The Rock: He’s Raw, he’s Tough Enough, he’s … going to wrestle again?
There’s been plenty of news the past few days regarding The Rock and his ongoing association with WWE.
WWE announced that he’ll appear live on Raw next Monday, which will be the final Raw before WrestleMania XXVII. That was expected.
It also was reported by Entertainment Weekly that The Rock will appear on an episode of Tough Enough, which debuts on USA Network April 4 after Raw. That’s cool, and it again shows how serious WWE is about making the show—which will be hosted by Steve Austin and have Booker T. and Trish Stratus as trainers – a success.
In addition, The Rock, in an interview with WWE Magazine, made it sound like a return to the ring was a distinct possibility.
Say what?
“Making movies is something that I love to do, and I know that it brings a lot of people joy, which in turn brings me and my soul great gratification,” he said. “Being in the ring and entertaining the audience and kicking ass physically brings me and my soul great gratification as well. I can guarantee that I can always do both."
That’s a lot different than what he has said previously when asked about wrestling again. In numerous interviews – including one that I conducted with him when he was promoting “Gridiron Gang” in 2006 – he made it clear that wrestling was something that he loved doing, but that he had moved on from that part of his life and had no plans to ever don the tights again.
Rock did seem to soften his stance a bit when he made a memorable appearance at the 2008 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. In response to the crowd’s chants of “please come back” and “one more match,” he suggested that he would consider another match with Austin (who hasn’t wrestled since 2003). He also said that there were three guys he wanted to wrestle but never got the opportunity – Rey Mysterio, Shawn Michaels and John Cena.
Obviously, given the high level of interest in the Rock-Cena war of words during the buildup to WrestleMania XXVII, there would be big money in a match between the two.
There was a time when I though the odds of Rock ever wrestling again were extremely low, but now it wouldn’t surprise me. I think one of the main reasons that Rock had somewhat distanced himself from wrestling was because he felt he wouldn’t be taken seriously in Hollywood otherwise.
However, he has since established himself as a bona fide movie star, and at this point, I don’t think being associated with wrestling again will have an adverse effect on his career. In fact, by re-connecting with wrestling fans, it just might give him a boost at the box office.
Photo courtesty of WWE
Comments
Finally, The Rock has come back...
to WRESTLE again!
Posted by: MitZi | March 21, 2011 12:20 PM
It might have also something to do with the WWE finally easing up on their ridiculous misinterpretation of the PG rating as G. Dwayne Johnson might be cool with making G rated films but he probably knows the Rock persona wouldn't fit well in an environment in which his catchphrases would be censored.
Posted by: Anonymous | March 21, 2011 12:25 PM
This sets up an interesting dynamic for Wrestlemania. If Rock/Cena happens, it can't happen this year. And it's too big to be relegated to another PPV (maybe Summerslam?). So do they tease it for a full year before it happens?
RESPONSE FROM KE: I could see either scenario. It would make SummerSlam huge. And WWE could plant the seeds for WM XXVIII and build the anticipation for a year. It's not as if Rock is going to be around fulltime until then.
Posted by: Sam | March 21, 2011 12:56 PM
I Kev i heard a couple rumors that WWE creative team have thought about scraping the Miz and Cena championship match for the Rock vs Cena i doubt that will happened you know WWE is full surprises sometimes .
Posted by: ryan | March 21, 2011 2:11 PM
Rocky is a showman and entertainer. I think even he was caught a bit by surprise by how big his return and, in particular, his war of words with Cena has been. I'm sure Rock knows how big a match between the two would be, probably at WM (although it would definitely reestablish SummerSlam as the definitive #2 PPV if they had it there. Rock has done it all as he says. He knows his legacy revolves around his promos, his rivalries with Austin, HHH and Foley, and also his matches at WM with Austin and Hogan. That latter part - those WM matches that are bigger than big - are what would bring him back. I could definitely see that kind of match sometime in the future. The only question to ponder for next WM (never too early) is whether the main event is:
- 'Taker vs. Cena
- Cena vs. Rock
- Rock vs. 'Taker
Can you imagine how big any of those matches would make next year's WM (particularly the latter two)? It would be epic and definitely bring a ton of buzz and PPV orders. I know I'm getting ahead of myself, but you don't think Vince is thinking about something like this in the back of his mind? Let the speculation begin...
Posted by: Jeremy W | March 21, 2011 3:59 PM
Really cool. :D
Posted by: Sharan | March 21, 2011 4:29 PM
Summerslam looks far more feasible than Wrestlemania XXVIII. I mean, if this year Undertaker is taking down HHH, then it's absolutely logical that Cena's his next (and probably last) opponent before retiring. Besides, Summerslam has always been billed as "The Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer", which would be an obvious nod to the Rock's previous work as an actor.
Oh, and a way this could go in my opinion would be that the winner of the Cena vs Miz match would face The Rock later in the night. Sounds good to me.
Posted by: JETZacx | March 21, 2011 4:52 PM
On report of this interview, I read that they also asked how much of his ring attire he still had. He answered back to something like, he had all of it because he knew he'd have to use it again.
Posted by: Zach | March 21, 2011 7:30 PM
I've read that with the movie business, they love people like Adam Sandler.
Every time he makes a movie, it makes $100 million in the U.S. Box Office.
I know the Rock has done some movies that have not lived up to those expectations.
And now with the economy. With the Japanese Earthquake. With quite a few wars going on. I can see a mid level movie star, like The Rock. A guy where his movies are making 25-50$ Million at the U.S. Box Office.
Either having to take lesser paying, lower profile supporting roles, or just flat out not getting a lot of opportunity's.
I would imagine, there comes a point,
where for The Rock, when your falling down the ladder of demand in Hollywood, eventually you hit the ceiling of the WWE.
I don't think The Rock has the guts, the backbone, or the grapefruits to risk ending up as a barely paid indie movie actor on the long term . . . not when the millions . . . and MILLIONS !!!!! Of the WWE's Dollars are CHANTING HIS NAME !!!!!
ROCKY !!!! ROCKY !!!!! ROCKY !!!!!!!
Posted by: Evan Benz | March 21, 2011 8:49 PM
Just a small note: When odds are low, it means the chance is high, and vice versa
Posted by: Thomas | March 22, 2011 2:17 AM
Is Evan Benz' comment supposed to be a "promo" or is he just really bad with grammar?
Posted by: Rock McFoley | March 22, 2011 7:33 AM
ROCKY...............SUCKS!!
Posted by: loomixguy | March 22, 2011 8:03 AM
I think Evan Benz is on to something!
Posted by: AMC | March 22, 2011 10:16 AM