The Rock returns to WWE

Posted by Reinaldo Massengill on Saturday, February 3, 2024

Dwayne Johnson to host 'WrestleMania'

The Rock is headed back to World Wrestling Entertainment.

WWE has tapped Dwayne Johnson to serve as the first official host of “WrestleMania,” whose 27th installment is set to take place at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome on April 3.

Deal is a coup for WWE: Its execs have sought to lure Johnson, one of the biggest crossover stars the company has launched, back into the ring ever since he left to pursue a film career in 2004. The company is also hoping to bolster its PPV buy rates, which have dipped amid the recession.

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The hosting gig fell into place thanks to some perfect timing: WWE needed a high-profile stunt to put “WrestleMania” in the spotlight and help drum up ticket sales and PPV buys. Meanwhile, Johnson co-stars in “Fast Five,” the next installment in “The Fast and the Furious” franchise, which Universal Pictures will unspool April 29. Actioner teams Johnson with series regulars Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and Jordana Brewster.

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Johnson’s known as one of the biz’s biggest pitchmen on behalf of projects, so the thesp is sure to help promote “Fast Five” across WWE’s TV shows, magazines and websites over the two months leading up to “WrestleMania.” He’s also hoping to use the return to WWE as a way to drive traffic to his Twitter feed and Facebook page, through which he also hypes his projects.

Johnson has turned increasingly to social media as promo platforms after pics like CBS Films’ “Faster,” Fox’s “Tooth Fairy” and Disney’s “Race to Witch Mountain” struggled to win moviegoers. He recently appeared in Sony comedy “The Other Guys” and is currently lensing New Line’s 3D follow-up to “Journey to the Center of the Earth.”

Helping to secure the deal was WWE’s long-standing relationship with NBC Universal, which airs the company’s “Monday Night Raw” on USA Network and “Friday Night SmackDown” on Syfy and soon the return of “Tough Enough,” also on USA — which itself is bringing back former WWE star “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as host. “Raw,” in particular, has regularly performed in the ratings for USA. “SmackDown” has also stood out for Syfy since the show moved over from MyNetworkTV last year.

The Rock’s new role was introduced during the last minutes of “Raw” on Monday night, with Johnson on hand for the taping that took place live from Anaheim’s Honda Center. He entered the arena and climbed into the ring wearing an “I Bring It” T-shirt.

“After seven long years … finally The Rock has come home,” he said to a crowd of roaring fans.

“I’m absolutely thrilled and fired up to be the host of ‘WrestleMania,'” Johnson said in a statement. “My goal was to partner up with WWE chief Vince McMahon and the WWE to create and deliver something globally entertaining and electrifying. As an actor, entertainer and someone who both loves and has grown up in the sports entertainment business, the opportunity to host 75,000 passionate fans in a live venue, not to mention the millions that will be watching worldwide, is not only thrilling but quite honestly the opportunity of a lifetime. It’s going to be one helluva an epic night.”

Earlier in the day, Johnson posted a photo of himself as the Rock on his Facebook page, fueling fan frenzy over the coming announcement.

Earlier in the month Johnson posted: “I left the WWE because I had succeeded in accomplishing every goal I set to achieve. … Will I ever come back to the WWE? Of course I will … not a match, though, but in a capacity that would allow me to do so much more. … I am Dwayne Johnson…and I will also always be the Rock.”

“WrestleMania” is WWE’s Super Bowl, packing stadiums and arenas with more than 70,000 fans and nearly 1 million PPV buys each year. Show and surrounding events have earned nearly $150 million in cumulative coin for host cities over the past three years.

With the economy in a major downturn, however, PPV sales took a hit, and WWE has been looking for ways to increase interest in the show given its importance to the company’s bottom line. Last year’s “WrestleMania” generated 885,000 PPV orders, down from “WrestleMania XXV’s” 960,000. Those were off from “WrestleMania XXIV,” which boasted a little more than 1 million orders.

McMahon has said his aim is for this year’s show to reach the 1 million mark again.

WWE has already inked a deal with Miami to host “WrestleMania XXVIII” on April 1, 2012, from Sun Life Stadium, where the Dolphins football team plays.

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