Ranking All 24 WWE Debuts & Returns In 2023

15. The Rock

CM Punk Trish Stratus
WWE.com

Although it was the definition of a one-off, The Rock’s surprise appearance on SmackDown in September, cutting Austin Theory to pieces, was a magical moment in WWE programming.

Rock's first showing in WWE since before the pandemic was a tremendously fun moment for fans in attendance and generated huge numbers on social media. Ultimately, this one-off was all about the shock, the pop and the buzz, but all of that was truly seismic for that one night and in the days after.

Rock’s appearance also got fans talking about whether the Great One would have that long-rumored WrestleMania match against cousin Roman Reigns, so that in itself was an accomplishment.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.