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.
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"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.
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"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.
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'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
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