2 weeks Ago By Dylan Burgett, Last Word On Sports
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson came on the Pat McAfee Show today to discuss WrestleMania. The show began with Pat making it clear that the Rock was scheduled to appear, but is a very busy man. Instantly, I figured Johnson had backed out due to his schedule.
However, around twenty minutes into the program, Johnson arrived. McAfee started off hot by asking what the Final Boss was going to do about Gunther attacking him. Johnson let McAfee know that even if WWE is his company, that isn’t his job.
Therefore, he wanted nothing to do with the situation. Very early in the conversation it was clear to see that this was “Chairman of the Board, Dwayne Johnson” not, “The Final Boss”. Johnson came on the program today to play a bit of damage control and let the fans behind the curtain on his absence.
WWE WrestleMania 41 Recap, High Praises McAfee turned the conversation towards WrestleMania 41 early in the interview. The Rock had nothing but high praise for the event and the performances he saw this weekend. Two men in particular caught Johnson’s eye.
Jacob Fatu and Bron Breakker both earned massive praise from Johnson. The Rock made note of how excited he was to see what is next for Breakker after teaming with Paul Heyman and Seth Rollins. “I loved every second of it.
”, was the first thing Johnson said when asked about the main event of night one. Johnson also talked about sitting at home and taking it all in as a fan for the evening. Johnson may have felt like just another fan that evening, but not all fans are privy to the outcomes of the matches.
“I know all the finishes. I just don’t want to know how they get there.”, Johnson stated when expressing his joy of the match.
This indicates that Johnson is clearly more involved than any of us truly know. Before diving into his absence at WrestleMania and what is next for the Final Boss, Johnson took time to praise John Cena. Johnson was clear and simple in saying, “He’s on Mt.
Rushmore now.”. The Rock also defended the man who can’t be seen by saying he’s simply telling the truth now.
“He’s not a bad guy, he’s just finally telling the truth,” Johnson explained how Cena must feel after 20 years of giving everything to the fans, and it just not being enough. The Final Boss Wants Your Soul Once Johnson heaped his praises upon Cena, we finally got to the part of the conversation we had all been waiting for. How did we get to the Final Boss at Elimination Chamber? Johnson broke down that he received a call from Ari Emmanuel about a month before Elimination Chamber.
“We need help. Tickets are moving pretty slow.”.
Emmanuel stated. He had decided to call the Rock in to make Elimination Chamber in Toronto “must see”. Johnson explained how he racked his brain and met with the creative team over what they could do.
Rock’s first idea was to ask Cody for his soul. Johnson didn’t want Cody to turn into an evil guy. He just wanted Cody to come to him and tell him everything he wanted so the Final Boss could get it for him.
In return, Johnson would own Rhodes’s soul. After explaining what he meant by that, Johnson made it clear that the entire story was just a test. A test to find out how the crowd would react to Cody Rhodes turning heel.
Johnson expressed his surprise at just how many fans were pushing for Rhodes to sell his soul to The Final Boss. It makes a bit more sense now to see this was just the WWE planting the seeds for Rhodes’s future heel turn. Who’s Idea? Rock also let McAfee know that Triple H was the first person to pitch John Cena’s heel turn as the connecting point in the storyline.
After hearing this idea, Johnson got behind it as he began thinking over the possibilities of what a heel John Cena would even look like. Johnson equated the Cena heel turn to his very own in 1997 when he joined the Nation of Domination. Cena, just like Johnson back then, has been the sympathetic babyface for so long and is simply frustrated now.
Johnson said it’s the reality in how Cena really feels that adds so much to the character’s turn. Where Was He Sunday? So where was The Final Boss Sunday? Rock made it clear that once he finished in Toronto at Elimination Chamber he was stepping back. “The best thing for the Final Boss was to not be involved.
” Johnson wanted this WrestleMania Main Event to focus on John Cena’s legacy and what Cody Rhodes has done for the company so far. His parting words after Elimination Chamber sum this up well, “The Final Boss’s job is done.”.
Johnson shared that he loved the match on Sunday but would have “finessed the finish differently”. Rock believes they could have built the match to make Rhodes look a little better in the end while still having Cena come out on top. Interestingly Johnson did say that the arrival of Travis Scott was a shock to him.
Johnson stated, “I was just as surprised to see Travis Scott come out.”. Rock said that at that moment, he knew the fans in attendance and at home would be expecting him to come out.
That was never in the cards for Johnson. Rock did a good job of explaining why he had never planned on being in Las Vegas on Sunday. Johnson didn’t want to get involved in the match if they couldn’t follow up on it.
He alluded to his extremely busy schedule and not knowing when he would be able to return. Why start something at WrestleMania if the Rock can’t commit to revisiting what happened. However disappointed fans may be in not seeing Johnson on Sunday, I do appreciate that he decided not to string us along.
Closing Moments To finish up the interview, Johnson did mention a few potential storylines to return to. “Right now, it’s not about the soul. Right now.
” Johnson smirked and said when talking about what’s next for Cody Rhodes. When speaking of souls for sale, Johnson also referenced Seth Rollins letting him know is soul is for sale. Could we see The Final Boss and The Visionary side by side soon? Once Johnson addressed his WrestleMania absence, the interview pivoted towards his future movies.
Johnson seems very excited about an upcoming film with Leonardo DiCaprio. As far as wrestling goes, it looks like we will just have to enjoy the ride The Final Boss is taking us on when he returns. This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.
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