10 Surprising Last-Minute WWE WrestleMania Card Twists
6. Rock Comes Ready To Fight
The Rock made a triumphant return
to a WWE ring at the 2011 Survivor Series, followed up by main-eventing
WrestleManias 28 and 29 against John Cena. He would pass the torch to Cena in
that 2013 match, transitioning to more of a guest appearance role at Mania 30
and 31.
But at the disappointing WrestleMania 32, The Great One’s attempt to continue being a non-combative attraction ran afoul of the Wyatt Family. Rock came out to announce the totally real and not inflated at all attendance record for Dallas’ AT&T Stadium, but the Wyatts, who otherwise had nothing else to do at WrestleMania that night, interrupted.
The confrontation led the Brahma Bull to remove his outfit, revealing his wrestling gear. He challenged the trio, with Erick Rowan answering the call… and walking right into a Rock Bottom for a record 6-second loss.
The “match” really was an opportunity to squeeze Rock onto the card and set a new, more legitimate Mania record (as the old 9-second record featuring King Kong Bundy and SD Jones was actually three times as long as documented).