I think it’s fair to say that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will be smashing his way back onto WWE programming sooner rather than later. When Vince McMahon was exiled from WWE in disgrace last year, the TKO corporation brought Dwayne Johnson, one of the biggest stars in Hollywood into the fold, to put a positive spin on the narrative around the organization. Paul Levesque was pushed as the new head of the company at the time, and Vince was quietly shuffled away from the headlines, at least within the realm of the WWE.
Basically, The Rock used the WWE platform last year to boost his profile for upcoming movie roles, and the publicity worked because at a time when his shine in Hollywood began to wain slightly, he was viewed as a massive star for the WWE again. He played a pivotal role in the coronation of Cody Rhodes finally winning the championship at Wrestlemania 40, with the tag match on night one that led to the title bout on night two of the pay-per-view.
This year, The Rock had a key role again, but failed to follow through, specifically when he not only didn’t have a match at Wrestlemania 41, but sent Travis Scott in his place for a rather underwhelming segment in the main event. Furthermore, since The Rock returned to the WWE, his involvement has been hit or miss to say the least. There was a random appearance on NXT where he used profanity on a live show that was on broadcast television, and last October when he randomly showed up at the end of the Bad Blood pay-per-view for a cameo that was never explained. The post-show press conference appearances were absolutely cringe worthy, as he went from a heel five minutes earlier to a lame attempt to try to sound like a scholar that was critiquing Shakespeare when he discussed his own performances on a pro wrestling show.
It was self-indulgent and the whole thing seemed like The Rock was using the WWE platform to boost his own profile more than anything else.
That’s why I think his latest film doing the job to Taylor Swift on its opening weekend will bring Dwayne Johnson back to the WWE so The Rock can reassure the film industry of his value as marketable a star.
Johnson’s newest film, “The Smashing Machine,” the biographical tale of the triumphs and tragedies of MMA fighter Mark Kerr, tanked at the box office. With a reported budget of $50 million, the movie only garnered a dismal $6 million this past weekend, prompting most to already label it a flop. Not surprisingly, the Taylor Swift movie claimed the number one spot and racked in more than $33 million over the weekend. Nobody would reasonably expect that the story of a pioneering MMA fighter, who has his prime even before the surge in popularity that the sport originally had two decades ago, would generate more cash than the top pop singer in the world, but besides the dismal number, The Smashing Machine actually finished in third place for the weekend behind One Battle After Another, which actually opened the previous weekend.
That implies that The Smashing Machine just wasn’t a priority for most moviegoers, and the disappointing number would also suggest that slapping The Rock’s name on a film doesn’t automatically sell as many tickets as it did prior to this.
Don’t get me wrong, the story of real-life Mark Kerr is a fascinating journey, and The Rock’s portrayal of him is something that I’d watch when it’s convenient, but it’s not something that I’m going to go out of my way to view immediately. Clearly, it wasn’t a film that most fans had to see right away, either.
Again, that’s not a knock on Kerr or Johnson, but with the amount of streaming options, and the inflated costs of seeing a movie in a theater since so many locations simply closed during the pandemic, a film that’s worth seeing on the big screen is a rarity. That’s truly disappointing since the theater experience can make a film that much better, but it’s also a reality of the entertainment industry in the modern era.
Considering that Taylor Swift generated $33 million when it was played on a similar number of screen as the other two films in the top three at the box office, each around 3,500 screens, it proved that people will still pay to go to the theater, they are just more selective with the number of movies they will pay to watch there. That’s another disappointing aspect of the film industry, there’s undoubtedly less movie tickets being sold because the general public simply doesn’t go to the theater as often so the result is that less movies get a wide release on the big screen and have a shorter run in theaters.
The reasons that the mainstream public buys less movie tickets today are numerous, but in this situation, the biggest takeaway is that the opening weekend is usually the strongest point for the box office for a film and then there will be a more drastic decline than in the past. The time that a blockbuster film will bring in major cash at the box office for a few weeks in a row is mostly over. Again, people will still go to the movies, but they simply go less often, partially because of how many other entertainment options are available in the modern era.
It goes without saying that The Rock is a legendary performer and one of the biggest stars in the history of sports entertainment, I’d rank him only behind “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in terms of sheer popularity so it’s obvious that the WWE will be a stage for him anytime he wants to show up, but at the same time, I think it’s fair to ask, is there really a role for him in the current WWE landscape?
That might sound ludicrous on the surface, but take into account the rather disappointing reaction to Wrestlemania 41 and how John Cena’s heel turn fell so flat without The Rock’s involvement since he was the catalyst that Cena randomly turned baby face on an episode of Smackdown without any major moment around it. The notion that the WWE should yield to The Rock just because he’s The Rock or that anything he does is entertainment gold was disproved this year. There were a few rambling 30-minute promo segments that just weren’t good television, when the office allowed him to play a key role in a monumental heel turn, he wasn’t there for the follow-up.
Remember, The Rock randomly buried the hatchet with Cody on WWE television, which confused the audience, and at the very least, there’s not nearly the demand for that match as there would’ve been if The Rock was the one that cost Rhodes the WWE title at Wrestlemania. In theory, The Rock vs. Roman Reigns could be a scheduled bout, but in a similar fashion, there’s just not the same demand for that match as there was previously. The discontent between the two was another point that wasn’t followed up on after the tag match last year.
However, The Rock is a smart businessman, and there’s already an opportunity on the horizon for him to secure his place in the spotlight.
With the WWE’s move to ESPN for premium live events and of course, the coverage on ESPN that goes along with it, it would make sense for The Rock to resurface in the WWE somewhere around the start of next year to be able to grab the headlines for a feud that would culminate at Wrestlemania 42 in Las Vegas. Considering how much the company touts its gate record and ticket sales to help pad the stock price, it’s a wise move for The Rock to get involved because its a way for him, at least partially, to take credit for the success of the event.
If I had to guess, I’d say that the lack of the success of The Smashing Machine more or less confirms that Dwayne Johnson will lace up the boots at least one more time for the Saudi government at Wrestlemania in 2027. The skuttlebutt online already suggest that the Saudis will offer massive money to a slew of aging legends to get as much star power as possible on the card for the first Wrestlemania held outside of North America. The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported that the Saudis are specifically looking to get names like The Undertaker, Steve Austin, and The Rock for the event. The fact that oil money turned the biggest event on the wrestling calendar into another part of Saudi propaganda is almost moot. The point is, The Rock can secure a mega payday and still get the publicity of the ESPN coverage because the network’s app will broadcast Wrestlemania 43.
Regardless of when The Rock makes a comeback, if Dwayne Johnson actually returns to WWE, it will be interesting to see what type of reaction he gets from the audience, and more importantly, if it will have the same impact on ticket sales that it did before. At one point, the WWE could put The Rock on the marquee for an automatic boost in sales, but that might not be the case now, it definitely wasn’t for The Smashing Machine film.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
