In arguably the biggest moment of 2023’s WWE programming, The Rock finally returned to the company on the September 15 episode of SmackDown. The People’s Champion made a surprise return during the opening segment of Friday’s show in Denver, Colorado.
As Pac McAfee and Austin Theory were having a conversation inside the ring, The Brahma Bull showed up on the show, receiving one of the biggest pops in the Stamford-based promotion’s recent history. While The Rock’s return itself was special, a backstage moment after his return has made the audience go crazy.
😱😱😱@TheRock is here!!!!!!!#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/f9L07kvw1Y
— WWE (@WWE) September 16, 2023
After Dwayne made his unexpected return on this week’s show, later on during Friday’s show, he met his historic rival, John Cena. The Cenation Leader welcomed him wholeheartedly, and in one of the most beautiful moments, the two legends even shared a hug.
Expressing love for the meet-up between John Cena and The Rock, an audience member wrote, “I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THISSSS.” “The Rock and John Cena hugging?! Things just got better,” someone wrote while refering to how things have gone better them. (Via: X)
It must be noted that before shocking the audience by returning on Friday Night SmackDown, Dwayne Johnson appeared on Pat McAfee‘s Show. His appearance on the show was already a treat for pro wrestling fans, and his return to SmackDown was like the cherry on top.
The Rock took out Austin Theory on SmackDown
As this return was The Rock’s first appearance in the Triple H-led promotion in nearly four years, he made it count. The WWE legend’s return was well-received by the audience, and he gave the crowd another moment of cherishment by taking out Austin Theory.
After The Rock came out to a thunderous crowd response on this week’s SmackDown, Theory still continued to run his mouth. But the Hollywood star cut him off and later amped up the audience by telling them to chant that Theory was an a*shole. Fans happily followed the legend’s words, and started chanting it.
THE PEOPLE’S ELBOW! @TheRock #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/XQQvg1243a
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) September 16, 2023
This further extended the frustration level of the former US Champion, and he tried to get the advantage by attacking Dwayne. However, The Rock came out strong in the brawl and laid him out with a vicious spinebuster. Following this, The Brahma Bull brought out his iconic move and hit People’s Elbow to Theory.
While this moment was indeed special, The Rock’s backstage meet-up with The Cenation Leader was tough competition for this opening segment. Now that Dwayne has finally made a return to WWE after a long hiatus from the promotion, it’ll be interesting to see whether he’ll somehow get into the highly anticipated feud against Roman Reigns or not.