Finally, The Rock is coming back to WWE SmackDown.
As announced the night before on social media, The Final Boss will be appearing live on the February 21st episode of the blue brand. This will be Rock’s first appearance on the main roster since the debut episode of Raw on Netflix. During that appearance, Rock appeared to have dropped his heelish Final Boss persona and went full babyface by sharing jokes with Cody Rhodes, acknowledging Roman Reigns and hyping up the new partnership between WWE and Netflix. Aware of the fan criticism of the appearance, Rock also appeared on Netflix the next night and referenced his previous appearance, stating that he is always ahead of the fans.
WWE also hyped up the appearance via press release:
THE FINAL BOSS RETURNS TO SMACKDOWN TOMORROW
February 20, 2025 – WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), today announced that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will appear on SmackDown – live from Smoothie King Center in New Orleans – tomorrow night at 8pm ET on USA Network.
“Strap in,” said WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque. “When The Final Boss shows up at this time of year, the audience knows absolutely anything is possible. Everything could change in an instant.”
The news also comes a few hours after Rock was announced to be starring in an upcoming Martin Scorcese film alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt.
The Rock Joins WWE SmackDown Line-Up
Along with an appearance from the Hollywood star, his former rival Cody Rhodes is set to be in action and a title match will take place on the show. The announced line-up for SmackDown is as follows:
- Drew McIntyre vs. Jimmy Uso
- DIY [Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano] (c) vs. Pretty Deadly [Elton Prince & Kit Wilson] – Tag team match for the WWE Tag Team Championships
- Cody Rhodes, Damian Priest & Braun Strowman vs. Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga
- The Rock to appear live
Featured image: WWE
