So it’s officially happening. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is returning to WWE. Or is he? Yes. Yes, he is. However, we all thought this a few months ago, when Johnson hinted that talks were taking place for him to fight Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39. Nothing materialised from this, and fans were left wondering whether Johnson had second thoughts about his long-awaited return to WWE.
He knew it wouldn’t be met with entirely positive feedback, of course. While Johnson made his name in the world of wrestling back in 1996, he has been out of the game for around ten years now, having undergone his last full-time WWE run back in 2013. There were always going to be some who disagreed with Johnson returning to the top spot after such a long absence. But then again, there were always going to be some who saw this as a chance to elevate the WWE brand and shed some spotlight on the sport. In many ways, Johnson has been caught between a rock and a hard place.
The Return Confirmed
But now the rumours are pretty much confirmed. The Rock’s return is happening, having been announced in early January during Monday Night RAW. Due to take on the WWE champion, Roman Reigns, Johnson is slated to make his return at Lincoln Financial Field in April of this year, during WrestleMania 40. This is set to be a huge game-changer for WWE. It’s surely one of the shrewdest marketing deals, and it will also see many fully licenced and regulated bitcoin sports betting sites offering odds on the winners, as well as more people subscribing to PPV WWE streaming sites to watch him in action.
Cue the thousands of people who rushed to grab tickets, and cue the thousands of people who took to social media to complain. That’s right, as we alluded to before, the announcement of the Rock’s return has seemed to split the WWE fanbase as definitively as Eddie Guerrero’s ‘Backbreaker’. The reason for this is simple. Throughout the last few years, Roman Reigns has been the WWE Champion. He hasn’t lost a singles match in three years, and his rivalry with opponent, Cody Rhodes, has been nothing short of exhilarating. Rhodes himself has been trying to beat Reigns for around two years, fighting his way to do something his father never could: claim the WWE Championship.
A Story Postponed
This storyline has been one of the most gripping in recent memory, and Johnson’s return to WrestleMania couldn't have come at a worse time for it. To put it in simple terms, this is like plunking Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson right in the middle of The Shawshank Redemption. He’s a great actor and wrestler, sure, but his appearance makes no sense in the storyline! Fans, therefore, are angry that the Rock – who has been out of the WWE story for many years – has been given the main stage over Rhodes, who deserves the biggest stage possible to accomplish his dreams.
Then again, as we said, there are many who claim this is the best thing for the WWE brand. There may be some truth in this too. While 2023 wasn’t exactly a bad year for WWE viewership, it was relatively lukewarm, and already, the announcement of Johnson’s return has led to a boost. Any publicity is good publicity, of course, and Johnson’s name is enough to spur interest and get people talking. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is a lover of WWE, and it seems he has the best intentions possible to propel it forward. Whether you love it or hate the news, it looks almost guaranteed that WrestleMania 40 is going to be the most popular WrestleMania to date, and that’s all down to Johnson’s return and the buzz of excitement – both for the right and wrong reasons – that it has produced.
Either way, Johnson will definitely be taking to the ring in 2024, and he’ll be fighting in what many consider to be a ‘dream match-up’. So while Rhodes will have to wait on the sidelines, the rest of us at least have a spectacular fight to watch. Because let’s face it, we’re all going to be tuning in!
