Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson looks set to return to the wrestling ring either at or before WrestleMania – having wrestled just 10 times in the last 21 years.
Arguably professional wrestling’s greatest ever export, the grappler turned Hollywood star has come a long way since his WWE debut in 1996.
It now looks as though he’ll don his tights and wrestling boots once more in the near future after turning heel to join forces with Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
Though he recently stepped back from a reported main event WrestleMania slot against Reigns after fan backlash, it’s tough to imagine he won’t involve himself physically at least in some way in what looks to be developing into a long-term storyline.
As and when The Rock does wrestle again, it will be the first occasion he’s battled in the ring since 2016.
That was at WrestleMania 32, a match that lasted just SIX seconds as he swiftly saw off the challenge of Erick Rowan in a squash bout.
In fact, The Rock’s last ten matches stretch all the way back to March 2003.
His measly in-ring time during that stretch adds up to just 176 minutes and 50 seconds – illustrating just how few and far between his in-ring encounters have been.
While the six second bout was by far the shortest of the ten, The Rock also wrestled for less than seven minutes when he beat Jeff Hardy on Raw in April 2003.
Other longer stints between the ropes for The People’s Champ include a double outing against John Cena at WrestleMania in both 2012 and 2013, winning the first before losing the second in what many considered a passing-of-the-torch moment with Cena.
The Rock hasn’t wrestled regularly at WWE house shows – non-televised events – since 2002 and there was a staggering gap of over seven years between bouts at once stage as his filming commitments dominated between 2004 and 2011.
The Rock’s in-ring time over his last 10 WWE matches
April 2023 – vs John Cena: 23m 59s
April 2016 – vs Erick Rowan: 6s
February 2013 – vs CM Punk: 20m 55s
January 2013 – vs CM Punk: 23m 27s
April 2012 – vs John Cena: 30m 55s
November 2011 – vs R-Truth and The Miz (teaming with John Cena): 21m 32s
March 2004 – vs Evolution (teaming with Mick Foley): 18m 9s
April 2003 – vs Goldberg: 15m
April 2003 – vs Jeff Hardy: 6m 52s
March 2003 – vs: Stone Cold Steve Austin: 17m 55s
Though limited, Johnson’s schedule for WWE over much of that time has been far from plain sailing.
In the latter of his two battles with Cena, the Moana star suffered a serious abductor injury – one that left him counting the cost both physically and mentally.
In an interview soon after the bout, the star revealed the physical toll it took, saying: “About midway through the match, I tore my abductor tendon, as well as my rectus tendon, completely off my pelvis.
“And then I found out that I had three wonderful hernia tears. There’s a lot of fun swelling in the ‘cash and prizes’ area for the first week and a half!”
Johnson’s father, the late Rocky Johnson, would go on to indicate the financial cost of suffering such an injury in the wrestling ring as an active movie star, commenting: “He had to have emergency surgery.
“They had to shut the set down for three weeks, it cost him $200,000 a day.”
That might be a sum to leave many of us weeping, but as of 2023, Johnson had a reported net worth of $800 million.
While that’s largely due to his commitments outside the ring, WWE reportedly paid him a cool $5 million as a performer as long as a decade ago during his 2013 run.
The physical wounds from the Cena clash have seemingly healed well enough, too, if Johnson’s physique on screen is anything to go by.
Despite being close to three decades removed from his WWE debut as a chiselled 24-year-old, the actor remains in phenomenal physical condition.
On Friday’s Smackdown he appeared in an expensive-looking sleeveless shirt reminiscent of one from his bygone heel days, clearly still proud of his physique despite now being over 50.
An eight-time WWE Champion and third generation athlete, Johnson followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather in toiling in the squared circle – but went on to enjoy phenomenal mainstream success.
The Rock effectively moved away from full-time duties with WWE soon after the millennium as his filming commitments began to mount.
However, The Great One was always known for the occasional cameo back in the industry that helped make him.
In his formative WWE years, the Miami native enjoyed numerous battles with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H.
One such famous clash saw Rock and Triple H meet in a classic ladder match at the 1998 SummerSlam at Madison Square Garden in New York.