Why did WWE get The Rock back on SmackDown? WWE legend knows there is a big reason (Exclusive)

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's unannounced WWE return might not have been a one-off, as Dutch Mantell feels it was a sign of The Great One's availability for next year's WrestleMania.

The former WWE Champion appeared on the September 15th episode of SmackDown and was involved in a segment with Austin Theory and Pat McAfee. The People's Champ laid out Theory with his signature moves, and as expected, his presence helped boost the blue brand's viewership numbers.

Dutch Mantell, who was watching TV on Saturday, noted that The Rock was everywhere in addition to being on SmackDown the previous night. The legendary manager didn't believe WWE getting Johnson back was a one-night-only special and felt the company seemingly planted the seeds for his return around the WrestleMania season next year.

Mantell noted on this week's Smack Talk:

"The Rock was on the show last week, and did a hell of a rating. And I'm watching TV Saturday, I'm a big College Football fan. The Rock was on TV all day Saturday. He was on SmackDown all day Saturday. He was on Gameday. Then he was on the other talk show; then he was on the sidelines with Colorado State Colorado. That game did almost 12 million viewers. So, somebody can tell me now he is not going to be at WrestleMania? I point out that they didn't do that for nothing." [From 48:50 to 49:29]

Check out the entire episode below:

The Rock was originally set to have one of the biggest dream matches in WWE history

It's astonishing to note that Rock's recent SmackDown showing was his first WWE TV appearance since 2019. The Brahma Bull is inarguably one of the busiest personalities in Hollywood, making it challenging for him to have another big feud in WWE.

The Rock, however, was apparently "locked in" to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, where the Tribal Chief eventually defeated Cody Rhodes.

While speaking on The Pat McAfee Show, Dwayne Johnson admitted that a long-awaited showdown was slated to happen at the SoFI stadium last year. He even explained why the match got nixed before dropping a hint of when it might actually happen, and you can read more on that here.

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