When WWE Learned About The Rock’s SmackDown Appearance
The Rock is appearing on WWE SmackDown in New Orleans as details emerge about what he might be doing there.
In a post on social media on Thursday, February 20th in the evening, The Rock announced that he would return to WWE on the February 21st edition of SmackDown. Writing on Instagram, the future WWE Hall of Famer hinted at what he might be doing at the show.
The Final Boss is coming to handle business, deliver a big beautiful gift to the city of New Orleans and f*ck up a certain someone’s life with the Final Boss gospel. 🤫
#smackdown
There was a massive story broken over a week earlier about how the city of New Orleans is going to host WrestleMania 42 in April 2026. New Orleans has hosted WrestleMania 30 and 34 in the past, so it’s not a major surprise to see WWE going back there for more.
After Rock’s announcement about being on SmackDown in New Orleans, many people assumed that Rock would be there for the WrestleMania 42 announcement, which Wrestlevotes reported to be the case.
WWE Learned The Rock Was Coming To SmackDown Just One Day Before The Show
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reports that the involvement of The Rock on SmackDown in New Orleans is something that happened one night earlier when he posted on social media. After learning that Rock would be there, WWE “shifted plans to pivot towards his appearance.” It was not something that WWE was able to plan for in advance.
In addition to an appearance from Rock, it has been reported by Wrestlevotes that there will be a special SmackDown press conference after the show airs on USA Network and Netflix.
Source states WWE will be holding a post SmackDown Press Conference tonight at 11pm eastern across all platforms.
That report was also confirmed by PWInsider as well.
A match between Naomi and Liv Morgan was set for SmackDown in New Orleans, but that has been removed from the company’s website. A report also claimed that a tag team match between Cody Rhodes, Damian Priest & Braun Strowman against Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga may be off although that match is still on the website.
Outside of the wrestling world, The Rock was also in the news for his movie career because it was announced that Rock is going to star in a film with legendary director Martin Scorsese. It’s a crime drama that will also include major names like Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt, which means it will get a lot of attention.
Find out what happens on WWE SmackDown with The Rock when we review it on TJRWrestling and follow up on it as more news comes out.