If you watched Raw, then you would know that Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg were in a shoddy skit with the Bella twins to shill their upcoming movie The Other Guys. What you wouldn't know from Raw is that former WWE superstar Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, as well as iconic actor Samuel L. Jackson, co-star in this movie. Which is a highly suspicious oversight by WWE given that anyone with a brain would realise that for the movie plug to be most effective you would push that fact hard. Dave Meltzer brought this strange omission up at the 31:13 mark of his free August 3rd Wrestling Observer Radio show in a read between the lines fashion that would lead you to believe that this was no oversight, but was an intentional snub. Maybe Vince McMahon is fed up that despite Johnson's apparent desire to guest host Raw, the date keeps getting pushed back and he wanted to show him who's boss. If this is a sign that their relationship has soured again, expect them to kiss and make up as usual when it's mutually beneficial for them to do so. Read about past snubs by WWE to Dwayne Johnson after the jump.
This is far from the first snub to Johnson, since he left WWE in 2004 to concentrate on his acting career. The first snub came when his WWE contract expired on December 31st 2004 without even a quick phone call from Vince McMahon to say thanks for everything and good luck with your future endeavors. This snub didn't go unnoticed, as Johnson told Dave Meltzer in the January 24th 2005 Wrestling Observer Newsletter that:
The company and I are at an odd crossroad. It was an oddly quiet ending, without any interaction or communication from the front office or the old man. Surprising to say the least, especially after eight years.
Eventually relations were patched up enough for The Rock to induct his father, Rocky Johnson, and his grandfather, Peter Maivia, into the WWE Hall Of Fame on March 29th 2008. However, in the run up to the ceremony loyal company man John Cena blasted The Rock for turning his back on the business:
What I kind of get peeved about, and this is my Achilles heel, is that I've wanted to do this my whole life.
Rock falls into that category. At one point he loved wrestling and wanted to do this all his life.
So explain to me why he can't come back for our 15th anniversary show or why he can't make an appearance at WrestleMania. I wish he'd just show up, say hi and leave. Do the eyebrow once and get out of town.
Simply put it's because he wants to be an actor and there's nothing wrong with that, because he's truly found another passion. He's good at acting. His films make money.
Associating with sports entertainment doesn't do much for his acting career. I get it.
Just don't f*** me around and tell me that you love this.
That's the only thing that gets me really p***ed off.
Our fan base have so much admiration for him, he's got to respect that. He doesn't give anything back.
Moreover, despite his exceptionally charismatic monologue helping make the ceremony their most memorable one ever, his jealous enemies (*cough cough* Triple H) were quick to assassinate his character afterwards, as reported by Dave Meltzer in the April 14th 2008 Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
There were a lot of reports over the past week regarding some wrestlers mad that Dwayne Johnson went so long at the Hall Of Fame ceremony and that he left before the end of the ceremony and didn't stay for Flair's speech. The complaints were that Johnson spent an hour doing a comedy monologue before really getting into speeches about his father and his grandfather, and because of that, the show went long and Flair (who went 90 minutes himself) had to wrap up early. There were also complaints about him being aloof backstage, although everyone I asked about it within the company said the complaints in that regard were ridiculous, and he was his usual self. Most attributed the negativity to only a few people and absolutely didn't represent the consensus viewpoint, but they were top people. Those we asked about it, and there were several, were aware of the stories and some were aware of the sources of the stories and said they were based either on jealousy or not knowing the circumstances.
Hilariously, just a year later, Cena, likely under encouragement from Vince McMahon tried to publicly coax and goad The Rock into doing a WrestleMania match with him in 2010, not once:
Cena is giving Johnson the perfect way to redeem himself. "I've been trying to wrestle him. It's not that I don't think he'll accept the challenge; he truly has a full plate," he said. "I think our fans would like to see him come back to the ring. Dwayne Johnson or the Rock or whatever he wants call himself vs. John Cena. Let's say 'WrestleMania XXVI.' "
I'm just speaking as a selfish wrestling fan. The same kind of selfish wrestling fan who would boo me for whatever reason.
Selfishly, I miss him in the ring. I wish he would come back. He is physically in his prime. One of the greatest sports entertainers we've ever had. But he's an actor now.
The trouble is, here I am telling everybody I love the business - it's the same thing Rock said then went out and made movies.
He's basically made my life tougher.
I'd love to have him back. I'd love to have a WrestleMania match with him - maybe next year.
I would love that. That would be great.