The Rock did not have time on his agenda to appear in Wrestlemania 41, but he did have it for The Pat McAfee Show On Tuesday afternoon, where he explained his absence of the great event.
“I felt – and I made the decision, 'I do not want to be involved in that. That the end Boss went back to the shadows. That all the focus is in John and Cody. Let's not make it whether it is Cody's soul or the soul of John. Let us do what they do,'” he said, despite a clear creative decision to focus on Rhodes selling his soul Expected after two decades.
The Rock also said he wanted to see Cody Rhodes become Heel at some point and had developed the narrative of selling the soul as part of that bigger story, then launched evening criticisms of the creative process around the main event of Wrestlemania between The American Nightmare and Cena.
“They had six weeks to plan that. I loved the end of the fight. I would have adjusted the things a bit different in how they got there, but that is just my creative vision,” he said, in response to the end of the main event widely criticized.
Although it was a clear attempt to control damage by a great Hollywood star and a member of the TKO Board of Directors, it also seemed like a selfish interpretation in favor of The Rock about what appeared to be a tumultuous stretch of WWE's creativity to the largest show of the year and one that essentially threw Paul “Triple H” Levesque and his team under the bus.
It was ineffective and could have a negative impact on relationships within the promotion.
How do you see the consequence of this explosive interview in the ESPN interview program for WWE for the future? Let's take a look.
An absent Boss ending in action
The Rock made it very clear when discussing the reasons for not being in WrestleMania that one of them are commitments in other places that wants to honor and fulfill. Ibou de WrestlePurists He pointed out in December that they included regrabations for the next live action film of Moanawhich would not be available to compete in the main event of the show.
If that is the case, something that must stop at WWE's highest levels is The Rock dependence to boost ticket sale and add spark to live premium events. This interrupts creative plans and establishes impossible expectations among fans that The Final Boss will be part of the story when it matters most.
We saw it in Bad Blood, when it appeared in the final moments of the show without any reason, hinting at an involvement with Rhodes and Roman Reigns that never came to anything and prevented CM Punk vs. Drew McIntyre inside Hell in a Cell was the main event on a generic team fight.
The more this happens, the company is prepared for an unnecessary negative reaction when the Hollywood star does not appear as expected, even if it was never announced that it would first.
Their commitments in other places also mean that the company should not depend on it to make promotional appearances, such as Tuesday afternoon.
As iconic that is his character and however genuinely he intends to help, tends to turn things in a way that can be described as selfish. It usually makes it look good, or as the emphasis of great ideas, at the expense of all others, while undermining the company's true content director.
Speaking of that, the interview should also have an impact on how it creates stories, generates rivalries and builds superstar for the future.
Reexaminando a The Game
Triple H experienced its greatest success as Booker when you did not have to consider Mega celebrities appearing again on stage and becoming a factor in their stories, then waiting for them to be available to tell the next chapter.
Part of what caused WWE to be so popular when entering the showcase of the Immortals last year was how he created new stars. Damian Priest, Rhea Ripley, the Knight, Jacob Fatu, Liv Morgan, Dominik Mysterio, Jey Use, Drew McIntyre and Gunther saw their stars shot, thanks to a concentrated booking that intertwined their stories with other bigger stars on the payroll.
His creative plans were not at the mercy of The Rock would be available for some Raw or SmackDown episode, much less to make an appearance at a live premium event.
They had clear plans and an obvious but effective history direction, and the result was the most coherent WWE product that fans had seen in a decade. You need to return to that.
If The Rock has made it clear that he has commitments in other places, he should not feel forced whatever he wants to appear and do. Bookea as you want, which also meant putting as many faces in front of the audience as possible.
It was not uncommon for the induced to the 2025 Hall of Fame presented to the biggest stars in promos behind the scene or video packages that could advance their stories while they assured that Dragon Lee appeared on television in a fight with Chad Gable that highlighted his incredible ring skills.
Otis and Chad Gable had one of the best stories in WWE in 2024, and much of that can be attributed to the fact that they had time on television for promos and fighting in the ring, which, given the current state of the product, would probably not have today.
Create those moments that benefit the stars outside the handful of main superstars, tell those Undercard stories that allowed someone like gable to shine and become one of the most interesting and entertaining interpreters of the payroll.
If Triple H cannot rekindle the magic of his first year as Head of WWE's creativity, he does not seem to have The Rock to support himself when necessary in the predictable future. If that is the case, and the product suffers, then it will be time to reassess The Game.
