Backstage News On Internal WWE Reaction To The Rock's Recent Comments On WrestleMania

This past Sunday at WrestleMania 41, John Cena made history when he defeated Cody Rhodes in the main event to become a 17-time World Champion. Although fans were satisfied with the title change, many felt the match itself underperformed, specifically due to the involvement of rapper Travis Scott who helped Cena emerge victorious. Most importantly, it was expected that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson would appear during the match, especially after being present during Cena's heel turn at the Elimination Chamber, but instead there was no sign of "The Final Boss" by the end of the night. Fightful Select has now provided an update on the backstage reaction to The Rock not appearing at WrestleMania 41.

After reaching out to talent and staff, Fightful is reporting that WWE's roster wasn't necessarily frustrated over "The Great One's" absence this past weekend, but more so confused by his lack of promotion for the event since the Elimination Chamber. On behalf of the talent, one wrestler stated that "We all found it kind of weird that he didn't promote the show at all," and questioned why The Rock was never mentioned during WrestleMania.

Johnson also made headlines Tuesday afternoon when he appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" to speak about the conclusion to WrestleMania 41. The Rock not only addressed his absence from the show, but also slightly criticized the main event, stating he wanted Cena and Rhodes to shine in the spotlight, but did admit he would've booked the match differently. This led "Busted Open Radio" host Dave LaGrega to sound off on The Rock, claiming that he "threw Triple H under the bus," and was frustrated he would appear on a podcast after no-showing WrestleMania. "The People's Champion" responded to LaGrega's concerns, reminding him that "the business is a work," and advised to avoid ranting. Fightful has revealed the backstage reaction to The Rock's comments towards LaGrega, with one talent saying; "What does that mean? Is he working every time he stops by and talks to us backstage, too? Was that McAfee interview a work even though he specified he wasn't in character?"

Fightful continued to explain that many stars recognized that The Rock was not present at TV tapings, didn't advertise any matches, and wasn't as active on social media leading up to WrestleMania. Talent was also aware that Johnson didn't tweet about the show after the main event concluded, but didn't hesitate to appear on Pat McAfee's program to discuss ticket sales and comment on the match between Cena and Rhodes. Fightful has provided an update on the accuracy of The Rock's claims during his appearance on Tuesday.

A WWE source reportedly confirmed that Johnson was called ahead of the Elimination Chamber to boost ticket sales for the event, which "The Great One" had mentioned during his conversation with McAfee. In addition, Fightful spoke to creative sources who claimed they were told to believe that The Rock would not be appearing at WrestleMania, and although they assumed that would change, they ensured he was rarely mentioned during promos.

Fightful also shared further details on commentary from backstage talent and staff towards The Rock's WrestleMania status. Firstly, a "longtime" star said the roster is always pumped to see Johnson at WWE tapings, but believes that a "card is at the mercy of Dwayne" remark from a top talent last year left The Rock feeling conflicted. One person that Fightful spoke to specifically added that Johnson didn't want to interfere with this years main event due to his involvement at WrestleMania 40, but didn't realize how important his character was to the story between Cena and Rhodes. 

Additionally, Fightful noted that if there were creative differences between The Rock and Triple H, the news hasn't surfaced to the main roster yet. However, there continues to be speculation that the two have a rivalry based on respect, which can cause issues at times.