Update: Haus of Wrestling reached out to a senior member of the WWE PR team about The Western Australia’s report and was told it is a case of “tabloids being tabloids.”
Just a few days after the WWE and UFC merger was complete, forming TKO Group Holdings, a publicly traded company owned by Endeavor, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made his triumphant return to the sports entertainment juggernaut. Following an appearance up the road in Colorado on The Pat McAfee show, The Rock and the former NFL punter made their way to WWE Friday Night Smackdown in Denver. The multi-time WWE Champion participated in an old-school promo battle with Austin Theory before laying out the young star and dropping a pair of People’s Elbows with McAfee.
The Rock’s return was a welcome surprise for pro wrestling fans, and it appears he may not be away from the WWE fold for long. The West Australian reports that “there is talk” that The Rock may compete at the WWE Elimination Chamber premium live event taking place on February 24, 2024, at the Optus Stadium in Perth, Western Australia. It was noted that there is a “strong suggestion” that WWE’s new Endeavor ownership wants their first WrestleMania to be “an absolute showstopper,” and having The Rock compete two months before the big event could jumpstart The Road to WrestleMania.
The report also states that The Rock’s match on the card could build to the hotly buzzed-about WrestleMania 40 mega-match against his cousin, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Fans have clamored for a bout between the two family members for years, and many thought it would happen at WWE WrestleMania 39 before Cody Rhodes won the Royal Rumble. Once Rhodes won the big multi-man match, he set his sights on Reigns, and The Rock’s name was dropped from the conversation.
It does appear there was something to the rumors about a WrestleMania match between the two; however, as The Rock revealed on McAfee’s show, the match was “locked in” before falling apart due to a lack of compelling creative. The Great One did make it clear that he is open to the match at WWE WrestleMania 40, and a win at the Elimination Chamber would seem to set that up nicely.
For what it is worth, Haus of Wrestling was told by a senior WWE member that they felt the WrestleMania 39 story with Rhodes was better than anything they could have done with Reigns.