The Rock may have been raking in billions at the box office for the past 20 years, but he parked all of that to return to his roots and compete at WrestleMania 40 on Saturday.
The Great One, 51, hasn’t wrestled full-time since he left WWE in 2003 and hadn’t competed in a real match in 11 years.
But in Philadelphia on Saturday night, The Rock donned his trunks once more to main event the show with Roman Reigns against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a near 45-minute epic tag match.
Given The Rock was seriously injured when he last competed at WrestleMania against John Cena back in 2013, there were question marks over whether the former 10-time world champion could still hang with the best in the world.
Performance aside, The Rock did get the result. The Final Boss pinned Cody Rhodes to secure the victory for his family, and ensure ‘Bloodline Rules’ for tomorrow’s main event between Reigns and Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Universal title.
So how did The Rock do? WWE’s chief of content and former Rock rival, Triple H, was full of praise for the TKO board member.
‘It wouldn’t be the physical part,’ Triple H when asked what about The Rock’s performance impressed him. ‘I think he loves this and he is going to throw caution to the wind and go all out and it is going to be amazing.
‘When you have done this for a long time and you are around it every day you see composure in people that I can spot it in people now, it is my job to some degree.
‘I can spot it and tell you who is comfortable and not, who doesn’t it feel it, who is just doing things.
‘The most impressive thing to me was his composure, being in the moment and his feel. I could see him feeling everything that was happening and his composure.
‘An adrenaline hits you. It moves fast and you move with it, you think you’re not but you are. He was calm.
‘To be gone that long and be that calm and composed and in control and that feel, there are not many people that can do that, that is the part that escapes you.
‘You still know the traction you might get but the composure is the magic. That is awe inspiring.’
In his opening statement, he also extended his thanks to The Rock, admitting his former foe didn’t need to come back to WWE given all his fame and fortune but is grateful he has.
The Rock praises Triple H’s creative takeover and also what this night meant to him.
‘I want to say thanks to him. He doesn’t need to be here. The thing that has bonded us is our passion for this. No matter the other things going on, we both understand that deep inside his DNA this is what he loves, and the same for me.
‘We have had a blast in this journey creating the Final Boss. If you’d have told me he’d have gone down the road of turning heel I’d have said you were insane. But it was right.
He concluded: ‘New time. New era. We are just getting started. I see this as the launching point.’
The Rock also told members of the press he felt great after the main event, suggesting he didn’t pick up any injuries in the 45-minute epic.
