The Rock dragged into WrestleMania controversy; wrestling veteran feels WWE's decision discredits the Final Boss (Exclusive)

Veteran wrestling writer Vince Russo recently discussed how WWE's decision-making could impact The Rock. He was discussing WWE changing the venue of next year's WrestleMania.

On the February 21 episode of SmackDown, The Final Boss came down to the ring and made an epic announcement. He said that New Orleans would play host to WrestleMania 42 and all the extravaganza that came with it. However, this past week, reports emerged that the Show of Shows was pulled from New Orleans and the city would now be hosting Money in the Bank 2026.

On a recent episode of Writing with Russo, the wrestling veteran explained that changing the venue probably had nothing to do with the Final Boss. However, he detailed that The Rock would be blamed because casual fans would remember him making the announcement. Russo felt The People's Champion might bear the brunt of WWE's policies.

"Bro, I don't know, but that is a blemish. I mean, especially the people from that area. He made that announcement. Changing the venue has absolutely nothing to do with The Rock. I'm sure it doesn't. I mean, that's coming from the top. But the fact of the matter was he was the one that went out there and made that huge, huge, huge announcement, and that's all people know. A majority of the people know that Rock said it. Oh my God, so the heat's gonna go to him." [From 2:42 onwards]

Reports suggest that WrestleMania will remain in Las Vegas next year as well. There have been no comments from The Rock on this matter, and it will be interesting to see how this situation develops.

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About the author

Prityush is a WWE news writer for Sportskeeda Wrestling who started watching wrestling in the later part of The Attitude Era. Although he holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Prityush was a creative writer for his college, and his flair for creativity and love of pro wrestling eventually led him to the journalism field. After an initial stint in 2016-2017, he has been writing regularly for Sportskeeda since 2021.

As someone who loves and respects the business, he prides himself on factual, clean, and ethical reporting, free of plagiarism and AI usage. One of the ways he ensures this is by transcribing videos that he reports on.

Prityush had the privilege of interviewing superstar Matt Hardy in his career so far. Although, his favorite wrestler is CM Punk, as he relates to his Straight Edge philosophy.

When he is not reporting news, he loves reading and collecting WWE action figures. He currently owns over 500 wrestling figures and merchandise.

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Edited by Prityush Haldar