Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Returns to WWE Wrestlemania

Everyone could odor what Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was cooking when he entered the WWE ring for the initial time in 11 several years on Saturday, April 6, throughout the show’s key occasion.

It looked like no time experienced passed when Johnson, 51, pinned Cody Rhodes on the mat throughout Night time 1 of Wrestlemania 40 at Lincoln Economical Field in Philadelphia. Johnson, acknowledged now as the menacing Ultimate Boss, teamed up with his “cousin” Roman Reigns to defeat Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the match — securing Bloodline procedures in Sunday night’s WWE Championship contest.

For the WWE supporters out there, The Rock’s significant return on Saturday was thrilling for a lot of explanations. Reigns, 38, accidentally “speared” his cousin in the course of the match, planting the seed for an inescapable Rock vs. Reigns feud (possibly at up coming year’s Wrestlemania). The miscalculation could also evidently signal The Rock turning on Reigns in the course of the most important function of the second evening of Wrestlemania on Sunday — and he could accidentally cost his cousin the match and in the long run the title.

“The matter that’s been definitely gratifying is two factors: No. 1, the fans and the embracing of The Remaining Boss — this variation, this Rock 10. model. But also all the men and girls in the locker space,” Johnson claimed of his return to WWE on “The Will Cain Clearly show” podcast Friday, April 5. “Because I do appear in, admittedly, I’m a disruptive spirit — I like to disrupt matters when I appear in and increase all the ships with the tide — but the locker home has been definitely large.”

As of January, Johnson sits on the board of directors of TKO Group, the guardian firm of WWE and the UFC, and also owns the full legal rights to “The Rock” character’s title, picture and likeness, in accordance to ESPN.

Soon after various past makes an attempt to provide his character back, almost everything arrived jointly in 2024 for The Rock’s comeback. “Why this calendar year?” Johnson instructed ESPN in February. “It felt like the timing of this was likely to do the job out very good. And it felt like the timing was likely to function out in our favor.”

Enthusiasts went wild for The Rock on Saturday, which includes nearby Philly hero Jason Kelce, who posted a photo following to the “legend” on his “New Heights” podcast X webpage. Kelce, 36, also hopped in the ring above the weekend when he and his previous Eagles teammate Lane Johnson crashed Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar’s match as two masked luchadores.

The two NFL athletes ripped off their matching black tank tops in celebration and proceeded to congratulate the wrestlers although shirtless.

“Welcome to Wrestlemania, Philadelphia Eagles,” announcer Pat McAfee quipped right before a further announcer jokingly chimed in, “Isn’t that whatshername’s brother-in-regulation?” referring to Jason’s brother Travis Kelce’s girlfriend, Taylor Swift. “I’m a Steelers enthusiast, Pat.”

The “New Heights” Instagram shared a couple of pictures from Saturday on their website page, composing, “WHAT A Night time #wrestlemania.”