blood last Autumn, Rock’s appearances in the wrestling sphere were next to nil until he showed up at March’s Elimination Chamber.
There, he was presented as the orchestrator of Cena’s heel turn – morphing from a ‘good guy’ into an on-screen villain – at the expense of Cody Rhodes.
The drastic change in Cena’s presentation after decades of being cheered by fans was hugely significant so Rock, as the character behind it, remained a key factor in the minds of fans all around the world.
Johnson, however, failed to appear at any WWE show in the build-up the marquee event, WrestleMania, or the two-night spectacle itself.
It’s a point worth noting that WWE never promoted Rock as appearing at the event, but the sheer lack of even his name, much less his presence, at shows between the Chamber and ‘Mania left fans perplexed.
When the WrestleMania bout between Cena and Rhodes reached its climax, fans were convinced he would appear – it would have made absolute storyline sense – and anticipation heightened further when Travis Scott appeared.
Rapper Scott was alongside The People’s Champ for Cena’s heel turn, so viewers could be forgiven for thinking they’d be given the same sight on Sunday, only for The Rock to be nowhere in sight.
The multi-time wrestling champion turned Hollywood star did, oddly, emerge as a last-minute guest on Tuesday’s Pat McAfee Show where, naturally, wrestling was the hot topic.
Many were furious that Rock made time for the talk show appearance and not WrestleMania – some even calling for a boycott of the episode – but what Johnson went on to say confused matters even further.
He claimed it was never the plan for him to show up at any stage of WrestleMania, instead feeling Cena was better benefited by holding that spotlight alone.
“I did feel and I made the call, I don’t want to be involved in that (climax at WrestleMania). Step back. Let the Final Boss step back, back into the shadows.
“Let all of the spotlight go to John, let it go to Cody… I called John after Elimination Chamber, spoke to him, called Cody, and I said: ‘I think the Final Boss’s work is done.’
“We’ve established it, we’ve just pulled off the greatest angle in the history of professional wrestling other than Hulk Hogan turning heel back in the ’90s. I
“I said: ‘this is amazing, we have six weeks, now let’s build. You guys go and crush it. And I’ll be right there with you and I’m always here if you need me, but I think it’s best not for the Final Boss to be involved in that finish.’”
So as far back as March – six weeks before Mania – Rock had effectively bowed out.
Some WWE fans in Vegas for the blockbuster weekend were less than convinced, however.
Photos shared online from the vast, sprawling WWE superstore of merchandise at the event featured Vegas-specific shirts for none other than The Rock.
“Finally,” the design read, in-keeping with the star’s catchphrase. “The Rock has come back to Vegas.”
Some were left pondering why WWE, even as a billion-dollar company, would go to the trouble of designing, producing and selling a shirt at an event they had long since known The Rock wouldn’t appear on.
One fan wrote on social media: “They sold it to people at WrestleMania, so they would assume he would be there.”
Another noted: “The most unsold tees of all time,” while a third joked: “He must’ve stolen Cena’s gimmick because I couldn’t see him.”
A third quipped: “Send them to where the losing teams Super Bowl shirts go.”
While being sold this past weekend, other fans mused the shirt might actually have been produced well in advance of the Show of Shows but, in any case, this all begged another question: If Rock was never supposed to show-up in Vegas – t-shirts aside – why did he play a starring role in Cena’s heel turn at Elimination Chamber to begin with?
The answer, Johnson said, was simple – WWE were struggling to sell tickets to the show.
He went on to say: “I got a call about a month before Elimination Chamber [from] Ari Emanuel, who we know owns TKO, TKO owns WWE, he’s been my long-time business partner and one of my best friends for over 20 years.
“He said we need help at Elimination Chamber, ticket sales are a little slow.”
That explanation, on its own, makes enough sense, but quite how Rock, a TKO Director in his own right, ended up tying himself up in a story he was never going to finish is less clear.
And perhaps more worrying was his jab that he would’ve presented some parts of the Mania main event – put together by former WWE rival Triple H – ‘differently.’
Some feel it’s a sign that all is not well behind the scenes – the whole saga would make for a tremendous Netflix drama, wouldn’t it?
Perhaps, with or without Johnson, WWE is right at home.
