Latest news with #TheFinalBoss'
Irish Daily Star
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Star
The Rock confirms reason he didn't show up at WrestleMania as fans left disappointed
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has confirmed why he skipped WrestleMania 41 despite being involved in the storytelling leading up to John Cena and Cody Rhodes' title match. The 52-year-old has been playing "The Final Boss" since returning before WrestleMania 40 last year in Philadelphia as part of "The Bloodline" alongside family members Roman Reigns and The Usos. "The Rock" has showed up in parts heading into this year's spectacle, getting fans excited over his new, dominant persona. He orchestrated John Cena's historic heel turn on Rhodes at Elimination Chamber with help from Travis Scott, but he was nowhere to be seen last Sunday during the pair's WWE Championship match, leaving fans confused and furious. "The Rock" has now explained why he stepped back from the storyline, but it only fueled more anger and added more cloud of confusion surrounding Cena's legendary 17th title win thanks to an interference from Scott . Cena's win over Rhodes pushed him clear of The Great Rick Flair . Read More Related Articles Rory McIlroy's stunning mansion with Erica Stoll pictured, golf course next door Read More Related Articles Sheryl Swoopes shows allegiances as Paige Bueckers joins Caitlin Clark in WNBA Speaking Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show , he said: "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 [Rhodes'] soul. We can always come back to it. I did feel, I made the call, I don't want to be involved in that. 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. Let's let them do what they do." "I called John after Elimination Chamber, spoke to him, called Cody, and I said, 'I think 'The Final Boss' work is done. We've established it,'" Johnson added. "We just pulled off the greatest angle in the history of professional wrestling, other than Hulk Hogan turning heel back in the '90s. John Cena defeated Cody Rhodes without The Rock (Image: Getty) "I said, 'This is amazing. We have six weeks. Now, let's build. You guys go and crush it. 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. Six weeks to plan for that.' "I loved the finish of [Sunday's] match. I would have finessed things a little differently in 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 I loved John getting 17. I never had a concern about John pulling this off. My thoughts were always to Cody because of what we've established with him and his story, and the kind of babyface he is. "So, if done right, and I think if finessed right and nuanced right, down the road, that guy not only has an incredible babyface run again as champion, but also just an unheard of rise as a heel down the road."
Daily Record
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
The Rock explains bizarre WrestleMania 41 absence – and WWE fans are having absolutely none of it
Dwayne 'The Final Boss' Johnson was also unhappy with how some aspects of the John Cena vs Cody Rhodes finale unfolded in Las Vegas Dwayne ' The Rock ' Johnson has revealed his reason for skipping WrestleMania 41, leaving millions of wrestling fans gutted. The Final Boss was expected to attend the Las Vegas showstopper for the culmination of six weeks of 'build' for John Cena vs Cody Rhodes. The Hollywood A-lister was the in-ring mastermind behind Cena's heel turn at Elimination Chamber, which rocked the WWE universe to its core. But The Rock never appeared in Sin City as, instead, his accomplice and music star Travis Scott helped Cena over the line to lift the WWE belt for a record-breaking 17th time. Fans came out in their droves to slam his absence with many loyalists convinced the Hall of Famer would appear. And now he has responded when speaking Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show - and revealed he never wanted to continue his involvement in one of the biggest storylines in pro wrestling history. "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," Johnson said. "We've established this idea of Cody's soul. We can always come back to it. I did feel, I made the call, I don't want to be involved in that. 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. Let's let them do what they do." The storyline began way back after February's Royal Rumble where The Rock made a shock appearance and vowed to take Rhodes' "soul." But The Rock said his role in the rivalry had ended just weeks later. "I called John after Elimination Chamber, spoke to him, called Cody, and I said, 'I think 'The Final Boss' work is done. We've established it,'" Johnson said. "We just pulled off the greatest angle in the history of professional wrestling, other than Hulk Hogan turning heel back in the '90s. "I said, 'This is amazing. We have six weeks. Now, let's build. You guys go and crush it. 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. Six weeks to plan for that.' "I loved the finish of [Sunday's] match. I would have finessed things a little differently in 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 I loved John getting 17. I never had a concern about John pulling this off. "My thoughts were always to Cody because of what we've established with him and his story, and the kind of babyface he is. "So, if done right, and I think if finessed right and nuanced right, down the road, that guy not only has an incredible babyface run again as champion, but also just an unheard of rise as a heel down the road." Although Johnson was satisfied with Scott's involvement, he didn't think it was perfect. "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. I want to also be careful that we're not overstepping and leaning over our skis too much here. "Can get involved in the finish, but I said, '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 says he is going to ruin professional wrestling?' "That, to me, is the anchoring storyline. It's not soul right now. We'll go back to it." Fans on X were quick to hit back at The Rock's explanation with the census he had misled them. One said: "The Rock's interview was full of passive-aggressive comments & contradictions Oh to be a fly on the wall for HHH/Rock communications over the past year... Regarding his excuse for stepping back, he is either dumb (he's not) or this was a receipt for derailing his WM40 plans." Another posted: "The Rock inserting himself in this feud just do do sweet f*** all when it actually matters." One fan quipped: "The Rock randomly pulls up to a weekly show, blows up creative by inserting himself into a story, then f***s off with no intention to coming back to finish what he abruptly started." Another raged: "This photo should've been the closing shot of WrestleMania [with a picture of John Cena, The Rock and Travis Scot in the ring]." John Cena now looks set to rekindle his rivalry with Randy Orton after they came to blows at WWE Raw on Monday.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Rock explains his baffling absence from WrestleMania 41: 'I made the call, I don't want to be involved'
The Rock has some explanations for his absence from WrestleMania 41. (Photo by Georgiana Dallas/WWE via Getty Images) (WWE via Getty Images) Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been a glaring omission from the Undisputed WWE title picture since aiding in John Cena's heel turn at WWE Elimination Chamber, to the point where his bizarre absence from WrestleMania 41 was one of the primary talking points coming out of WWE's big weekend. Advertisement According to the WWE Hall of Famer, when speaking Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show, The Rock never wanted to continue his involvement in the biggest angle in recent professional wrestling history. "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,'" Johnson said. "We've established this idea of Cody [Rhodes'] soul. We can always come back to it. I did feel, I made the call, I don't want to be involved in that. 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. Let's let them do what they do." Cena ultimately dethroned the now-former champion Rhodes in the main event of WrestleMania 41, Night 2 in Las Vegas this past Sunday. The win made Cena the new WWE recordholder for most world title wins, surpassing Ric Flair. The storyline between both parties began thanks to Johnson's sudden reemergence after February's Royal Rumble to seemingly threaten Rhodes, wanting "his soul." However, after Rhodes rejected Johnson, Cena appeared to join forces with Johnson after he won his Elimination Chamber match. Advertisement That was the final time The Rock has been seen on WWE television. "I called John after Elimination Chamber, spoke to him, called Cody, and I said, 'I think 'The Final Boss' work is done. We've established it,'" Johnson said. "We just pulled off the greatest angle in the history of professional wrestling, other than Hulk Hogan turning heel back in the '90s. I said, 'This is amazing. We have six weeks. Now, let's build. You guys go and crush it. 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. Six weeks to plan for that.' "I loved the finish of [Sunday's] match. I would have finessed things a little differently in 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 I loved John getting 17. I never had a concern about John pulling this off. My thoughts were always to Cody because of what we've established with him and his story, and the kind of babyface he is. So, if done right, and I think if finessed right and nuanced right, down the road, that guy not only has an incredible babyface run again as champion, but also just an unheard of rise as a heel down the road." Cena and Rhodes briefly mentioned The Rock in the build to their match, but that was about it. The new champion Cena now looks destined to revisit a feud with one of his oldest rivals, Randy Orton, after Monday's "WWE Raw" after WrestleMania.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
WWE has a Rock-shaped problem on the road to WrestleMania 41
We waited a long time for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to show up on Friday night's three-hour 'WWE SmackDown' only to be left with one big question: Was it worth it? Expectations had been running sky-high since Thursday evening, when WWE made the surprise announcement that 'The Final Boss' would be showing up in New Orleans. 'Everything could change in an instant,' Triple H teased, suggesting he was well aware that most of fan base had come to the reluctant conclusion that the former world champion was skipping WrestleMania 41 this year. Despite the anticipation, WWE chose not to have The Rock open the show, instead opting for almost two hours of filler matches beforehand. At the risk of being unkind, it reminded me of that episode of 'The Office' where Michael Scott promises to auction off some Bruce Springsteen tickets, only to test the patience of everyone with numerous inferior prizes beforehand. But things didn't improve much when The Rock finally showed up. Naturally, the home crowd were delighted with his announcement that WrestleMania 42 would be taking place in "The Big Easy" next year. But then he went on to deliver a meandering promo which misfired on several counts. It was slow, flabby, repetitive and did little to revive any excitement in his long-running storyline with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes — despite The Rock calling Rhodes down into the ring. Remember the magic we got when these two were standing across from each other in the run-up to last year's WrestleMania? If that was box office, this felt more like deleted scenes — or perhaps even blooper reel. "I want your soul." 😳@TheRock will be expecting an answer from @CodyRhodes at #WWEChamber...#SmackDown — WWE (@WWE) February 22, 2025 The appearance also repeated the same mistake from January's Netflix premiere, in that the promo seemed to come from Dwayne Johnson (or 'TKO Board Member Dwayne Johnson,' to give him his full title) rather than The Rock. We even had the first ever on-screen mention of Ari Emanuel — TKO's all-powerful chief executive — and a plug for Johnson's latest animated money-maker, 'Moana 2,' to boot. Maybe some fans will give it the benefit of the doubt, on the basis that they'd rather have The Rock involved than not. But Friday night's segment didn't suggest that we'll be seeing Rock vs. Rhodes or Rock vs. Roman anytime soon. On the contrary, "The Tribal Chief" didn't even get a mention. The problems stem from a fundamental issue with WWE and The Rock. Having the world's highest-grossing movie star is obviously a massive boon commercially, but it also creates problems when you're willing to hand over so much creative control in return for his involvement, or when you can't create a suitably big role for him. Let's not forget what happened last year, when this problem manifested in a segment that will live long in the memory of WWE fans: Cody Rhodes suggesting that he would delay his all-important title shot in order to let The Rock take the main stage. Like most people, I still wince when I hear that fateful line: 'I'm coming for you Roman, but not at WrestleMania.' Yes, the WWE top dogs were able to call an audible and even try to spin the situation to their favor (at least if you believe what we heard in the company's in-house documentary, 'WrestleMania XL: Behind the Curtain'). But it still showed how the world's biggest wrestling company is happy to upend the entirety of its creative plans in order to accommodate a part-timer. Neither does the WWE appear to have learned from the mistake. While things often move gradually in the run-up to WrestleMania, it's noticeable how non-committal things have been with the creative directions for Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes this time around — almost as if the WWE execs were keeping things open until they knew the whereabouts of a certain Hollywood star. It was a similar story last fall, when The Rock's appearance at Bad Blood turbocharged speculation that "The Final Boss" might be the one pulling the strings in The Bloodline story. When the big twist never came, most of us assumed we'd let our imaginations run away with us. But could it be that it was just a case of schedules not aligning? It's a tricky balance to strike, this legends business. Bringing them back for scene-stealing cameos works great — just look at Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 38, or even The Undertaker's appearance in last year's 'Mania finale. But keeping your biggest storylines on ice for them is a different proposition altogether. Maybe I'll eat my words when the whole "I want your soul" thing blossoms into one of the greatest storylines in modern wrestling history. But based on what we saw last night, I'm not holding my breath.
