Austin Theory breaks down The Rock's surprise return to WWE
11/11/2024 07:48 PM
When Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson returned to WWE in the fall of 2023 alongside Pat McAfee in Colorado, it was a massive deal.
Back on WWE television for the first time since 2019, Johnson set the groundwork for an incredible Road to WrestleMania 40, with an eventual program with Cody Rhodes headlined by a Night 1 match alongside Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
But how did it come together? Well, in a special interview with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Austin Theory, who was also in the segment, got into the weeds and explained how the situation played out, including the very secretive way he found out about the segment.
“So we had an hour before the show, I get a call, and I end up going to Triple H's office, and he basically gives me the rundown of ‘Hey, Pat McAfee's coming back. We're thinking you go out there, you cut a promo, and then kind of get on him, and then we'll have The Rock come out.’ I'm just like, for real? Alright!” Theory recalled via Fightful.
“So then they're sitting there, and then the head writer, he's like, ‘Hey, there's not a lot of time left now. There's like 40 minutes, 30 minutes left. Go figure out what you want to say to Pat and then we'll figure out the rest, we'll tell you what you're doing with Rock when he gets here.’ So I'm like, well he's not even here, this is crazy. So I go away and I started thinking in my head. I started thinking too about the last time I was in the ring with Pat McAfee, and how the promos were. I remember he said some things that I couldn't, I could only say what I was able to say. But I feel like there was some more freedom there for him. So in my mind, I'm like well this is where I've got to take it, I've got to get it back. So going out there, we had the same outfit on, so I ripped into him about that, you don't look like me in a tank top. I called him something and then Rock comes out.”
Interesting stuff, right? Well, wait, it gets even better, as Theory had even more to say on the subject.
The Rock’s return was magic for Austin Theory
Turning his attention from learning the news of The Rock’s return to actually getting in the trenches with “The People’s Champion,” Theory noted how things shook out in the leadup to their segment, including what the “Brahma Bull” had to say moments before showtime.
“Before Rock comes out, kind of going back to when I met Rock, I remember, I came up with what I wanted to say on Pat I was like, Okay, I got it. And then I just get a text, come outside. I come outside, and it was one of the writers, and he said, Come with me. And then next thing I know, I'm with Triple H and Nick Khan and we're all walking outside. The busses are there, and this black car pulls up, six people get out, it's just insane to me. Rock gets out, and I'm like this is crazy. He's like the size of a blimp. He looks insane,” Theory noted.
“Then I just remember I was in the back of the bus with The Rock, and he was kind of telling me ‘When we get out there, it's going to be magic. Just feel it. It's going to be good.’ And I kid you not being out there with him. He did like these Jedi mind tricks with his eyes, when I just knew when to go, when to say something, and just feeling it with him. He would just, I don't know, just with his eyes. I was like, oh man. But it was such an experience, and I just felt so on top of my game.”
And the rest, as they say, was magic. The Rock returned, his pop was incredible, and in the end, he set fans up for more to come, which happened a few months later in January.
The post Austin Theory breaks down The Rock’s surprise return to WWE appeared first on ClutchPoints.
