The Rock Returns TONIGHT On WWE SmackDown (WWE News)
It looks like there's a good chance The Rock is at WWE WrestleMania 41 after all.
The Rock has confirmed via X that he'll be in the house for Friday's live episode of WWE SmackDown.
This "bold and disruptive" brag has been corroborated by none other than Triple H. Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp posted a press release the company overseer fired out that claimed Rock's appearance on the blue brand means "everything could change in an instant". It looks like WWE has something major in mind for 'The Great One' then, but...what could it be?
Clashing reports over the past few months seemed to rule Rocky out of WrestleMania 41 season completely at points. One minute, he was definitely out. The next, people wondered if he might find the time to stop by and do something come April's bumper weekender. It's been a minefield of rumours and battling stories, but WWE and The Rock himself probably like it that way.
Keeping the fanbase guessing is hardly a bad thing, and there's still enough time on the clock before reaching Las Vegas to announce something worthwhile. That process begins on this week's edition of SmackDown, which should also give the show a ratings boost.
The Rock Could Make WrestleMania 41 Plans Clear
WWE are advertising The Rock's appearance as a 'Final Boss' character moment. That'll get a lot of people excited, because it surely means he'll be working some sort of match at 'Mania. Roman Reigns is a natural foe - The Bloodline narrative has been largely shelved since Roman beat Solo Sikoa during Raw's debut on Netflix, but it doesn't feel complete without Rock and Reigns locking horns at least once.
So, mark that down as likely.
Of course, the other option is Cody Rhodes, but he's currently waiting on 1 March's Elimination Chamber match at the next WWE PPV/PLE to thrash out his WrestleMania opponent. It'd certainly be "bold and disruptive" if Rocky waltzed in and either nabbed or shared that WWE Title spotlight from/with the Chamber winner.
Cody did seem to know in advance that Rock would be in the house for the 21 February SmackDown though. A short teaser video of the month ahead posted on X in early-Feb showed him sharing a polite drink with Dwayne in-ring. That could well be a coincidence, but probably not.
@WrestleOps on X also pointed out that Rocky's wording via Instagram is rather interesting. He said he's coming to SmackDown to "handle business" and "f*ck up a certain someone's life with the Final Boss gospel". Is that "certain someone" Roman, Cody or someone else?
Maybe he'll play a part in the ongoing story between Solo and Jacob Fatu, but smarter money would go on setting up a match with Reigns. Only time will tell, but this announcement already has fans talking.