JBL Defends The Rock’s Return Amid Fan Debate Over Part-Time Stars

The Rock’s return to WWE has everyone talking, and JBL had plenty to say about his intense showdown with Cody Rhodes on WWE SmackDown. During the February 21 episode, The Rock confronted the Undisputed WWE Champion, telling him he wanted him to be his champion—but also that he wanted his soul.

On Something to Wrestle, JBL was asked about the segment and admitted it caught him off guard.

“I did, I thought it was strange, and I thought it was probably supposed to be strange. Sometimes, you do stuff that you don’t have a finish to. That’s why you call it episodic television, and I thought that’s what that was. I have no idea what ‘I’m gonna take your soul’ [meant], I don’t think anybody else does. I thought it was incredibly well done. It looked uncomfortable, and I think that’s how it was supposed to look. I thought it was incredibly well done.”

While some fans might be skeptical about part-time stars stepping into the spotlight, JBL isn’t one of them.

“By the way, you got the biggest movie star in the last 20 years coming back to WWE. There’s no downside to this. A lot of people have always gotten mad about guys coming back, mad about the Warrior coming back, about Sid coming back, about Hogan coming back, about The Rock coming back. Look, if you’re big enough, you don’t need ‘em. But there ain’t nobody bigger than that man, and so it’s always great to see someone like that come back because it really does help the show.”

With The Rock playing a major role in WWE’s biggest storyline heading into WrestleMania season, it’s clear that the tension between him and Cody Rhodes is only getting started.