The Rock teases ‘the biggest match of all time at WrestleMania 41’

We’re still waiting for the behind-the-scenes documentary WWE promised us about WrestleMania 40, but we continue to hear about how the event’s two main events came together from the people involved.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s role is the focus of a new piece from ESPN’s Mike Coppinger entitled, “How The Rock orchestrated a WrestleMania comeback for the ages”.

Somewhat contrary to how the headline reads, Rock is pretty humble throughout the piece (everyone else quoted in the article, including Cody Rhodes, Becky Lynch, Michael Hayes, and Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and Nick Khan, offers effusive praise for the Final Boss). He confesses he was nervous heading into the tag match with Roman Reigns against Rhodes & Seth Rollins. After in-match injuries hindered his last ‘Mania main event against John Cena in 2014, Johnson says he had just one thing in mind in the lead-up to April 6 in Philadelphia, a line from the original Rocky: “I just want to go the distance”:

“I felt like that was a representation and a reflection of what I was feeling because as you know, in pro wrestling, there is no take two, you get one night, one shot and one opportunity,” Johnson told ESPN. “ ... Leading up into WrestleMania, the training camp, the pressure, the expectation, the deliverable, everything, that quote kept coming back to my mind, which was, ‘I just want to go the distance’ and going the distance meant I knew that we had almost an hour planned, which as you know, is a long f---ing time.

“I also had something to prove to myself. ... It’s always you vs. you. So that’s something to prove to myself that I can do it and put in the work and put in the training camp and rely on my dance partners in the ring in Cody and Seth and Roman as we all relied on each other. But yeah, I just want to go the distance.”

Rock talks about his training camp for WrestleMania, and how he reined himself in to prevent suffering an injury before he could even make his in-ring comeback. The challenge of working with three men he’d never wrestled before — and who are currently among the best in the business — is discussed, with particular attention paid to the execution of the spot where Rhodes thwarted a People’s Elbow with a Cody Cutter.

But his nerves went away when Samantha Irvin announced him, he felt comfortable from his first lock-ups with Rollins & Rhodes, and justifiably seems pleased with how his comeback match worked out.

“I have never in my entire career felt more pressure and more heat to deliver than I did during this run,” Johnson said. “ ... No. 1 the idea of coming back and what that means ... and then being granted complete ownership of ‘The Rock’ and that entire trademark and everything with it, there’s that pressure.

“Then the pressure of pivoting on a storyline that had been brewing for two years quietly and privately. ... We always knew we had the mega match with Roman and I in our back pocket. ... It feels incredibly gratifying ... to be able to deliver the way that we did as a team is the most gratifying thing about this entire journey.”

Pleased enough that he’s continuing to plant the seeds for his rumored return next year:

“We’re on the 1-yard line to create the biggest WrestleMania of all time and the biggest match of all time at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas,” The Rock said. “I’ll just leave it at that, Final Boss style.”

Coppinger sets up that quote by reminding us of how Rock left things with Rhodes before he went off to film The Smashing Machine, but Johnson is also still talking about that “mega match with Roman” he’s long wanted, too... Which will we get on April 20, 2025? And will the currently 52 year old Final Boss be back for another ‘Mania so he can have them both?

Let us know what you think, and check out ESPN’s entire article here.