Real-life reason why The Rock abruptly left before WrestleMania 41, speculated by ex-WWE writer

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Speaking on Behind The Turnbuckle Studios’ The Coach and Bro Show, Vince Russo speculated that there could be a real-life reason behind The Rock’s abrupt exit from the storyline before WrestleMania 41. The veteran thinks the reason was pretty damaging, which is why The Final Boss decided to leave instead of doing anything needful for the storyline before he left.

“There’s a lot more to it than meets the eye because we’ve got to understand that The Rock is on the board. The Rock is a part of WWE. So even if The Rock isn’t happy, he isn’t going to give two weeks’ notice. But even if a guy like The Rock isn’t happy, bro, if I’m on the board and I’m getting paid what WWE is making and I know I don’t want to do anything with this, I’m gonna do something so I can bow out gracefully… For him not to do that, it had to be something pretty damaging,” Russo said.

The Rock hasn’t competed inside the ring since 2024.

Is The Rock returning at WWE SummerSlam 2026?

The Final Boss became a massive heel in the industry when The Rock and The Bloodline tried their best to crush Cody Rhodes’ dream heading into WrestleMania 40. The audience was ready to witness a clash between Dwayne Johnson and The American Nightmare, but the 54-year-old legend hasn’t returned to the promotion.

Last week, the company hosted the SummerSlam Kickoff, and Seth Rollins used The Brahma Bull’s iconic line in a promo hyping up his upcoming match against Roman Reigns. While the fans would like to see The Final Boss’ return, as of now, there are no signs of The Rock’s return to WWE.

If you use quotes from the article, please credit Behind The Turnbuckle Studios and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.