The Rock’s disappearing act from WWE may have had a lot more behind it than a scheduling conflict. His lack of promotion for major company events, absence from key TKO-related appearances and sudden exit from John Cena’s heel storyline have fueled questions about whether something serious broke down behind the scenes.
Sean Ross Sapp addressed the situation during a Fightful Select Q&A after being asked about Raj Giri’s claim that there may be bad blood between The Rock and TKO. While he stopped short of confirming a full-blown falling-out, he made it clear that the signs being pointed out are legitimate.
“So, I can’t verify this 100%, but yes, the signs that Raj points to are accurate. He didn’t promote WrestleMania last year at all. He didn’t at all this year. Then he went on The Pat McAfee Show, which isn’t tied to WWE—it’s not a WWE show or anything like that—and then tried to state his case. And I think ultimately what it was is him trying to make a power play last year.”
That power play claim adds serious weight to everything that has happened with The Rock over the last two years. WWE has continued to keep ideas involving him alive, but getting him into a WrestleMania match has never been as simple as checking whether he has the date open.
Ringside News can confirm that WWE has worked with an “if The Rock is available” scenario almost every year for the better part of the last decade. The company can map out matches and storylines involving him, but those ideas still have to survive negotiations over the creative direction, money, schedule and what happens after WrestleMania.
That last part has been a major sticking point. There have been situations in recent years where WWE considered bringing The Rock back for more than a one-night appearance, including ideas involving a championship run. Those plans did not happen because the two sides could not agree on how the story would continue after WrestleMania with Rock holding the title.
That disagreement helped push WWE in another direction and eventually led to the 2025 John Cena retirement tour. Rock was prepared to move forward at one stage, but the full deal and long-term creative plan never came together.
The situation may go even deeper than that. A major story about what actually happened between The Rock and WWE has been in the works for roughly a year and a half, and the expectation is that WWE will immediately try to knock it down once it comes out.
The biggest public sign that something went wrong came during John Cena’s heel turn. The Rock and Travis Scott stood beside Cena when he turned heel, setting up what looked like one of WWE’s biggest storylines in years. Then Rock disappeared before WrestleMania and was never given a proper exit from the angle. Cena was left to carry the heel run without the man who helped launch it, and WWE never gave fans a straight answer about what happened.
Vince Russo later blasted WWE Unreal for building an episode around explaining Cena’s heel turn while completely avoiding Rock’s disappearance. Russo argued that there was no honest way to tell that story without addressing the person whose exit changed the entire angle.
“They’ve got the perfect guy trying to explain what happened with his heel run, but brother, you can’t explain it without leaving out a very important part. That part is The Rock. Obviously, something went haywire with The Rock. Something went down, and he dropped off the face of WWE. Here’s Cena trying to explain the why without ever giving us the why.”
Russo also pointed out that Rock was not just another wrestler walking away from an angle. He held a position on the TKO board and had a major business relationship with WWE, which made his failure to help close out the storyline even stranger.
“Even if a guy like Rock isn’t happy, bro, if I’m on the board and I’m getting paid what WWE is paying me, and I know I don’t want anything to do with this, I’m going to do something so I can bow out gracefully.”
Russo believed Rock could have helped WWE create an ending, even if he wanted nothing more to do with the angle. The fact that he apparently did not led Russo to believe the split was not minor.
“For him not to do that, bro, it had to be something pretty damaging.”
That lines up with the latest claim that events did not unfold the way they were originally supposed to and that decisions made two years ago were not to Rock’s liking.
“But the way that things went were not how they were supposed to go, and then the things that happened two years ago weren’t to The Rock’s liking.”
All of this now hangs over the talk of The Rock possibly wrestling at WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia. WWE may want him. Saudi officials may want him. There may even be a massive offer waiting. None of that means the match is locked.
The two sides still have to agree on the opponent, the creative direction, the business terms, Rock’s schedule and what happens after the show. WWE has been down this road before, and serious talks have collapsed when the full package could not be worked out.
Self Made Pro recently stated that WWE is considering Roman Reigns against Oba Femi as an alternate direction if Rock does not agree to wrestle at WrestleMania 43.
“So, I talked to someone in WWE, right? There’s a lot of moving pieces right now, and they’re still unclear—at least as far as I’m aware, as far as the people I spoke to are aware, I should say. Right now, if Dwayne’s not doing Mania, then they’re looking to do Oba Femi and Roman at Mania.”
That backup plan makes sense because WWE cannot build one of its biggest cards around a maybe. Roman Reigns against Oba Femi gives the company a major match it can move forward with if Rock refuses the full plan.
Despite all the tension, the belief remains that Rock and WWE will eventually find a way to do business again. His recent movie results could make another WWE run more attractive, especially if the company and Saudi Arabia are willing to put a massive deal on the table.
“But before long, The Rock’s probably going to be trying to come back and do some WWE stuff. Moana was a bomb. Red One, a bomb. Smashing Machine, a bomb. Something’s going to get worked out eventually.”
The Rock could still end up back inside a WWE ring, but this clearly goes far beyond whether he can clear one night on his calendar. Something broke down, Cena’s storyline was left hanging and the full story may be far uglier than WWE wants fans to know.
What do you think caused the apparent tension between The Rock and TKO, and do you believe he will wrestle at WrestleMania 43? Leave your feedback in the comments.
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