Everyone could smell what Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was cooking when he entered the WWE ring for the first time in 11 years on Saturday, April 6, during the show’s main event.
It looked like no time had passed when Johnson, 51, pinned Cody Rhodes on the mat during Night 1 of Wrestlemania 40 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Johnson, known now as the menacing Final Boss, teamed up with his “cousin” Roman Reigns to defeat Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the match — securing Bloodline rules in Sunday night’s WWE Championship contest.
For the WWE fans out there, The Rock’s big return on Saturday was thrilling for many reasons. Reigns, 38, accidentally “speared” his cousin during the match, planting the seed for an inevitable Rock vs. Reigns feud (maybe at next year’s Wrestlemania). The mistake could also apparently signal The Rock turning on Reigns during the main event of the second night of Wrestlemania on Sunday — and he could accidentally cost his cousin the match and ultimately the title.
“The thing that’s been really gratifying is two things: No. 1, the fans and the embracing of The Final Boss — this version, this Rock 10.0 version. But also all the guys and girls in the locker room,” Johnson said of his return to WWE on “The Will Cain Show” podcast Friday, April 5. “Because I do come in, admittedly, I’m a disruptive spirit — I like to disrupt things when I come in and raise all the ships with the tide — but the locker room has been really tremendous.”
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As of January, Johnson sits on the board of directors of TKO Group, the parent company of WWE and the UFC, and also owns the full rights to “The Rock” character’s name, image and likeness, according to ESPN.
After multiple past attempts to bring his character back, everything came together in 2024 for The Rock’s comeback. “Why this year?” Johnson told ESPN in February. “It felt like the timing of this was going to work out good. And it felt like the timing was going to work out in our favor.”
Fans went wild for The Rock on Saturday, including local Philly hero Jason Kelce, who posted a photo next to the “legend” on his “New Heights” podcast X page. Kelce, 36, also hopped in the ring over the weekend when he and his former Eagles teammate Lane Johnson crashed Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar’s match as two masked luchadores.
The two NFL athletes ripped off their matching black tank tops in celebration and proceeded to congratulate the wrestlers while shirtless.
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“Welcome to Wrestlemania, Philadelphia Eagles,” announcer Pat McAfee quipped before another announcer jokingly chimed in, “Isn’t that whatshername’s brother-in-law?” referring to Jason’s brother Travis Kelce’s girlfriend, Taylor Swift. “I’m a Steelers fan, Pat.”
The “New Heights” Instagram shared a few photos from Saturday on their page, writing, “WHAT A NIGHT #wrestlemania.”
