The Rock Addresses WWE Return Rumors (Exclusive)

There has been a rumor going around among WWE fans and insiders, claiming there is a decent chance The Rock returns to the ring for a final match against his cousin Roman Reigns. Roman is on a tear in the business right now. As WWE Universal Champion, he been putting down challengers left and right, leading to an interesting trend. After Roman wins a major match, a Superstar who has been out of the ring for some time makes a comeback. Roman has gotten through each of them, so far. The list includes John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Edge, Rey Mysterio, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Cesaro, Daniel Bryan, and more. The first half of that last is a set of wrestling icons who shared a large portion of their era with that of The Rock… and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson may be one of the next big Superstars returning for the challenge.

Johnson is currently promoting his Netfix film Red Notice, where he stars with Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot as Agent John Hartley hunting down thieves. His slate is pretty full after Red Notice, too. Johnson’s DC Comics movie Black Adam is in post-production, another Jumanji movie is on the way, and he might even have a presidential run in his future. Somewhere, though, he might squeeze a WWE match into his schedule, though it is unlikely he would continue on beyond what would be a headlining return match.

“I don’t know if I have another title run, considering I’m the People’s Champion, but I don’t know if it’s another title run,” Johnson said, when asked by ComicBook.com if he would defend a title if he were able to take it from his cousin Roman (this interview clip is available on YouTube). “I think possibly, you know, there might be another match down the road. It would have to make sense.”

From the perspective of Attitude Era fans, it certainly wouldn’t take much to convince anyone it makes sense. Though some fans get frustrated when WWE Superstars make short comebacks between making and promoting movies that they grow into after gaining fame from wrestling, The Rock seems to be a WWE character that the vast majority of fans would love to see tango one more time. Plus, the story is writing itself. Roman Reigns is asserting his dominance as the WWE’s Universal Champion during a historic run which has gone on for far more than a year now. What better way to end it or cement its legacy of dominance than calling on his family, and I don’t mean the Usos, for a big final bout.

“It seems like Roman, you know, I’m very close with Roman obviously, and we talk about this all the time, and I continue to encourage him to keep doing your thing, keep sharpening those skills,” Johnson said. “I think he’s doing a great job with his promo, his execution, his in-ring work. It all continues to improve and grow. And that’s always the best part, I think, about that world of professional wrestling is that when someone gets anointed and given the ball to run, they either score a touchdown with it or they don’t. But then some, not only score a touchdown with it, but then they begin to change the way the game is played. And in Roman’s case, he’s slowly doing that, and you could start to read the tea leaves. And again, I’m very, very proud of him. I like everything that he’s doing. I like everything that the Usos are doing. I like what they’re doing together, and we’ll see down the road.”

Would you like to see The Rock return to the WWE? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram. Dwayne Johnson’s Red Notice is now playing in select theaters and becomes available on Netflix on November 12. 

(Photo by Chris Ryan/Corbis via Getty Images)