In the lead-up to WWE Raw Day 1 earlier this week, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque teased that a former WWE Champion would be appearing. Speculation ran wild as to the mystery individual’s identity though very few predicted correctly as, at the tail-end of the show’s second hour, Jinder Mahal was unveiled as the former WWE Champion in question. However, that wasn’t the only surprise of the segment as minutes later, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson appeared to lay the SmackDown on Mahal and hint at a huge WrestleMania 40 clash with Roman Reigns.
Now, a few days on from his surprise WWE return, The Great One has taken to social media to reflect on the appearance and express his gratitude for the reception he received at the event. However, he did not mention or even make reference to his jab at the Undisputed Universal WWE Champion whatsoever.
It all hits differently,” Johnson wrote on X. “The theme, the crowd, the connection, the reaction, the electricity, the chills. Helluva way to bring in 2024. Grateful, blessed & inspired to forever be, the People’s Champ.”
The Rock’s return on Raw marks his first WWE appearance in just over three months. Back on the September 15th edition of SmackDown last year, he appeared to help his friend Pat McAfee in a confrontation with Austin Theory. Earlier that day, Johnson appeared as a guest on The Pat McAfee Show and even addressed the long-standing rumors of a potential match between himself and The Tribal Chief.
He revealed that plans for him to face Reigns had been set for WrestleMania 39 but later fell through but noted that he’d still be open to the idea at WrestleMania 40 – a prospect that now seems to be becoming a reality.
The Rock has not competed inside a WWE ring in over seven years. His last match was at WrestleMania 32 where he handily defeated Erick Rowan in just six seconds.