The Rock Is Trying To Pull A Black Adam With The WWE (And Fans Are Furious)
There was a time not so long ago when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was the most untouchable and powerful man in Hollywood. He was the highest-paid actor in 2016, 2019, 2020, and 2021, and there was such a push in 2017 for him to run for president that he starred in a "Saturday Night Live" sketch about it. His inclusion in the "Fast & Furious" franchise starting with "Fast Five" helped catapult the series into an international box office juggernaut, and considering his career in the wrestling ring made him one of the most well-loved figures in all of pop culture, it's understandable that he would have a lot more pull with studios than the average performer.
But Dwayne Johnson is far from invincible.
Reports of his on-and-off feud with "Fast" co-star Vin Diesel painted him as a bit high maintenance, and when the public learned of the "No Lose" clause in his contract (which states no one can ever beat his characters in a tussle on screen), it meant that we now knew how every action-packed fight scene was going to end. This is why it was confusing when he took the initiative to turn the DC Extended Universe into his personal playground with "Black Adam," demanding he play the titular character as a hero despite him canonically being Shazam's archnemesis.
"Black Adam" was a critical and financial flop, torpedoed by what insiders claim was Johnson's ego and an unwillingness to compromise. He brought back Henry Cavill as Superman for a post-credits scene, only for James Gunn to announce that Cavill was being replaced as the Man of Steel moving forward. Johnson outright refused to take the "L" on this one, and it's severely harmed his reputation.
And now he's trying to pull the same crap in WWE by inserting himself into the WrestleMania XL main event scene, and fans are not happy.
Why is The Rock trying to be in WrestleMania?
The same day it was reported that Netflix was to be the new home of WWE, it was also announced that Johnson had joined the board of directors at TKO Holdings Group, the parent company of WWE and the UFC. Fans were initially pretty excited about this announcement because few people understand the wrestling business and how to appease the masses like Johnson. But his first week on the job was a rough one, to put it lightly. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon (who has an allegations list that rivals his buddy Donald Trump) is now being investigated for alleged sex trafficking crimes, superstar Brock Lesnar was reportedly removed from all future creative plans as he was linked to the lawsuit, and the return of CM Punk was cut short after he was injured during that weekend's Royal Rumble pay-per-view, one of WWE's five major events.
This has put a rightfully negative spotlight on WWE ahead of its biggest show of the year, and the company is desperate to guarantee a great turnout. Well, what better way than to put the most popular wrestler on the planet in the main event scene? That seems to be the thought process behind Johnson's decision to insert himself in a feud with Roman Reigns, the reigning Universal Champion currently enjoying the company's longest championship reign since 1988. Oh, and he's also The Rock's cousin. Putting two future WWE Hall of Famers together in the main event at WrestleMania should be a dream match, and PWInsider reports that the Rock coming into the picture is an attempt to both "save WrestleMania" and allow Johnson to prove his value as a TKO board member (and earn a pretty penny as part of his lucrative new contract).
There's only one problem — Roman Reigns was supposed to face off with Cody Rhodes, who has spent two years fighting for this spot and is now being tossed aside as an afterthought so the Rock can just walk on.
Cody Rhodes becomes WWE's Shazam
Cody Rhodes is another legacy wrestler, the dashing son of the legendary Dusty Rhodes. Cody's first run with WWE was less-than-stellar, never getting over with the fans the way he should have (for the record, I've been a Cody fan since day one). He eventually left the company and became one of the key figures in getting All Elite Wrestling (AEW) off the ground to become WWE's major competitor. In February of 2022, he relinquished his executive position with AEW and returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 that April. He spent that entire year building toward a match with Roman Reigns to finally take the belt off him, and it certainly seemed like if anyone was going to defeat the Tribal Chief, it was going to be Cody.
But he didn't win.
Wrestling fans and pundits alike were shocked at the booking decision because everything about Cody's story indicated he was walking out of WrestleMania 39 as the new Universal Champion. It was the wrong call, fine, but the show must go on. Cody kept fighting. The man wrestled through A TORN PECTORAL MUSCLE at Hell in a Cell 2023 as part of his journey for a rematch with Roman Reigns and won the Royal Rumble in January 2024, the weekend after the Netflix announcement, the Johnson announcement, and the McMahon allegations (it was a hell of a week for WWE) to guarantee his spot at WrestleMania XL in Philadelphia.
Rhodes was finally going to "finish the story," as he's explained it, and fans were thrilled about the impending Mania match. And then Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson did the wrestling equivalent of saying "I don't care what the lore of Shazam and Black Adam says, I do what I want," and showed up on SmackDown following the Royal Rumble to kick Cody to the curb.
WrestleMania doesn't need saving (and it's gross to think it does)
Cody Rhodes deserves a medal for his humility in how he handled the announcement on SmackDown, even though it was very clear that he was not happy. The audience was excited to see The Rock, but once he clarified why he was there, they immediately turned on him. YouTube now hides dislikes publicly, but Wrestle Ops was able to confirm that the video of Rock announcing his return (and the subsequent ousting of Cody Rhodes) is now the most disliked video ever posted by WWE, and it's been up for less than a week.
And thus continues Johnson's losing streak. "Black Adam" was a bomb, his show "Young Rock" was canceled after three seasons, his $15 million investment in the XFL blew up in his face, and now the one thing that seemed like a failsafe — the WWE universe — has turned on him. #WeWantCody and #WoahMovement (a reference to Rhodes' entrance music) were the #1 and #2 trending topics the night of the announcement.
I also can't help but point out that when John Cena returned to the ring during the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strikes, he used his star power to put over new talent, while The Rock returned to center himself in The Show of Shows. But above all else, it's frankly disgusting to think that they believe WrestleMania needs "saving," because it not only takes away from the current roster of remarkable talent showing up week after week to run the company, but it certainly also feels like a distraction ploy to make people forget about the allegations Vince McMahon is currently facing.
If The Rock faces Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, we can predict the result thanks to that No Lose clause, but it won't be the first time Johnson and Roman are booed out of Philadelphia. Perhaps The Rock should heed the advice of another DC film and recognize that you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain and stay out of the ring.