WWE Reminds Fans of The Rock's Previous WWE Raw Surprise Return Amid WrestleMania Rumors

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's possible return continues to be one of the biggest WWE rumors heading into WrestleMania 39. But while WWE isn't stating anything outright about "The Great One" coming back for a match with Roman Reigns, the company did drop a potential hint on their YouTube channel. While hyping up Monday Night Raw's upcoming 30th-anniversary special, the page listed the Top 10 returns in the show's history. Johnson's return on the Feb. 14, 2011 episode came in at No. 1. 

That return set up Johnson to appear at the next six WrestleManias, starting with him serving as the show's host at WrestleMania XXVII. His involvement in the show's main event set the stage for his first bout with John Cena the following year, which he won in dramatic fashion. Johnson would then win his 10th world championship by beating CM Punk for the WWE title in 2013, then dropped it to Cena at WrestleMania 29. He'd make appearances at the next two Manias (the latter of which actually set the stage for Ronda Rousey's eventual involvement in the company) before having an impromptu match with Erick Rowan at WrestleMania 32. He won in six seconds. 

"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 told ComicBook in November 2021 when asked about making another WWE return. "I think possibly, you know, there might be another match down the road. It would have to make sense."

"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," he later added. "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."