There has been talk of The Rock being interested in returning to the ring at WrestleMania 35 in 2019, according to the Wrestling Observer.
No word yet on who The Rock might face but Elias has teased a confrontation with The Great One in recent media interviews. Elias recently spoke with Busted Open Radio and told Rock that WWE is his company now but he’s welcome to “come on back” if he wants.
Elias said, “I’m well aware all the things The Rock has done in the wrestling business and in life. The guy is just a next-level human being. I was getting comparisons here because he played guitar a few times or whatever on television and I wanna throw this out there. He’s done that maybe five times, maybe six times or something like that on WWE television on Monday Night Raw. Rock if you’re out there listening, I’m doing it every single week. I’m doing it out there in front of millions of people all around the world every single week. I’m doing in in front of 10,000 in-person live every show I go to. So why don’t you come walk with Elias so I can show you how it’s really done?”
Regarding The Rock possibly wrestling at WrestleMania 35, his in-ring future has been discussed within WWE and it’s expected that he would at least make an appearance at the show if there is no scheduling conflict.
WWE wanted Rock to team with Ronda Rousey to face Triple H and Stephanie McMahon earlier this year at WrestleMania 34 but that obviously did not happen. One of the potential issues was related to insurance as movie producers insure actors in case they get sick, injured or die during filming. Rock suffered an injury during his 2013 WrestleMania 29 match with John Cena and was forced to miss media for Pain & Gain. The injury also forced Hercules production to be pushed back several weeks. NPR once reported that a delay of just one day can cost up to $250,000 for big-budget movies.
Rock ended up doing a quick squash with Erick Rowan at WrestleMania 32 after originally expressing interest in working a regular match. The squash came after an insurance company had issues covering Rock for a planned movie if he were to wrestle the full match. Rock wrestling at WrestleMania 35 will likely come down to if the movie can still get insured.
Rock spoke with WWE’s Cathy Kelley at the recent Skyscraper premiere in New York City and said he can’t wait to get back in the ring.
“I can’t wait to get back to a WWE ring,” Rock said. “People always ask me ‘what’s it like being in a WWE ring?’ I always tell them there’s nothing like it. There’s nothing like inside a WWE ring because there’s a certain live crowd acumen that is second to none. That was always and will always be the best part of my job when it comes to wrestling. Whether I’m wresting a match or just giving a promo. That connection with the audience, there’s nothing like it.”
