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WrestleMania XX, Madison Square Garden, New York City.
The Rock and Mick Foley, dubbed as "The Rock 'N' Sock Connection", lost a Handicap Match to Evolution, after Randy Orton hit an RKO on Foley. This would be The Brahma Bull's final WWE match until his return 7 years later.
Although The Great One went on to appear in several segments after this bout, it seemed like he was done with WWE. His triumphant return to WWE years later saw him team up with John Cena to take on The Miz and R-Truth at Survivor Series 2011, and he went on to defeat Cena in a dream match at WrestleMania 28, months later. He wrestled his final WWE match at WrestleMania 32.
Recently, The Rock stated that he quietly retired from wrestling after being a part of the business for a pretty long time. Here are 5 big reasons why The Rock quietly retired from WWE.
Also read: 5 biggest "Mystery Attacker" storylines in WWE history
#5 The Rock has done pretty much everything by this point
By the time 2004 rolled around, The Rock had done almost everything he could have, in Professional Wrestling. He had carved out a Hall of Fame career for himself in less than a decade. The Rock feuded with the very best, had an epic WrestleMania three-match series against Stone Cold Steve Austin, and had won the WWE title on several occasions.
Addditionally, The Rock reinvented himself to become possibly one of the greatest heels of all time, when he came up with Hollywood Rock in early 2003. His legendary promo dissing the people of Canada is regarded by many as one of the greatest heel segments in all of WWE. His second run in 2011 was a huge success too, with WrestleMania 28 garnering record-breaking revenue for WWE. Basically, there was nothing more left to do for him in WWE.
#4 The SummerSlam 2002 incident
SummerSlam 2002 is hailed by fans as one of the greatest PPVs of all time, stacked with amazing bouts from top to bottom. The main event of the night was a passing of the torch match between The Rock and Brock Lesnar. Lesnar had been dominating the WWE main roster since his debut back in April, and had won the King of the Ring tournament a while ago.
Also read: 5 moments that prove SummerSlam is Brock Lesnar's yard
During the match, the crowd surprisingly turned on The Rock, and began showering him with boos, while cheering for Lesnar. This was due to the fact that the fans knew he would be leaving for Hollywood after the PPV. The ending to the match saw Lesnar hitting an F5 on The Rock to become the youngest WWE Champion of all time. The SummerSlam incident could be a major reason why The Rock "quietly retired" from WWE years later, as some fans probably wouldn't have taken this lightly.
#3 No one would let go of an established career in Hollywood
At WrestleMania 19, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin met for the third and final time at a WrestleMania. The Great One finally managed to put down Austin in a 'Mania encounter after suffering defeats on the previous two occasions. This turned out to be Austin's final match in WWE.
Throughout the match, Jerry Lawler and Jim Ross debated on The Rock's decision to leave WWE for Hollywood. Lawler stated that the people booed The Rock for leaving to make a career as an actor, but ever single one of them would have done the exact same thing if they had gotten a chance.
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This statement couldn't be truer! No one in their right mind would leave a golden opportunity like the one The Rock got in Hollywood. He returned back to WWE in 2011 because he genuinely loved wrestling, but he had his Hollywood obligations to tend to, and no one should blame him for wanting to go back, especially after he devoted several years of his life entertaining pro-wrestling fans.
#2 His body has probably taken enough punishment
How many times have we heard a legend talk about how much they regret hanging on to the business and not leaving when they should have? Pro-wrestling is a demanding job, and it sometimes takes years out of a Superstar's life. A wrestler could suffer an injury during his career that would not only take him out of the business, but it would also affect the rest of his life after retiring.
Also read: 5 times babyfaces received heel reactions from fans
The Rock has wrestled hundreds of matches by this time, and his body has taken enough punishment. Superstars like Austin had to retire early because of injuries, and The Rock probably decided to leave before something like that happened to him. Rock's movie obligations also prevented him from putting his body at risk, and this could be a major reason why he left quietly.
#1 It was time for him to step away and let the new blood shine
One thing fans had noticed throughout The Rock's career was that he was an incredibly selfless human being. He had zero problems with putting anyone over. He lost three straight WrestleMania bouts to Austin, Triple H, and again Austin in 1999-2001. Fans might also remember The Rock putting over The Hurricane during the buildup to his WrestleMania match against Stone Cold in 2003.
Also read: 5 things we could see after Undertaker's long-term signing
The Rock's second run in 2011 saw him take the spotlight on several occasions, and rightfully so. He was a big name at the time and it was a smart financial decision on WWE's part to let him take the centre stage. But maybe, his selfless instincts kicked in and he realized that it was time for him to let the new blood take his spot.
