Young Rock is breezing right on through its third season and, while fans have come to expect instances in which the series recalls past moments from Dwayne Johnson’s professional wrestling career, the NBC show only rarely touches on things that haven't happened yet. Right now, there are a number of people that are wondering if that’s exactly what the show did in “Night Of The Chi-Chis," which they believe features potential evidence hinting that The Rock will return to the WWE for WrestleMania 39.
The scene in question takes place in the show's future timeline, which is set in 2032. It's at this point that Dwayne Johnson continues his U.S. Presidential campaign. Rock was reminiscing about his past with present-day actor and eventual journalist “Randall Park” when Twitter’s Josh Shernoff and others noticed something very interesting in the background:
Hey, anyone else notice in #youngrock the championships on display? This takes place about a decade in the future. Notice future @TheRock has apparently held the current Universal Championship. 🤔 @bfg728 pic.twitter.com/mNilPkJT5xDecember 4, 2022
What is the Universal Championship doing on display in The Rock’s home, and why do wrestling fans think this ties into WrestleMania 39? Let’s break it all down and talk out the realistic chances that Young Rock intentionally planted this macguffin to signal the star's purported in-ring return.
Why Do Fans Think Young Rock Teased Dwayne Johnson's Return?
As mentioned in the tweet, the Universal Championship didn’t exist until after Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had left wrestling and began acting full-time. As such, it doesn’t make a ton of sense that it’d be in his house in the year 2032 unless he returned to the WWE and won the title between now and then. Is it any coincidence then that this episode arrived just before WrestleMania season, during which Johnson is rumored to be returning to his professional roots?
For those unfamiliar with the rumor, the entertainer is believed to be returning ahead of WrestleMania 39 in Hollywood for a match against his cousin and undisputed Universal champion, Roman Reigns. At this time, it's hard to say whether or not Reigns will still have his titles, given he’ll face other opponents ahead of time at other upcoming WWE events. But it’s possible that if The Rock returns, he’d face Reigns in a title match. This alternate timeline on Young Rock seems to suggest that he does return and obtain the Universal Title, so this is just a precursor for what's to come?
Is This Really An Intentional Clue Or Just A Sweet Easter Egg?
Considering all of the WWE history wrapped up in Young Rock, you'd think that someone would’ve pointed out that the Universal Title shouldn’t be amongst Dwayne Johnson’s accolades. Mistakes do happen, though, so I wouldn’t completely shut down the idea of the item being placed there by accident.
At the same time, the WWE has been making major efforts to employ new methods of storytelling. For instance, it had fans excited over its whole innovative White Rabbit mystery some time ago. It’s possible that there’s some hidden messaging here that's purposely signaling The Rock’s return, but would he really win the Universal championship?
Given Dwayne Johnson's current professional situation, I'd expect him to win about as much as I anticipate him running for President. So maybe we shouldn’t read into this one so heavily. Perhaps it’d be best to keep a closer eye on Young Rock, though, and see if any upcoming episodes feature more clues indicating that he’s returning to the WWE.
Young Rock airs on NBC on Fridays at 8:30 p.m. ET. For wrestling fans, it’s probably not ideal that it runs against SmackDown on Fox, but they can definitely DVR one or the other and enjoy both on the same night! One can also stream past episodes of the dramedy using a Peacock subscription.
