The Rock Explains Why He Wasn't At WWE WrestleMania 41
Why didn't The Rock appear at WWE WrestleMania 41 after setting the stage for an appearance at Elimination Chamber?
TKO Board Director Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was a recent guest on The Pat McAfee Show. While discussing the main event of WrestleMania 41 between Cody Rhodes and John Cena, The Rock explained why he felt he wasn't needed at the company's biggest show of the year.
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'So now we go into Elimination Chamber with this idea of will Cody Rhodes sell his soul to The Final Boss,' The Rock said. 'And my thought at that time, I know we talked about this, was a litmus test to find out, in my opinion, how will fans respond if Cody sold his soul to The Final Boss? Let's get a temperature check on this, let's establish it, let's anchor it in.
'And you come to find out that there were a lot of fans who were saying, sell your soul. This is gonna be crazy. Whatever it is, it's compelling. It's gonna be great. Let's do it. Sell your soul. So I was an advocate of that, not turning Cody heel soon, but eventually down the line. I like the idea that because Cody is a smart guy, he's an intelligent guy, he's a ring general. And I think this idea of you give him a reason to turn way down the road, by the way, you give him a reason to turn not based on titles, not based on this, but it's his soul. And what that means, that it affects generations. It's transcendent beyond pro wrestling, and fans were loving it.
Turning John Cena heel
'As we got closer to Elimination Chamber, we were kicking ideas around, myself and Triple H, and that's the fun part, by the way, I've been kicking ideas around with Triple H for 20 years, dude. Just always having a great time with him and Nick, and my team as well, and Triple H said, what about this? What about John turning? I said, I love it. The next question is, you got to talk to John, see how he feels about it.
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'There's a moment where you have this shift and click moment, and it happened to me when I was a pure babyface. I got booed out of the building around the world, and they took the title off me in my rookie year, and they sent me home, the summer of '97. And I didn't know what I was going to do. I just knew this is not going to work for me. I don't even know if I have a future in pro wrestling. And I get a call from Vince that says I'm going to bring me back as a heel and be part of the Nation of Domination. I said, that's great. I love it, but just give me two minutes on the microphone to speak from the heart.
'And he did that, and things changed immediately that night. It's the same thing with John. John loved this idea of turning heel, but he's like, but you know what? There's something, there's an anchor here that I'm going to root it in, which is a real thing that I've been experiencing over the past 20, 25 years.
Let The Final Boss step back into the shadows
'So when we were moving forward with John and this idea of him getting crowned at WrestleMania, and becoming 17 and being a heel champion. I knew then the best thing for The Final Boss — we've established this idea of Cody's soul. We can always come back to it. I did feel, and I made the call, I don't want to be involved in that. Step back. Let The Final Boss step back into the shadows. Let all the spotlight go to John, let it go to Cody. Let's not make it about Cody's soul or John's soul. No, let's let them do what they do.
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'And 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 just pulled off the greatest angle in the history of professional wrestling. Other than Hulk Hogan's turning heel back in the '90s. I said, this is amazing. We have six weeks now. 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 for The Final Boss not to be involved in that finish.
The Rock would have 'finessed things a little differently' with the main event finish
'They had six weeks to plan for that. So I love the finish of the match. I would have finessed things a little differently on how they got there, but that's just me creatively. There are a lot of minds in the room. That's my thought.
'But still, ultimately, the bottom line was, love John getting 17, and I never had a concern about John pulling this off. My thoughts are always to Cody because of what we've established with him and his story and the kind of babyface that he is. So if done right, and I think if finessed right and if nuanced right, down the road, that guy not only has an incredible baby face run again as champion, but also just an unheard of run as a heel down the road.'
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When asked if those in WWE at any point tried to inform him that he would be needed at this show, The Rock said he believes if he had gotten involved in the finish that he's not sure where they could have gone from there due to him having other commitments. He does tease, however, that they'll get back to the 'soul' storyline eventually.
The Rock didn't know where WWE would go next if he appeared at WrestleMania
'They don't have to say anything like that to me,' The Rock said. 'They know when I come to them, and them meaning Triple H, and Nick and Ari as well. And I lay this out, and I say, hey, here's how I really feel it should go. We can insert The Final Boss at the end of this finish. But then, where do we go? There's other commitments that I have, and I want to also be careful that we're not overstepping and leading over our skis too much here. 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? That, to me, is the anchoring storyline. It's not soul right now. Right now, it's not. But, by the way, we'll go back to it.'
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READ MORE: Where Was The Rock Instead Of Appearing At WWE WrestleMania 41?
What do you make of The Rock's comments? Do you think he made the wrong decision to not appear at WrestleMania 41 after setting things up for his appearance at Elimination Chamber? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
If you use any of these quotes, please credit The Pat McAfee Show with a link to this article for the transcription.
The post The Rock Explains Why He Wasn't At WWE WrestleMania 41 appeared first on Wrestlezone.
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