WWE Legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appeared on the Pat McAfee show earlier today where he spoke of how his appearance at Elimination Chamber came about (TKO Exec Ari Emanuel asked him) as well as why he didn’t appear at the recently completed WrestleMania 41. Here’s a recap of what he said:
On his Elimination Chamber appearance
I got a call about a month before Elimination Chamber. I get a call from Ari Emanuel, who we know owns TKO, TKO owns WWE, he’s been my long-time business partner and one of my best friends for over 20 years. He said we need help at Elimination Chamber, ticket sales are a little slow. But beyond that, he goes what we are finding is with Elimination Chamber, it’s become the pay-per-view that’s been interesting and fans have had fun, but it’s also the conduit for WrestleMania. And how do we create an Elimination Chamber that people must tune in to see. How do we create that. And he goes, ‘Right now we don’t have that. Let’s have The Final Boss show up?’ I said lemme give it some thought and lemme get back to you.”
Final Boss Wanting Cody Rhodes’ soul; John Cena’s heel turn
“It was a litmus test to find out, in my opinion, how will fans respond if Cody sold his soul to The Final Boss? Let’s get a temperature check on this. Let’s establish it, let’s anchor it in. And come to find out, there were a lot of fans who were saying: ‘Sell your soul. This shit is going to be crazy. Whatever it is, it’s compelling, it’s going to be great, let’s do it, sell your soul.’ So I was an advocate. Not turning Cody heel soon. But eventually down the line, I like the idea of that because Cody is a smart guy, he’s an intelligent guy, he’s a ring general. And I think this idea of you give him a reason to turn, way down the road by the way, you give him a reason to turn not based on titles, not based on this, but it’s his soul and what that means that affects generations. It’s transcendent beyond pro wrestling and fans were loving it. As we got closer to Elimination Chamber, we were kicking ideas around, myself and Triple H. And that’s the fun part by the way, I’ve been kicking ideas around with Triple H for 20 years, dude. We’re always having a great time with him and Nick and my team as well. And Triple H says, ‘What about this, what about John turning? I said I love it, I love it.”
On not appearing at WrestleMania 41
“So when we were moving forward with John and this idea of him getting crowned at WrestleMania and being a heel champion, I knew then the best thing for the Final Boss, we’ve established this idea for 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. Step back. Let the Final Boss step back, back into the shadows. Let all of the spotlight go to John, let it go to Cody. Let’s not make it about Cody’s soul, eventually or John’s soul, no, let’s let them do what they do. And I called John after Elimination Chamber, spoke to him, called Cody, and I said I think the Final Boss’s work is done. We’ve established it, we’ve just pulled off the greatest angle in the history of professional wrestling other than Hulk Hogan turning heel back in the ’90s. I said this is amazing, we have six weeks, now let’s build. You guys go and crush it. And I’ll be right there with you and I’m always here if you need me, but I think it’s best not for the Final Boss to be involved in that finish.”
“They know when I come to them, and them meaning Triple H and Nick and Ari as well, and I lay this out and I say, ‘Hey, here’s how I really feel it should go.’ We can insert Final Boss in the end of this finish, but then where do we go? There are other commitments that I have, and I want to also be careful that we’re not overstepping and leaning over our skis. Too much here can get involved in the finish. And I said, ‘But why get involved in that finish when the spotlight should just be on, in my opinion, John, 17-time heel champion? What does 2025 look like if this man is saying he’s going to ruin professional wrestling?’ That, to me, is the anchoring storyline. It’s not soul right now. Right now, it’s not. But by the way, we’ll go back to it. Look, I can’t tell you the texts that I got, and from the guys that I got, who are these top guys who are saying, one in particular, who I love, is my guy. I call him the Superman of the company. He said, ‘Listen, my soul’s for sale when it’s time.’ And I said, ‘I love it. Let’s do it.’
Travis Scott’s involvement
“So look, I love Travis Scott being involved, and I’ll tell you why: because he loves wrestling. He’s a huge fan, and he respects it. He’s working his ass off. I know that he has plans to train with Booker T. I don’t know if it’s happening already, it might be, not quite too sure there on his schedule, but he loves the business. Now, I was just as surprised to see Travis Scott as well. And I knew the moment I saw Travis that it immediately amplifies: here comes the Final Boss.”
