Dwayne Johnson set the wrestling world on fire on Friday, and more than made up for bowing out of WrestleMania 39 earlier this year. Hours after The Rock teased that he could be available for a match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40, he arrived unexpectedly on WWE's SmackDown and sent the crowd into hysterics. Now, as many wonder if he'll appear at more upcoming WWE events, the wrestling legend turned actor spoke about the return and made a lofty boast about the crowd reaction.
Dwayne Johnson shared the video of his return to any fans who weren't watching SmackDown on Friday night, possibly so they could see just how wild his return was. Johnson shared on X how he felt about returning as "The Rock" in Denver, Colorado, and even went so far to call the reaction one of the loudest of his entire career:
I was - I’m still - completely blown away by this crowd reaction in Denver this past Friday night on SMACKDOWN. My appearance was a 💯 surprise to everyone and this crowd of 14,000 erupted with the roar of 100,000 strong. Top 5 loudest crowd reaction of my career 🤯🥹🙏🏾… pic.twitter.com/IYXcD0yCzNSeptember 17, 2023
The Rock is called "The Most Electrifying Man In Sports Entertainment" for a reason. He's had crowds roaring for him for decades and might be the most popular pro wrestler in history when factoring in his acting career. With that said, the crowd is so loud in the above video that you can hardly hear his iconic theme song playing in the background, so I'm tempted to believe he's indeed telling the truth about it being in the Top 5 of his loudest crowd reactions.
I'm sure an appearance at WrestleMania 40 would top that if it happens. The building would no doubt erupt if we get to see "The Great One" take on his "cousin" and the long-reigning undisputed champion of the WWE, Roman Reigns. Johnson said that the WWE had agreed on plans for the match to occur at WrestleMania 39, but ultimately plans fell apart. Triple H mentioned following the Royal Rumble that Johnson informed them he wouldn't be able to get into proper shape for a match, which factored into the cancellation.
WrestleMania is always the most important wrestling event of the year, but it seems like there's added importance placed on major anniversary years. WrestleMania 30, for example, ended The Undertaker's iconic win streak of matches at the event and propelled Brock Lesnar into his run for the past decade that has solidified his Hall of Fame status. It also set into motion the eventual breakup of The Shield, and now, ten years later, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, and Jon Moxley are at the top of the pro wrestling business.
This is to say, if the WWE and Dwayne Johnson can figure out a way for The Rock to compete at WrestleMania 40, it needs to happen. The showdown would definitely serve as one of the most memorable of Roman Reigns' impressive career, and the journey to that match would only further bolster interest in the WWE. It already feels as though pro wrestling could reach "Attitude Era" levels of popularity again, so why not help it reach that level with one of the main guys who helped make the Attitude Era?
SmackDown airs on Fox on Fridays at 8:00 p.m. ET. I'm certainly going to continue making it appointment television out of an abundance of hope for more appearances from Dwayne Johnson while crossing my fingers and toes that we'll finally see him have a match again at WrestleMania 40.
