Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson returned to SmackDown last night to announce that WrestleMania 42 will take place at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on April 11 and April 12, 2026.
The Final Boss soon turned on heel mode and called out Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. After bragging about his seat on the board of TKO Group Holdings, WWE's parent company, The Rock made it clear he runs the show and requested that the American Nightmare become his corporate champion.
In return, The Rock vowed to make Rhodes every bit as successful and influential as he is. He finished by requesting that Rhodes answer him at next weekend's Elimination Chamber, though made it clear he doesn't want Rhodes' title. He wants his soul.
It's an unexpected, almost bizarre direction to take this feud in and appears to be teasing a heel turn for Rhodes. If that happens, then it would certainly make John Cena's rumoured title match at WrestleMania feel a little bigger (after all, who better to overthrow The Rock's corporate champion than the Leader of the Cenation?)
Attempting to figure out where this storyline is going is near-impossible, though The Rock seemingly closed the door on wrestling again during a post-SmackDown press conference...taking a match with Rhodes, and likely Roman Reigns, off the table for good.
"In the world of pro wrestling as we all know, everything will culminate to a match. Whatever happens it will end up in the ring. What I really love about this rare air space that we've gotten to, with the character of 'The Final Boss' it's like this white whale, unicorn," he explained. "In that with 'Final Boss' and Cody Rhodes, it's not about the WWE title."
"It's not about having a match. It never has to culminate to a match. That's a really special place to be, I think. Creatively and character-wise, you just think of how much fun you could have," The Rock concluded.
Check out some highlights from SmackDown below.