Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's WWE return has been nothing if not divisive, with his original plan being to take Cody Rhodes' place at WrestleMania as a means of, in his eyes, "saving" the Showcase of Immortals.
Fans turned on the People's Champion and got the American Nightmare his match with Roman Reigns back after making it clear that #WeWantCody. The Rock responded to the backlash by turning heel and it appears his promos have been rubbing up other WWE Superstars the wrong way.
According to SEScoops, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, WWE President Nick Khan, and Vice President of Talent Dan Ventrelle recently sent out a memo to talent making it clear they need to adhere to PG television and social media guidelines.
The Rock, on the other hand, has released a series of profanity-laden promos on social media and has even sworn during live segments on SmackDown. It's all served as an effective means of building him up as the "Final Boss," but there's a feeling backstage of a double standard for the Hollywood star compared to how full-time WWE Superstars are treated.
The consensus seems to be that he's getting preferential treatment due to being a "big movie star," and it sounds like television executives are similarly unhappy.
Now, Johnson appears to have responded by sharing the full Rock Concert and saying, "Networks and 'standards & practices' have issues with my language, but I’d rather be real than not. I talk from the heart, shoot from the hip and try to always have fun."
The Rock's jokes about drug use and sleeping with fans are reminiscent of the Attitude Era, but WWE's product remains PG. Of course, Johnson is bound to get a little extra leeway because he sits on the board of TKO Group Holdings, the Endeavor-owned parent company of WWE.
Johnson will still compete at WrestleMania, albeit in a tag team match rather than going one-on-one with Reigns. Here's the current card for the Show of Shows:
AJ Styles vs. LA Knight
Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
Women's Championship Match
IYO SKY vs. Bayley
Women's World Championship Match
Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch
United States Championship Match
Logan Paul vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens
Intercontinental Championship Match
Gunther vs. Sami Zayn
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match
The Judgement Day vs. TBA
The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match
Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes