The Rock Recalls WrestleMania 40 Moment That Made Him Very Happy
The Rock has opened up about one particular moment during his WrestleMania 40 match that made him want to smile during the match.
There was a lot of pressure on The Rock during the WrestleMania 40 Saturday main event. That’s because it was Rock’s first WWE match in 11 years (the “match” at WrestleMania 32 didn’t count) while his tag team partner Roman Reigns and opponents Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins were all in the prime of their careers and wrestling regularly for a long time.
For several months prior to the match, The Rock trained with WWE NXT wrestlers Gallus (Wolfgang, Joe Coffey & Mark Coffey) so that he could get in wrestling shape and get through the match.
It ended up working out very well since the match went over 45 minutes as Rock & Reigns defeated Rhodes & Rollins in a terrific match. Rock even got the pin on Rhodes after hitting him with a Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow.
In a lengthy interview with ESPN talking about his return to the WWE ring, The Rock admitted that he thought everything went well.
“We were rolling the dice, and, as you saw, everything worked out, I thought, phenomenally well.”
As he continued, the People’s Champion spoke about what he felt when he first locked up with Rhodes and Rollins in the match while mentioning a moment that made him really happy.
“We connected with that big Cody Cutter off the ropes, which required insane f—ing timing, which we had never done before. We were like, all right, we have some confidence in our abilities here. When he hit me with that and the way the crowd responded, I remember laying there and just being so f—ing happy, but I don’t want to laugh or smile.”
“My very first lockup with Seth Rollins, that’s when it all clicked. It’s like you have a shift-and-click moment. It’s riding the bicycle. Then he tagged in Cody. First time ever, I locked up with Cody and the lockup feels good.”
“The moment you lock up with somebody in our world of pro wrestling, you immediately know what kind of wrestler they are, if they’re going to be stiff, if they’re going to be smooth, if they’re going to be intense, if they’re going to be in control. Both guys smooth, in control.”
Triple H Praises The Rock For Incredible Performance At WrestleMania 40
For many years in WWE, The Rock’s biggest on-screen rival was Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who is now the Chief Content Officer of the company in charge of booking the shows. In the same ESPN article, Triple H praised Rock heavily.
“It’s one thing to announce a comeback. It’s another to go through a full training camp. But to execute the way Rock did at WrestleMania is a different level.”
As for what’s next for The Rock, he continues to tease a match at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas that could be against Cody Rhodes unless WWE goes with the Roman Reigns-Rock dream match.