Jim Ross Discusses The Final Years Of The Rock Wrestling Full Time As He Transitioned Into Hollywood

On the latest episode of the Grilling JR podcast, Jim Ross talked about King of the Ring 2000 event. During the show, Ross referenced The Rock, who became the WWE Champion in the main event, and whether or not the WWE office knew the end was near for The Rock in WWE after he made his first two movies.

"Of course," Ross said. "Even though Rock is still a fan and loves that live reaction with the audience, he could not turn his back on that career. He made the right decision. He's marketed himself and he's built his own brand. We didn't know how long he was going to be around but we knew The Rock was never going to be the guy who was just going to bolt on you."

The Rock stayed in the WWE for 4 years after King of the Ring 2000 but worked a very limited schedule. Ross mentioned how they worked around his schedule for the final years of his career but they knew eventually he was going to be a massive movie star.

"We knew his schedule and we knew how to plan [around it]," JR stated. "We were going to use every date that we could for as long as we could until he departed to make these movies. We didn't know how many movies he was going to have but you didn't need to be a movie critic to figure out this son of a b—- is a star."

The main event of the show featured a 6-man tag team match for the WWE Championship between The Brothers of Destruction and The Rock vs. then-WWE Champion Triple H and The McMahons. The stipulations of the match weren't made clear leading into the match and many were unsure if Kane or The Undertaker were to pin someone if they would've become the champion. Ross talked about the main event and how confusing the stipulations were which made the match decline.

"Wasn't wild about the stipulation," Ross said. "Thought it was too convoluted and too predictable. The match could have been successful in a 6-man with something other than what we did. When you have to take that much time to explain the stipulation to your audience, it's troublesome to me. Fans don't want to spend that much time deciphering what they're watching."

On the night, The Rock didn't receive any on screen time or chance to cut a promo on the match he was about to compete in. This was something very uncommon during his run because of his terrific promo skills and ability to hype up his matches. Instead, the WWE ran multiple Vince McMahon promos getting ready for the main event. Ross talked about The Rock not having a promo on the night and why they didn't decide to give him one.

"Couldn't tell you," Ross said. "Oversight? Can't be ? didn't think they needed it? Probably. It didn't happen. Sometimes you can't explain stupid."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Grilling JR with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.