The Rock appeared on the latest segment of SmackDown, where he conducted a solo concert in Memphis. ‘The People’s Champion’ degraded ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes and ‘The Architect’ Seth Rollins for daring to face off against him and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia.
Dwayne Johnson’s concert was well received by WWE fans but later it was reported that this caused the SmackDown segment to run longer than it was scheduled. However, WWE writer Brian Gerwitz denied those claims and clarified the true reason behind it being a longer timeframe.
Rumors about The Rock’s appearance have surfaced
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is scheduled to fight alongside ‘The Trible Chief’ Roman Reigns against Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes in a tag team match at WrestleMania 40 in April. Since the ‘Brahma Bull’ returned on RAW: Day-1, fans have been excited to see him in action after a long time.
This feud started after Cody denied The Rock his opportunity to face Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Right after that, the Hollywood star joined forces with the Bloodline and even acknowledged ‘The Big Dog’ as the ‘Head of the Table.’
The Rock and Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes.
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) March 10, 2024
Who takes the pin? pic.twitter.com/tZYNhYmYaa
The Rock receiving criticism for prolonging segments
After The Rock’s electrifying performance last week, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported that last week’s Friday Night SmackDown segment ran longer than planned. Some fans have even blamed the 51-year-old star for extending the show with his live concert. Sean Ross Sapp said, “The Rock’s concert was only scheduled for one segment, but those backstage told us ‘of course’ they knew it would go longer.”
The Rock's WWE SmackDown segment overran, time cut on matches again
— Cultaholic Wrestling (@Cultaholic) March 17, 2024
Read more 👇https://t.co/piyblHEU3a
However, this misunderstanding was cleared by WWE writer Brian Gerwitz, who explained that the segment was planned for 20 minutes and Rock finished it 30 seconds earlier than the allocated time. Brian Gerwitz also handles Dwayne’s current creative direction so his clarifying the information seemed reliable to most fans.
The segment went 30 seconds under its allotted 20 minutes. https://t.co/BfZHMH14wJ
— Brian Gewirtz (@bfg728) March 17, 2024
WWE WrestleMania 2024 is only a few weeks away, and fans are excited to see Cody “Finish the Story”; however, Rock and Roman will never let it be easy for the challenger. The Rock aims to preserve his father Rocky Johnson’s legacy through the Anoa’i family.
What are your thoughts on the WWE writer clarifying the rumor surrounding The Rock’s SmackDown segment? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
