- The Rock was seriously injured the last time he had a main event match in WWE
- He underwent a twelve-week training camp to prepare for WrestleMania 40
- Triple H was one of his biggest rivals, now he’s one of the bosses
The Rock may have raked in billions at the box office over the past two decades, but he parked it all to return to his roots and compete at WrestleMania 40 on Saturday.
The Great One, 51, hasn’t wrestled full-time since leaving WWE in 2003 and hadn’t competed in an actual match in 11 years.
But Saturday night in Philadelphia, The Rock once again suits up for the show’s main event with Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in an epic tag match lasting nearly 45 minutes.
Considering The Rock was seriously injured when he last competed against John Cena at WrestleMania in 2013, there were questions about whether the former 10-time world champion could still remain among the best in the world.
Performance aside, The Rock did get the result. The Final Boss pinned Cody Rhodes to secure victory for his family and ensure ‘Bloodline Rules’ for tomorrow’s main event between Reigns and Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Universal Title.
The Rock and Roman Reigns were on their feet to close out the first night of WrestleMania 40
How did The Rock do it? WWE’s head of content and former rock rival, Triple H, heaped praise on the TKO board member.
“It wouldn’t be about the physical part,” Triple H said when asked what The Rock’s performance impressed him. “I think he’s going to love this and he’s going to throw caution to the wind and give it his all, and it’s going to be great.
‘If you have been doing this for a long time and you are working on it every day, you see the calmness in people, which I can now also recognize in people, it is to a certain extent my job.
‘I can recognize it and tell you who is comfortable and who is not, who is not feeling it, who is just doing things.
‘The most impressive thing for me was his calmness, his presence in the moment and his feeling. I saw him feeling everything that was happening and his calmness.
Triple H went out of his way to thank The Rock for returning to WWE
‘You get an adrenaline rush. It’s moving fast and you’re moving with it, you think it’s not, but you are. He was calm.
“To be away for so long and be so calm and collected and have that feeling, there’s not many people who can do that, that’s the part that escapes you.
“You still know how much traction you can get, but the calm is the magic. That’s awe-inspiring,” Triple H said.
In his opening statement, he also expressed his gratitude to The Rock, admitting that his former enemy didn’t need to come back to WWE given all his fame and fortune, but he’s grateful he did.
‘I want to thank him. He doesn’t need to be here. What connected us is our passion for this. Regardless of the other things that happen, we both understand that deep in his DNA this is what he loves, and the same for me.
Triple H and The Rock had an amazing rivalry that blurred the lines during the Attitude Era
“We’ve had a blast on this journey to create the Final Boss. If you had told me he would have gone the route of turning the corner, I would have said you were crazy. But it was true.
‘New time. New Age. We’re just getting started. I see this as the starting point,” Triple H concludes.
The Rock also told the press that he felt great after the main event, suggesting that he suffered no injuries during the 45-minute epic.