Dwayne Johnson was one of the biggest stars ever to be seen in the WWE before becoming a megastar in Hollywood. The Rock has only occasionally made an appearance in the organization since switching from wrestling to acting, including in a few matches at WrestleMania.
The Rock is rumored to be making a comeback to the company that made him famous in 2023, and AEW star Matt Hardy has talked about how the WWE locker room feels about past stars going back for one more match.
Matt Hardy on the response to Dwayne Johnson’s comeback to professional wrestlingThe tag team icon talked about John Cena’s recent return to SmackDown on a recent episode of his podcast, The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, and how wrestlers worry that such comebacks take away from their own TV time.
“I think it’s important whenever you debut, it’s important to have something that is meaningful, something that is important. Even if it’s in losing, you know, he still won that night, John [Cena] did because he went out and he hung with Kurt Angle, who was one of the tippity toppity guys at that time.
“So that was definitely a win and it’s important to showcase talent like that. But I think also when people see that, like, ‘Oh, sh*t, this might be a guy’s gonna be eating up a lot of TV time.’ I mean, I might get less TV time. You know, sometimes that is a mentality with guys like that.”
ardy explained that the same mentality is present when Dwayne Johnson makes his returns to the company, although he believes people should be pleased about the boost to business.
“But I always felt like if you ever got even, like, you know, people would bitch and complain, like when a Stone Cold would come back, or when The Rock would come back? Or do whatever, it’s like, ‘Dude, like, just be happy about it.’
“It’s better. It’s good for business, brings more fans, brings more interest to the product. So I was never threatened by stuff like that. I mean, I always dug it. I thought it was just good for the business.
“I was always about the greater good. I’m probably too selfless to actually be a wrestler in the wrestling business in many ways. But yeah, there are definitely guys who are like sitting and patiently watching, because they’re worried this is going to be a guy that takes up their TV time.”
It was recently reported that Dwayne Johnson isn’t currently ‘locked in’ for a much-hoped-for bout at WrestleMania 39 against the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. In the event that he is unable to make the event, other options are being considered for Reigns.
Source: itrwrestling.com
