The Rock stunned fans by returning to WWE on a part-time basis during the road to WrestleMania 40.
The Great One had not wrestled a proper match, outside of a six-second clash at WrestleMania 32, for over a decade at that point and many fans thought he would never return again.
The star initially returned for a cousin vs cousin clash with Roman Reigns, before a fan movement for Cody Rhodes curtailed plans.
The star eventually teamed with Reigns to take on Rhodes and Seth Rollins on night one of WrestleMania 40, and he was paid handsomely for the appearance.
The Rock was paid $9.3m for WrestleMania 40 run
The Rock appeared far more than fans thought he might when he first returned, starring on several episodes of WWE SmackDown and WWE Raw throughout February and March of 2024.
It all led up to a huge tag team clash at WrestleMania 40, in which The Rock looked like he hadn’t missed a beat from his first run with the company.
According to Fortune, The Great One received an incredible bonus from WWE, and its primary owners TKO, for returning to the company.
They reported that The Rock pocketed $9.3 million for his run with the company, in part due to his position as a chairman on the TKO Board.
Despite his handsome fee, it’s looking less and less likely that The Great One will return back into the WWE fold.
The Rock’s film schedule makes WWE return unlikely
The Rock’s position since his run into WrestleMania 40 has become less favourable with fans over the years, largely due to his schedule not aligning with WWE’s.
The Hollywood icon’s pivotal part in John Cena’s heel turn at Elimination Chamber massively excited fans, but him not appearing to follow it up has left a sour taste in fans’ mouths.
His WrestleMania 41 no-show, in particular, displeased fans and there’s a general consensus that he should stay away for good now.
Couple that with The Rock’s incredibly busy Hollywood schedule, which includes A24 film The Smashing Machine and the new Martin Scorsese flick, and it’s looking very unlikely that he’ll be back in WWE.