Since returning to WWE, The Rock has leaned into being the villain. He’s repeatedly tormented WrestleMania opponents Cody Rhodes and Seth Freakin’ Rollins with beatdowns and colorful insults, and at times, he’s even taken his heelish anger out on the live fans in various arenas. Yesterday, however, he took it to a whole new level after he showed up an hour and forty-five minutes late to a WWE fan event, and instead of apologizing, decided to insult the Philadelphia Eagles.
The event in question happened at WWE World, which is a WrestleMania fan experience being put on in partnership with Fanatics. Basically, across the entire weekend, various WWE superstars are showing up for autograph sessions, meet and greets and Q&As. The Rock was supposed to do a Q&A with longtime announcer Michael Cole at 4 PM. He didn’t show up until 5:45, and when he came out and grabbed the microphone, he did not hold back, ripping into Eagles quaterback Jalen Hurts and telling fans to shut their mouths and enjoy the ride he’s taking them on. You can read his full quote below…
Are you booing because The Rock was supposed to be here at 4 o’clock? Is that why you’re booing? You’re booing because The Rock was a little late? Is that why you were booing? Why was the Rock late? You wanna know why The Rock was late? Are you sure you wanna know why The Rock was late? He was watching YouTube, watching videos of Jalen Hurts lose in the playoffs again. You boo because it’s the truth. Now, The Rock has shown up. You have greatness in front of you. Stand there, shut your mouth and enjoy the ride The Rock is taking you on.
Videos from the event have been widely shared on social media, and it looks like quite the scene. Prior to his arrival, fans were chanting “Rocky Sucks” and by pretty much all accounts, the mood was not positive, with many fans tweeting their frustration and some even wondering if he was okay, given his extreme tardiness. Then he showed up and insulted Philly, which led to a mix of some fans chanting “Rocky” and some fans booing more and chanting “asshole.”
If you don’t watch professional wrestling, all of this probably makes The Rock looks like a world class jerk, but as a heel, it’s his job to get people as mad at him as possible and to stir up as much sympathy for his opponents as possible. From Ric Flair to Hollywood Hulk Hogan to The Rock, the best wrestling heels are able to figure out how to generate boos, and fans love them for it.
We’re just one day away from The Rock having his first official WWE match in 8 years. He’ll be wrestling alongside his cousin Roman Reigns against Cody Rhodes and Seth Freakin’ Rollins in the night one main event of WrestleMania in what might go down as one of the best detours in WWE history. The Rock seems to have been brought in originally to be a babyface and wrestle Roman Reigns at ‘Mania. Fans were not happy and started booing The Rock, as the plan pushed fan favorite Cody Rhodes aside; so, WWE leaned into the heat and turned The Rock into a villain. He’s been doing some of the best work of his career in the time since.
WrestleMania 40 will take place over the course of two nights on Saturday and Sunday. The Rock is officially scheduled for night 1, but it’s widely assumed he will also appear on night 2. I explained why I think he’s going to win in my WrestleMania 40 predictions, but you can watch WrestleMania XL yourself with a Peacock subscription or a variety of other options.
