Several sources within WWE were surprised to hear reports of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson being aloof backstage at the Hall of Fame, because they thought he was just being his regular self and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Apparently there were only a couple people upset with Johnson, but they were top people in the company. Most of the heat on Rock has been attributed either to jealousy or not knowing that he had to leave immediately because he’s working on the Witch Mountain film.

The Rock talked to Vince before the show and talked about having some fun on the show and having a long monologue to open up the show as if he was the host of the show. He told Vince that he would roast some of the guys in attendance and be self-deprecating. McMahon loved the idea and Rock apparently said that he was having a great time and would have gone for another hour if he could have.

Both Rock and Flair went long with their segments, but only Flair was told to 'wrap it up.'