The Rock Set For Major WWE Absence?

The Great One looks set for a significant absence from WWE programming.

Mar 14, 2024 March 14th, 2024

While he's currently on track to headline Night 1 of WrestleMania XL and is expected to have a significant presence on Night 2, it looks like the Rock won't be hanging around for too long after this year's Showcase of the Immortals.

As per PWInsider, Dwayne Johnson's next movie - The Smashing Machine - will be shooting from 1 May through until 1 August. While that doesn't totally rule out any WWE appearances from the Great One during that time, it would presumably rule out any chance of Johnson getting physical.

Based on HBO's fascinating 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Mark Kerr, this upcoming film will tell the story of one of the biggest names in MMA history. A two-time UFC Heavyweight Tournament winner, a veteran of PRIDE, an NCAA Division I Champion, and a four-time ADCC World Champion, Mark Kerr's story is one of a pioneer powerhouse who's also battled plenty of demons over the years.

Produced by A24 and Dwayne Johnson's Seven Bucks, The Smashing Machine has Academy Award nominee Emily Blunt on board as Kerr's wife, Dawn Staples, and casting is currently taking place for various supporting roles in the picture. Shooting is set to take place in Los Angeles, New Mexico, Vancouver, and Tokyo.

As for WrestleMania XL, Night 1 will see the Rock team with Roman Reigns to take on Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a bout that has implications to Night 2's main event of Roman defending his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against the American Nightmare.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

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