5 Times WWE used real-life events in a storyline

#3 John Cena and The Rock's real-life heat gives us two straight WrestleMania matches

John Cena and The Rock are two of the biggest Superstars in the history of WWE. The Rock had been away from WWE for seven long years. Around that time, Cena talked about The Rock's absence from WWE in several interviews, and The Great One didn't like his tone.

"I had left, and he had done a series of interviews, radio interviews, and I just felt… somebody had referenced me and said, 'hey, is Rock ever coming back?' And he said, 'I not quite too sure,' but I just didn't like how he said it and it stuck with me."

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The duo headlined two WWE WrestleMania events

The Rock and Cena kicked off their feud on the road to WrestleMania 27, where several elements of their real-life feud were used. Cena berated The Rock for leaving the fans for Hollywood, and a match was set between the two at WrestleMania 28. They traded wins at WrestleMania 28 and 29, and it was years later that The Rock finally revealed that the duo had squashed their real-life rivalry.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Kaushik Das