5 Ways The Rock Was A Hero And Saved WWE

The Rock would finish working with the WWE on a full time basis in 2004, at which time he left to launch his acting career. After 7 long years, The Rock would make his return back home.

The reaction The Rock received coming back to the WWE, and revealing he would be the host of WrestleMania 27 was electric. While WrestleMania is the biggest event in the WWE every year, The Rock's involvement brought it further main stream.

With a WWE Championship between The Miz and John Cena set, it was destined for a crowd full of "smarks" to just boo the entire main event. The Rock's involvement in the show, and specifically the main event, helped save the pay-per-view. When he hit Cena with the Rock Bottom, and allowed The Miz to get the win over Cena, a big story would develop the next night.

For the first time ever in the WWE, the main event for WrestleMania would be agreed upon a full year prior to the event. John Cena would challenge The Rock on WWE RAW, to which The Rock accepted. The fans would be able to see superstars from two different eras, face each other while they were still at the relative peak of their careers. 

It was billed "Once In A Lifetime," The Rock would come back and main event WrestleMania 28.