The Rock’s WrestleMania 41 Plans Still Remain Unclear

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is here to shut down all the buzz about his potential return to the WWE ring at WrestleMania 41. After his jaw-dropping appearance at WWE Bad Blood 2024, fans were in a frenzy, speculating whether “The Great One” would face Roman Reigns or Cody Rhodes next year. But The Rock has made it crystal clear: don’t believe the rumors.

When a fan asked him directly on Instagram, “Are you really not working Mania 41??? Say it ain’t so!”, The Rock wasted no time in clearing the air, responding, “Don’t believe any of that bullsht.”*

The speculation initially caught fire after Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that, despite The Rock’s electrifying return at Bad Blood, there are no solid plans for him to compete at WrestleMania 41. Meltzer noted that The Rock’s busy schedule is the main reason he won’t be stepping into the ring anytime soon. He explained, “He already gave word that he wouldn’t be able to do that match.”

Even though The Rock brought out the iconic People’s Belt (a gift from Muhammad Ali’s widow), Meltzer clarified that this wasn’t necessarily a sign of an in-ring comeback. He added, “The story is simply his schedule got too heavy, he couldn’t commit to doing it right.”

While fans are still holding out hope for The Rock to pop up around Royal Rumble/WrestleMania season, it seems like he’s keeping things under wraps for now. Meltzer later provided an update on Wrestling Observer Radio.

“I know he was not confirmed for the show as of Thursday, so if something changed, I’ll find out. If he wants to do it, he’s doing it. It’s up to him obviously. As long as it’s confirmed by when it needs to be confirmed, it could be confirmed at any time. they want to know going into the Royal Rumble where they are going and at that point, we’ll see. But yeah, thats the deal.”

This lines up with an earlier Ringside News exclusive, where sources within WWE confirmed that The Rock hasn’t yet nailed down when he’ll return to the ring. While the original plan was for The Rock vs. Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41, nothing is set in stone.