WWE Hall of Famer on why Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a lock for WrestleMania 41

After making not one but two appearances for VVE by 2025, fans around the world – literally – are wondering what the future holds for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in professional wrestling.

Were these appearances just marriages of convenience, with members of the Board of Directors already in LA for the Golden Globes? Or he has something more pressing in mind, such as an appearance in the 2025 Royal Rumble? Does Rocky want to be included in the Road to WrestleMania like last year, leading to an eventual Showcase of the Immortals match? Or would this year’s appearance, if it happens at all, be more of a smile-and-wave promotional situation instead of a full-on in-ring contest?

Discussing why The Rock will or will not appear on the show with his 83 weeks co-host Conrad Thompson, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff revealed why he believes Johnson is a lock to appear at the show in April, as moving the needle even slightly could lead to a big financial windfall for the company, whose the main shareholder.

“The guy just bought almost 100,000 shares of TKO.” You think he won’t try to move the needle whenever he gets the chance? I don’t think so. I think he likes this. I think Dwayne Johnson is a good actor. There is no downside,” Bischoff stated via Fightful.

“Now, if he has a movie project and he’s not contractually able to participate in WrestleMania, I understand that. It’s a job. But if that’s not the case, I wouldn’t be so quick to write anything off at this point. I think the level of storytelling and the confidence in the creative approach, a lot of little Easter eggs that I saw, or maybe wanted to see, which is kind of fun. There is so much to read. That’s one of the things that makes wrestling so much fun, compared to other forms of entertainment. When done well, it’s very unpredictable, and surprises, and plot twists, and little easter eggs. There is so much right now to meet my expectations and enjoy the ride because I think anything is possible at this point. I think they have the creative power to pull off anything.”

You know, while Bischoff has some opinions that are outside of the modern mainstream wrestling consciousness, this opening is actually incredibly spot on: if The Rock’s show can even just sell a thousand more tickets or get a few thousand more fans to tune in to the Peacock show -uh, why wouldn’t you do that? Rising stock prices only make him more money in the long run, and given that he can put his finger on the scale in a way few other investors would legally dream of, there’s really no downside to flying to Las Vegas, doing anything he is allowed to do so based on pre-existing film contracts, and then take that success to the bank, where he will see more higher return? Makes sense to me.