The expectation was that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson would wrestle either Roman Reigns or Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania, though things took a weird turn when he was no longer part of the Bloodline storyline and later said he and Cody didn't need to have a match.
The Rock tried and failed to acquire the American Nightmare's soul and instead settled for John Cena's when he finally turned heel at Elimination Chamber. The Final Boss hasn't appeared since and has only been mentioned sporadically.
When he no-showed WrestleMania, the backlash was immediate and very vocal. Fans have accused The Rock of inserting himself into storylines simply to steal the spotlight, Hulk Hogan-style, only to not show up when it matters. Now, he's responded in a previously unannounced interview with Pat McAfee.
"The way John, at the end of the night, raising the title, that was the bottom line, that was the north star, and I think he’s going to have this insane run as a heel," The Rock shared while in obvious damage control mode. "When we talked about this turn a few months ago and he did it, I gave him so much credit because what he’s attempting to do takes guts, because there was no blueprint for heel John Cena."
He'd go on to claim that he only appeared at Elimination Chamber because ticket sales were a concern for Endeavor boss Ari Emanuel. It was decided then that inserting him into the storyline would increase interest.
"I had an idea: the most important thing about the Final Boss is that he wants your soul," The Rock explained. "Cody, I would make your dreams come true. It was a test to see how people would react if Cody sold out. I didn’t want to make Cody heel yet, but I did want to give him reasons to do so. I talked to Triple H about it, and he suggested Cena turn heel."
"I knew then, the best thing for the Final Boss is we’ve established this thing with Cody’s soul, 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 and Cody, not make it about Cody’s soul or John’s soul, let them do what they do."
"I called John and Cody after the Elimination Chamber, and I said I think the Final Boss’ work is done. We just pulled off the greatest angle in wrestling history. I’m always here if you need me, but it’s best for the Final Boss to not be involved in that finish," he added.
Now, it sounds like he's planning to take a step back. "They know when I come to them and I lay this out, and here’s how I really feel how it should go. We can insert the Final Boss into this finish, but where do we go? ‘I can get involved, but why get involved in that finish when that should just be focused on John, a 17-time champion, and what 2025 looks like. That is the anchoring storyline. The soul, we’ll go back to it."
It feel a lot like he's just making this up as he goes, and the biggest takeaway is arguably the fact The Rock clearly doesn't know when or whether he'll wrestle again, and subsequently isn't keen on committing to anything concrete. Having him drop in and out of storylines isn't doing anyone any favours, though, even if it does help sell a few tickets.
After all, not only is The Rock going to mean less moving forward, but it's clear there is no grand plan and that he just shows up to RAW and SmackDown with random ideas that Triple H likely feels forced to agree with thanks to his position in TKO. Let us not forget how he almost ruined the WrestleMania main event last year.