The Rock Gives Bizarre Explanation For WrestleMania 41 Absence

The Rock has given a surprising explanation for why he missed WrestleMania.

Heading into Elimination Chamber, The Rock offered Cody Rhodes the chance to sell his soul and take the final step to superstardom. While the prospect of Rhodes turning heel has been discussed among fans, there was genuine surprise that WWE might follow through with it.

However, at the event, Rhodes was attacked by John Cena at the behest of The Rock, turning Cena heel for the first time in the best part of two decades.

But despite his central role in the story and the turn, Rock then disappeared. He was barely mentioned on television, Cena never referenced why he aligned with him, and WrestleMania came and went without an appearance.

This sparked significant backlash online as many felt it created a huge hole in the story between Rhodes and Cena that was never addressed.

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rock reflected on the WrestleMania match between Cena and Rhodes, while explaining his absence. Rock first revealed that he felt Elimination Chamber was a temperature check for how fans might react to Rhodes turning heel.

“The most important thing to the Final Boss isn’t money, titles, fame, been there done that, and grateful for that. The Final Boss wants your soul. What does that mean? That doesn’t mean the Final Boss wants you to act like this or be like this at his beck and call or treat you like crap or make you do all these things that are unbecoming or embarrassing. That’s not how the Final Boss flies.

What that means is whatever dreams Cody Rhodes has, whatever ambitions, even if they’re dark, amazing, full of light, scary, whatever they are, you tell the Final Boss, and he makes it all happen. When it comes to giving the Final Boss your soul, that is what you want, not what the Final Boss wants. What does the Final Boss get out of that? Your soul for life.’

Now, we go into Elimination Chamber with this idea of will Cody Rhodes sell his soul to the Final Boss? My thought at the time was, it was a litmus test to find out how fans will respond if Cody sold his soul to the Final Boss. Let’s get a temperature check on this. Establish it, anchor it in, and you come to find out that there were a lot of fans saying, ‘Sell your soul.’ I was an advocate of that.

Not turning heel soon, but eventually, down the line, I like the idea of that because Cody is a smart and intelligent guy, a ring general, and this idea that you give him a reason to turn, way down the road, you give him a reason to turn not based on titles, but it’s his soul and what that means, that affects generations. It’s transcendent beyond pro wrestling. Fans were loving it.

The Rock Felt He Wasn’t Needed At WrestleMania

Continuing on, The Rock explained that in the lead up to Elimination Chamber, Triple H pitched John Cena’s heel turn, and all involved agreed. However, at this point, The Great One decided that the story coming out of the event didn’t need him, so he simply faded into the background.

He later admitted that he would have “finessed things a little differently.

“As we got closer to Elimination Chamber, we were kicking ideas around, myself and Triple H, Nick, my team. Triple H said, ‘What about John turning?’ I said, ‘I love it.’ The next question is talking to John and see how he feels about it. John loved the idea of turning heel, but he said there is an anchor that he was going to root it in, which was a real thing he’s experienced over the past 25 years.

When we were moving forward with John and this idea that we would crown him at 17 and being a heel champion, I knew then, the best thing for the Final Boss, we’ve established this idea of Cody’s soul, we can always come back to it. I did feel, and I made the call, ‘I don’t want to be involved in that. Let the Final Boss step back into the shadows. Let all the spotlight go to John and Cody.

Let’s not make it about Cody’s soul or John’s soul. Let’s let them do what they do.’ I called John after Elimination Chamber, called Cody, and I said, ‘I think the Final Boss’ work is done. We’ve established it. We just pulled off the greatest angle i the history of professional wrestling,’ other than Hulk Hogan turning heel.

We have six weeks, now let’s build. You guys go and crush it. I’ll be right there with you and I’m always here if you need me, but I think it’s best for the Final Boss not to be involved in that finish.

They had six weeks to plan for that. I loved the finish of the match. I would have finessed things a little differently on how they got there, but that’s just me creatively. Ultimately, the bottom line is, I love John getting 17. I never had a concern about John pulling this off.

My thoughts were always to Cody and what we’ve established with him and his story, and the kind of babyface that he is. If done right, finessed right, and nuanced right, down the road, that guy not only has an incredible run, against, as babyface champion, but also an unheard of run as a heel down the road.”

When asked by McAfee whether there were talks about him appearing in the build or in the match itself, he said he felt there was no need to get involved. Rock added that he was surprised to see Travis Scott appear, reiterating that there were some things he would have “adjusted.”

“No, they don’t have to say anything like that to me. They know, when I come to them and lay this out, ‘Here’s how I feel it should go. We can insert Final Boss into the end of this finish, but then where do we go?’ There are other commitments that I have and I want to be careful that we’re not overstepping.

I can get involved in the finish, but why get involved in the finish when the spotlight should just be on John, 17, heel champion? What does 2025 look like if this man is saying he’s going to ruin pro wrestling? That, to me, is the anchoring storyline. It’s not soul….right now it’s not, but we’ll go back to it.

I was surprised to see Travis Scott as well, and the moment I saw Travis, it immediately amplified, ‘Here comes the Final Boss.’ They were waiting. I love John Cena, heel champion, the GOAT says he’s going to ruin wrestling. Some parts of it, I would have just adjusted,”

Despite continued heavy speculation, there’s no word on when The Rock will return to television or if he will ever wrestle again.

On the Raw following WrestleMania, John Cena was attacked by Randy Orton after vowing to retire as World Champion. It’s believed that the pair will meet with the WWE Title on the line in Orton’s hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.

H/t to Fightful