Sports

Ah, that familiar refrain: Can you smell what The Rock is cooookkiiiiinnnngggg?! It’s back, people. The Rock has announced his return to the WWE. And he’s making a grand old entrance, too -- he’ll be the host of WrestleMania 27. But that’s just a lead-in to jumping into the ring himself: He’s already called out John Cena. 

It seemed he’d left the wrestling days far behind him, even dropping “The Rock” from his name. But after a sort of successful acting career, why is he suddenly deciding to go back to his roots with the WWE?

1. He can’t act. He’s great eye candy and he made a passable action star in a few films -- the ones where he never had to actually talk. He was well-suited to the Scorpion King, but that was just because he looked the part, not because of his great character acting skills. Okay, honestly, I can’t name a single other movie he’s been in. Which proves the point.
2. He craves the attention. What bigger circus is there than professional wrestling? You get a massive fan base -- and be sure his never disappeared. You get endless television exposure. You can make a four-word statement like “I’m coming for you” and suddenly the world explodes around you. He definitely wasn’t getting that from his film career.
3. He wants money. It’s quite possible that for him, kind of a C-list actor, there is more money to be made in the WWE than there is in acting. That entertainment juggernaut pulls in merchandising, ad sales, ticket sales, who knows, they might even be selling tiny wrestlers. The Rock is bound to make more money from all of that than from a crappy film.
4. He misses it. It’s totally possible that he just misses it. He got his start in wrestling and so it has to hold a special place in his heart in a lot of ways. I’m not convinced this is actually the case. After all, he did a really good job of leaving it behind to go to Hollywood, but I’ll at least grant him the possibility that he just plain misses the old gig.
5. It’s a publicity stunt. The WWE makes its money off of big stunts -- and what bigger stunt to kick off the year than to bring back one of the most beloved wrestlers of the last 20 years? All those fans who dropped off after The Rock’s “retirement” are suddenly going to be back, all eyes on WrestleMania.

Whatever the reason for his return, it has to be a good thing for wrestling. It needs an infusion of new energy -- even if the new energy is relatively old. And hey, if they want to make some money in the meantime, well ... isn’t that ultimately what they’re there for?

Why do you think The Rock is returning to wrestling?



Image via david_shankbone/Flickr