News On The Rock’s WWE Future & Promo For His New Show “Hero”

Published On February 16, 2013 | By | WWE News

- WWE Champion The Rock has committed to working next year’s WrestleMania 30 event, according to f4wonline.com The Rock will be a regular part of WWE television through the end of April when he takes off again to film the new movie Hercules in Hungary and Croatia. As we’ve been reporting, there is talk that he’ll be wrestling again at SummerSlam in August.

- Speaking of The Rock, he tweeted the following promo video over the weekend for his upcoming reality competition show on TNT, The Hero:

“America will vote.. #TheHero As host/producer Im excited to bring you this show! Check it out…”

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  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Peer-Pressure/100000691268185 Peer Pressure

    Awesome news!

  • Pozessed

    I reckon there could be an interim WWE champion while Rock goes for filming.

  • MichaelJacksonMusic

    wish The Rock was my father :(

  • Dirt crusted Dirtsheets

    Dirtsheets making it up. No need for the rock to be around post wm29… def won’t be at SS.

  • Reality

    I don’t see what’s the point of having him come back for only a couple of weeks to main event WM year after year? Once in a while is ok, but now it’s just preventing others to shine. If at least he was coming back to put some over other than Cena that would be great. I don’t see the point in that…

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1316270372 Brent Genito

      The point is, because it puts butts in seats.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002196281205 Kenneth Anderson Jr.

      it’s not his fault its WWE’s booking. besides no one complains when Taker does it.

      • http://twitter.com/AJCampbellNYG Andrew Campbell

        No one complains when Jericho does it either.

        Right now it looks like Jericho will be winning the chamber match this sunday to face Ziggler at ‘Mania for the title and I have no doubt that the IWC would be fine with Jericho headlining a World Title match for the second year in a row.

        It’s hypocritical really.

        • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002196281205 Kenneth Anderson Jr.

          ikr but whenever Rock does it OMG ITS AN INJUSTICE!!! I really think people are jealous Rock has the talent to pretty much do what ever he wants and then some. It’s all the same stuff like “oh he’s just gonna leave again” or “he just doin it for the money” BS

          • Ken Iceguy

            one day rock will flip out and starting shooting on his haters

        • Reality

          Jericho puts people over, there’s a big difference. Taker is a Mania attraction and not the everytime the main event. I had no problem with Rock last year or even this year. But if the guy does that every year, being part time performer and headlining 3 to 5 WM in a row, I say fuck that, it’s just disrespectful to the performers.

          • http://twitter.com/AJCampbellNYG Andrew Campbell

            Rock puts over performers aswell. He has a bigger track record than Jericho when it comes to putting stars over. Angle, Lesnar, Jericho, Hurricane, the list goes on. At the end of the day, Punk or Cena just being in the same ring as The Rock makes them bigger stars overall.

            I understand what you’re saying about Rock headlining at ‘Mania in back to back years, but isn’t Jericho and Taker doing the exact same thing? yet everyone only rags on Rock about it.

            Jericho is a part-timer. He goes off touring with Fozzy and doing reality shows involving robots and dancing stars, and when WrestleMania time rolls around he returns. Doesn’t Jericho competing in a World Title match in back to back years kind of take the shine or a spot away from the full-time performers also?

          • Fez437

            Though y2j actually wrestles during raw and smack down the crock comes out lame catchphrase terrible joke lame catchphrase and so on but doesn’t wrestle at anything other than ppv’s.

          • http://twitter.com/AJCampbellNYG Andrew Campbell

            Have you seen RAW and Smackdown lately? No one has been busting out more catchphrases than Chris Jericho lately. Every word that comes out his mouth since his babyface turn has been a catchphrase. I’m not hating on Y2J because Im a fan to a degree, but he’s overrated by alot of internet fans.

            The Rock is a draw, Jericho isn’t. Giving Rock’s matches away on free TV makes zero sense business-wise. It’s WWE’s call. Rock is just going along with whatever plans WWE has for him. It’s his way of giving back.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Peer-Pressure/100000691268185 Peer Pressure

      WWE is a business my man. The Rock = $$$$$$

    • http://www.facebook.com/tomwing77 Thomas Wing

      Why The Rock vs. CM Punk feud played out perfectly, or: Business 101

      The conclusion of The Rock vs. CM Punk match is arguably the best thing put out by any wrestling company in recent memory, not to mention a great move financially. Sure, a lot of people are upset about it, but that was intentional.

      Let’s start off with why the storyline arch between The Rock and CM Punk was artistically fulfill…ing. Our story begins with the hero of the people, CM Punk. The first half of our story takes many parallels to the Greek tragedy Oedipus (only with a lot less incest). The people (“smarks”) are being oppressed by the Sphinx (the corporate machine that is John Cena). A new hero, Oedipus (CM Punk, who is on the fringe of society, which resonates with the “smarks”, who are on the fringe of the WWE fan base), defeats the Sphinx, thus freeing the people (“smarks”) from its evil tyranny.

      The Champion defeats all comers, the past hero in John Cena, the new hope in Ryback, and like Oedipus, his hubris gets to him. He becomes arrogant and conceited. Think The Dark Knight, “you rather die the hero, or you live to see yourself become the villain.”

      Now we have this unstoppable villain in CM Punk. To bring in some more Batman analogy, let’s look at The Dark Knight Rises. This villain (Bane) is running through everyone. It is time to call back the old guard to slay the evil, the hero of the past (because the mythological hero of the past always has a legendary power incomparable to any of the modern day), the true People’s Champion before Punk usurped the role, The Rock (or, the god damned Batman).

      The match itself is an emotional roller coaster. Punk, being the evil, uses all of his trickery, scheming, and outright cheating, but there is a sense of balance and fairness in the universe, which is represented by the president of the WWE, Mr. McMahon. McMahon deems that this must happen the right way. And once on equal footing, The Rock shows that he is the truly the better man than the evil CM Punk, who has ended up becoming everything he fought against in the beginning, a tyrant. It’s beautiful. “You rather die the hero, or you live to see yourself become the villain.”

      Okay, now let’s get to the business of why putting the WWE Championship on The Rock was the right call.

      For starters, this is a business. The World Wrestling Entertainment exists solely for the purpose of making money, as does every entity that considers itself a business. And in business you need publicity and brand awareness. Within this bizarre subculture that is professional wrestling, WWE is the biggest brand there is. The end all, be all. But within the greater scheme of things in the world and even within the entertainment industry, WWE is not nearly as relevant a brand as it is to those who are within the bubble of professional wrestling.

      The Rock is a cross-culture celebrity. He is an icon within the pro wrestling bubble and, outside of that, he is a famous Hollywood star. He is bigger than pro wrestling. Now with that said we need to compare a few facts: WrestleMania 29 (which will presumably be headlined by The Rock) is April 7th, 2013. G.I. Joe Retaliation (which stars The Rock) hits theaters March 29th, 2013. A week and a half apart.

      So what is The Rock going to be doing leading up to the G.I. Joe premier? He is going to hit the talk show loop, appear in all of the magazines and the press. And what’s going to be on his shoulder while he’s doing all of that? The WWE Championship. Sure, to us the belt may look ugly as sin, but you couldn’t have the company’s corporate logo be any more prominent if you had lights emanating from within it. It’s great advertising. And of course having this big, bulky, gaudy trinket on his shoulder is going to bring up questions, which will give The Rock ample opportunity to hype WrestleMania. Starting to get it? The Rock wearing the WWE Championship is like the Susan B. Komen pink ribbon, it’s his way of saying, “I support WWE.” Plus, how great is it going to look in toy stores when you see The Rock action figure with his WWE Championship next to the G.I. Joe action figure of The Rock? He’s going to be everywhere. And therefore, so will WWE.

      Now, with The Rock all over the media with the WWE Championship, he is going to get eyes on the WWE product. Ones that left because they were tired of where the business directed itself, ones that remember when they loved wrestling, when it was dominated by The Rock.

      Compare the ratings today back to the Monday Night Wars, where The Rock was consistently one of the top five guys of the fed. Back then the wrestling audience was steadily 10-12 million people. Every single one of them knew who The Rock was. They still do. His audience is literally in the billions.

      The WWE strives to be a global brand. The Rock is seen in movies around the world. And because he is outside of the WWE bubble, The Rock is a bigger brand than the WWE is. Sad, but true. Even if you choose to dispute that, The Rock’s movies have a lot more eyes on them than any WWE pay-per-views.

      A lot of people say, “this should have been used to build up new stars.” Could this have been used as such an opportunity? Sure. But not every single opportunity to build new talent needs to be taken. There are plenty of other ways to build talent. Is it better to enhance one piece of talent instead of trying to take the opportunity to reach out to a much larger fan base? Those opportunities are few and far between, building new talent can come at any point if you are a talented, creative booker.

      Think globally. Stop thinking about what YOU want and start thinking about what’s best for the BUSINESS of pro wrestling. Because I guarantee that’s how Vince McMahon thinks, and rightfully so. Besides all of that, there is also plenty of socio-political motives as driving factors behind WWE’s line of thinking, but that is an article of its own for another day.

      Frankly speaking, Vince McMahon has pulled the emotional heartstrings of “tradition” and the “smart” marks’ love for wrestling, rolled it into a ball, and packaged it into the gimmick that is CM Punk. While I honor the traditions of professional wrestling, I will not be sucked into marking out for a very well booked angle and character. I’m beyond the point of marking out. This is business for me. And the oldest time honored tradition in this business is making money. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate good stories, well done angles, and good matches. And I believe CM Punk is genuine, you have to be to have that passion he exudes. But at the end of the day, Vince is a promoter and a storyteller, he just figured out how to put a spin on this real life personality and make money off it. The character and the person that CM Punk is today exist because Vince McMahon has finally figured out the way to work the smart marks. Vince thinks on a different level, if you want to be truly successful in this business you have to not just think about how YOU want things, but how everyone else views things. You have to know and understand how your audience thinks and feels to be able to control them.

      I will never forget this quote (and neither should you), “it’s not show friends or show tradition, it’s show business.” It may hurt you to go against the time honored traditions of professional wrestling, but I know the only way to preserve those values is to grow and expand with where the direction of the WWE is headed. Else wise, we’ll fall to the wayside and what we’re saying won’t mean a damn. We need to adapt.

      Business… It’s money.

    • http://www.facebook.com/tomwing77 Thomas Wing

      Why The Rock is a good thing, or: Business 101

      The Rock coming back and winning the WWE Championship is arguably the best thing put out by any wrestling company in recent memory, not to mention a great move financially. Sure, a lot of people are upset about it, but that was intentional.

      Let’s start off with why the storyline arch between The Rock and CM Punk was artistically fulfill…ing. Our story begins with the hero of the people, CM Punk. The first half of our story takes many parallels to the Greek tragedy Oedipus (only with a lot less incest). The people (“smarks”) are being oppressed by the Sphinx (the corporate machine that is John Cena). A new hero, Oedipus (CM Punk, who is on the fringe of society, which resonates with the “smarks”, who are on the fringe of the WWE fan base), defeats the Sphinx, thus freeing the people (“smarks”) from its evil tyranny.

      The Champion defeats all comers, the past hero in John Cena, the new hope in Ryback, and like Oedipus, his hubris gets to him. He becomes arrogant and conceited. Think The Dark Knight, “you rather die the hero, or you live to see yourself become the villain.”

      Now we have this unstoppable villain in CM Punk. To bring in some more Batman analogy, let’s look at The Dark Knight Rises. This villain (Bane) is running through everyone. It is time to call back the old guard to slay the evil, the hero of the past (because the mythological hero of the past always has a legendary power incomparable to any of the modern day), the true People’s Champion before Punk usurped the role, The Rock (or, the god damned Batman).

      The match itself is an emotional roller coaster. Punk, being the evil, uses all of his trickery, scheming, and outright cheating, but there is a sense of balance and fairness in the universe, which is represented by the president of the WWE, Mr. McMahon. McMahon deems that this must happen the right way. And once on equal footing, The Rock shows that he is the truly the better man than the evil CM Punk, who has ended up becoming everything he fought against in the beginning, a tyrant. It’s beautiful. “You rather die the hero, or you live to see yourself become the villain.”

      Okay, now let’s get to the business of why putting the WWE Championship on The Rock was the right call.

      For starters, this is a business. The World Wrestling Entertainment exists solely for the purpose of making money, as does every entity that considers itself a business. And in business you need publicity and brand awareness. Within this bizarre subculture that is professional wrestling, WWE is the biggest brand there is. The end all, be all. But within the greater scheme of things in the world and even within the entertainment industry, WWE is not nearly as relevant a brand as it is to those who are within the bubble of professional wrestling.

      The Rock is a cross-culture celebrity. He is an icon within the pro wrestling bubble and, outside of that, he is a famous Hollywood star. He is bigger than pro wrestling. Now with that said we need to compare a few facts: WrestleMania 29 (which will presumably be headlined by The Rock) is April 7th, 2013. G.I. Joe Retaliation (which stars The Rock) hits theaters March 29th, 2013. A week and a half apart.

      So what is The Rock going to be doing leading up to the G.I. Joe premier? He is going to hit the talk show loop, appear in all of the magazines and the press. And what’s going to be on his shoulder while he’s doing all of that? The WWE Championship. Sure, to us the belt may look ugly as sin, but you couldn’t have the company’s corporate logo be any more prominent if you had lights emanating from within it. It’s great advertising. And of course having this big, bulky, gaudy trinket on his shoulder is going to bring up questions, which will give The Rock ample opportunity to hype WrestleMania. Starting to get it? The Rock wearing the WWE Championship is like the Susan B. Komen pink ribbon, it’s his way of saying, “I support WWE.” Plus, how great is it going to look in toy stores when you see The Rock action figure with his WWE Championship next to the G.I. Joe action figure of The Rock? He’s going to be everywhere. And therefore, so will WWE.

      Now, with The Rock all over the media with the WWE Championship, he is going to get eyes on the WWE product. Ones that left because they were tired of where the business directed itself, ones that remember when they loved wrestling, when it was dominated by The Rock.

      Compare the ratings today back to the Monday Night Wars, where The Rock was consistently one of the top five guys of the fed. Back then the wrestling audience was steadily 10-12 million people. Every single one of them knew who The Rock was. They still do. His audience is literally in the billions.

      The WWE strives to be a global brand. The Rock is seen in movies around the world. And because he is outside of the WWE bubble, The Rock is a bigger brand than the WWE is. Sad, but true. Even if you choose to dispute that, The Rock’s movies have a lot more eyes on them than any WWE pay-per-views.

      A lot of people say, “this should have been used to build up new stars.” Could this have been used as such an opportunity? Sure. But not every single opportunity to build new talent needs to be taken. There are plenty of other ways to build talent. Is it better to enhance one piece of talent instead of trying to take the opportunity to reach out to a much larger fan base? Those opportunities are few and far between, building new talent can come at any point if you are a talented, creative booker.

      Think globally. Stop thinking about what YOU want and start thinking about what’s best for the BUSINESS of pro wrestling. Because I guarantee that’s how Vince McMahon thinks, and rightfully so. Besides all of that, there is also plenty of socio-political motives as driving factors behind WWE’s line of thinking, but that is an article of its own for another day.

      Frankly speaking, Vince McMahon has pulled the emotional heartstrings of “tradition” and the “smart” marks’ love for wrestling, rolled it into a ball, and packaged it into the gimmick that is CM Punk. While I honor the traditions of professional wrestling, I will not be sucked into marking out for a very well booked angle and character. I’m beyond the point of marking out. This is business for me. And the oldest time honored tradition in this business is making money. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate good stories, well done angles, and good matches. And I believe CM Punk is genuine, you have to be to have that passion he exudes. But at the end of the day, Vince is a promoter and a storyteller, he just figured out how to put a spin on this real life personality and make money off it. The character and the person that CM Punk is today exist because Vince McMahon has finally figured out the way to work the smart marks. Vince thinks on a different level, if you want to be truly successful in this business you have to not just think about how YOU want things, but how everyone else views things. You have to know and understand how your audience thinks and feels to be able to control them.

      I will never forget this quote (and neither should you), “it’s not show friends or show tradition, it’s show business.” It may hurt you to go against the time honored traditions of professional wrestling, but I know the only way to preserve those values is to grow and expand with where the direction of the WWE is headed. Else wise, we’ll fall to the wayside and what we’re saying won’t mean a damn. We need to adapt.

      Business… It’s money.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002196281205 Kenneth Anderson Jr.

    looks cool, i’ll watch, then again i’ll watch anything with Rock lol

  • Marko

    The Rock will be filming a part of his new movie in Croatia?! YES! YES! YES!
    I hope it’s in Zagreb so maybe I can see him live in person.

  • Fez437

    Lets hope this is the last we will see of Dwayne and his wonderful 5-10 minutes at the end of raw where he never seems to wrestle anyone. Can you smell what the CROCK is SHOVELING

  • robertmc8

    Will you see Rock on WWE Match on Monday Night not?

  • IJJU

    Wrestlemania 30 . I guess there will be THIRD in the lifetime .

  • http://www.facebook.com/BNB248 Brian Bird

    Rock going to Wrestle at Wrestlemania 30 I don’t have a problem with that as long it not Rock/Cena 3 or even at Summer Slam

  • bangmango

    Why do they need rock? its simple cm punk, cena and the current “superstars” cannot draw crowds. Did austin and rock need legends to draw during the attitude era? nope they worked, made a name for themselves and put butts on seats all by themselves.

    the ringmaster became stone cold steve austin, rocky maivia became the rock…cena , cmpunk and the rest of the crybabies in the lockeroom should work on their act instead of crying about it. saying the rock coming back to steal the spotlight is nothing but a copout.

    • http://twitter.com/MissyH316 MissyH316

      I agree – guys like Austin and The Rock didn’t “need” legends to draw on, but I think that times were different in the Attitude Era and before to where guys like Austin and Rock were able to BECOME legends.

      Makes me wonder if “The Ringmaster” and “Rocky Maivia” were to appear in WWE today instead of the mid-1990′s, would they go on to be the top-bracket legends they are today? I doubt it. Just like Eric Bischoff had essentially told Austin that a guy in black boots and black tights couldn’t make it big, I think that’s the same level of wis-DUMB that’s been in WWE’s so-called “creative department” *cough!* for the past several years now.

  • Gamexxx07

    It just never gets old of watching wrestling were i just thought that after WM 29 i was going to quit watching wrestling but it doesn’t because i know it keeps coming back to see the legends like the rock,undertaker,Brock lesnar and triple h to draw the crowds but anyway i will keep watching wrestling with the rock and other legends till i can’t go anymore!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002196281205 Kenneth Anderson Jr.

    Lets do Ryback vs Rock at Wrestlemania 30 so Rock can own him like Hogan. The war of words would be hilarious lol.
    Ryback: Feed me Rock!
    The Rock: Oh you want a Rock? Well unless you wanna go outside and get some, all i can do is give you this…*ROCK BOTTOM TO RYBACK*

  • Lester Foxx

    years ago when little princess took over WWE people were saying that her elder brother Shane was a fan of established stars while she liked to give newcomers more opportunities. And now we may have at least 4 part-timers headlining Wrestlemania (Taker, HHH, Rock and Jericho), and this list is still growing.

    How ironic.