The Rock’s low-profile presence during WrestleMania 41 week — and his eyebrow-raising comments afterward — have sparked confusion and quiet chatter behind the scenes in WWE.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appeared on The Pat McAfee Show after WrestleMania 41, and later left a cryptic comment on Instagram aimed at Busted Open’s Dave LaGreca, who had delivered a passionate rant about The Rock’s absence. The situation led Fightful Select to reach out to various WWE talent and staff members to gauge their thoughts.
Many within the company reportedly took notice of The Rock’s silence around the event. As Fightful noted, “a number of talent took note of the fact that The Rock was not at TV, on TV, or at WrestleMania, didn’t do any promotion leading up to the event, or even tweet about the show coming up.” One wrestler pointed out the irony that Rock didn’t tweet about WrestleMania, but “quickly appeared on a podcast after the event and discussed being called to advance ticket sales and some things he took issue with on the show.”
Internally, one WWE source confirmed to Fightful that The Rock was contacted to help with Elimination Chamber ticket sales — and that involvement was considered a huge boost. However, prior to that point, those in creative had been instructed to work under the assumption that Rock wouldn’t be available or involved. Even after Elimination Chamber, writers were told not to factor him heavily into promo material.
A longtime WWE talent told Fightful that “the roster always loves seeing The Rock at shows,” but admitted the “card is at the mercy of Dwayne” sentiment — a quote attributed to a top star last year — still resonates backstage. The source added, “it pulls The Rock in both ways.” Another person suggested The Rock may have intentionally stayed away from the spotlight this time, possibly to avoid backlash similar to what occurred last year when he became deeply involved in WrestleMania storylines. But that same source believed Rock may have underestimated just how central he remained to the overarching narrative.
While some fans speculated about backstage tension between The Rock and Triple H, Fightful reported that talent haven’t seen any fallout — at least not publicly. “There have always been rumors that the two had a rivalry that was based on respect but was contentious at times,” the report said. Still, no one Fightful spoke to mentioned any clear sign of friction.
Overall, Rock’s absence — and his later commentary — left the WWE locker room more puzzled than angry. “It wasn’t met with as much frustration from the roster and staff… as it was confusion,” Fightful noted. One wrestler theorized the handling of The Rock may have been an “overcorrection” in response to last year’s criticisms, but added, “it was a wildly different situation.”
Backstage conversations during WrestleMania 41 frequently circled back to The Rock’s absence, his lack of promotional effort, and his barely-there footprint in the show’s build or execution. As one wrestler put it plainly: “We all found it kind of weird that he didn’t promote the show at all.”
Regarding The Rock’s cryptic reply to Dave LaGreca’s Busted Open rant — which questioned The Rock’s loyalty to the WWE product — one talent told Fightful, “What does that mean? Is he working every time he stops by and talks to us backstage, too? Was that McAfee interview a work even though he specified he wasn’t in character?”
As of now, The Rock’s future involvement remains unclear — but the mixed signals have certainly not gone unnoticed within WWE.
Also Read: Backstage News On When The Rock Told WWE He Won’t Work WrestleMania 41
