The Rock Addresses Lack Of Involvement At WWE WrestleMania 41

Where was The Rock? Many have pondered this question after Rock was nowhere to be seen when John Cena defeat Cody Rhodes to win the Undisputed WWE Championship. It had also been the question throughout the Road to WrestleMania, where Rock was similarly absent after he had been the catalyst for Cena turning on Rhodes at Elimination Chamber.

On Tuesday, Rock stopped by "The Pat McAfee Show" to set the record straight. He confirmed a previous report by Dave Meltzer that he had pitched Rhodes selling his soul to him, though Rock claimed the turn would happen down the road. Triple H then proposed Cena turning, an idea Rock said he loved. However, it also led to Rock deciding he needed to take a step back from the storyline, believing he'd otherwise overshadow Cena or Rhodes.

"I made the call," Rock said. "I don't want to be involved in that. Let 'The Final Boss' step back into the shadows. Let all the spotlight go to John, let it go to Cody. Let's not make it about Cody's soul or John's soul. Let's let them do what they do."

"I called John after Elimination Chamber, spoke to him, called Cody, and I said 'I think 'The Final Boss' work is done. We've established it. We just pulled off the greatest angle in the history of professional wrestling, other than Hulk Hogan turning heel back in the '90s.' I said, 'This is amazing. We have six weeks. Now, let's build. You guys go and crush it. I'll be right there with you, and I'm always here if you need me, but I think it's best for 'The Final Boss' not to be involved in that finish."

Rock was overall complimentary towards what Cena and Rhodes did, including the WrestleMania finish, though he admitted he would've "finessed things a little differently in how they got there." As for why he didn't appear during the match itself, he initially cited wanting the focus being Cena winning the title, and the development of Rhodes' character. He later admitted that he wasn't sure what the direction would be for him getting involved, and whether his acting commitments could have conflicted.

"We can insert 'Final Boss' in the end of this finish, but then where do we go?" Rock said. "There's other commitments that I have. I want to also be careful that we're not overstepping and leaning over our skis too much here. Can get involved in the finish, but I said, 'Why get involved in that finish when the spotlight should just be on, in my opinion, John, 17, heel champion, what does 2025 look like if this man says he is going to ruin professional wrestling?' That, to me, is the anchoring storyline. It's not soul right now. We'll go back to it."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Pat McAfee Show" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription