Hollywood megastar Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is taking time out from his movie career to make a shock return to wrestling.
Johnson, 51, made his name as a professional wrestler but hasn’t been seen in a proper match since he took on another wrestler-turned-actor John Cena in 2013.
Johnson appeared in the WrestleMania SmackDown ring on Friday night and eyeballed the WWE ‘Universal Champion’ Roman Reigns.
Watch the latest sport on Channel 7 or stream for free on 7plus >>
While no word was said, WWE’s social media accounts hyped up the encounter in a series of posts.
“Speechless,” they said, and “goosebumps” and “This. Is. Surreal”.
Reigns has been the world champ for more than 1200 days. He also happens to be Johnson’s cousin.
Fans were thrilled by Johnson’s appearance, who has also just become a board member of TKO, a parent company of the WWE.
Reigns and Johnson haven’t fought each other before but they were involved in an incident eight years ago in 2015, when ‘The Rock’ raised the hand of Reigns in a controversial moment after a Royal Rumble fight in Philadelphia.
A WrestleMania media conference in Las Vegas next week is expected to confirm the blockbuster event
The highly anticipated showdown is expected to be the main event of WrestleMania’s second night at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field in April.
It is unclear if the match will be for Reigns’ championship belt.
While it was good theatre on the night, fans later called it a publicity stunt as it was widely thought Cody Rhodes would take on Reigns.
“Pointless. We all know Roman isn’t dropping the belt to a part-timer,” one fan said.
“Cody Rhodes is being cheated. The man gracefully handed the Main Event off to The Rock …. He’s all class .. He will show out in WrestleMania but damnit he should be the one to take down Roman Reigns,” another said.
Another fan thought Johnson was “taking advantage of his new power in WWE”.
Other fans suggested that given the matchups were “scripted”, ‘The Rock’ would be fine in his return to the ring.
‘The Rock’, who is an accomplished athlete and played college football, is of course now far more famous for his roles in Hollywood than he is in the ring.
He has a long list of Hollywood blockbuster films, including starring roles in the Jumanji series, the Fast and Furious series, Shazam, Tooth Fairy, Jungle Cruise, and San Andreas.
