The Rock may be forced to return at SummerSlam 2025 and stay in WWE for a massive storyline

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has not been seen on TV since Elimination Chamber this year. The Rock was the catalyst in John Cena's heel turn at the show, and many expected him to be a major part of the Cena-Rhodes story leading up to WrestleMania 41. Nevertheless, amid contrasting reports and wild rumors regarding his involvement with WWE Creative and his relationships with TKO's top brass, what remains undeniable is his star power.

If fans say they "genuinely do not want to see him," what springs that emotion, funnily enough, is him not showing up at WrestleMania. If fans say they "genuinely hate Dwayne Johnson, not his character (The Rock)," all that makes for his genuine heel heat, something extremely tough to get when one is such a big star. John Cena is a great example of this phenomenon.

Let's be honest: everyone's gonna pop for a Rock appearance regardless of what they think about him or his character. The point is, all the controversy and discourse feed right into "The Final Boss" persona should he make his return, and in a certain sense, he has the chance to make amends with WWE fans at SummerSlam this year while also retaining his dastardly and ruthless character.

Cody Rhodes is expected to win back the Undisputed WWE Championship from John Cena at SummerSlam. While all roads have pointed to this, a recent development may have thrown a wrench into those plans. Rhodes is set to star in the upcoming Street Fighter movie. Winning the title and immediately going on hiatus is not only inconsistent with Cody's character, but would also deplete WWE's star power.

While Roman Reigns will also be starring in the movie and will be expected to be out of action for a longer period of time, if Cena loses the title, he'll also likely take a short hiatus before kicking off the final leg of his tour. Therefore, WWE might swerve us and have Cena retain against Cody at SummerSlam, but not leave a sour taste in fans' mouths this time. This can only be accomplished when The Rock finally appears at SummerSlam to cost Rhodes the title, as he should have at Mania.

Except, this time, it will be a surprise. At WrestleMania, WWE fell short of fans' expectations. At The Biggest Party of the Summer, though, they could shock fans in the most bizarre way possible if The Rock returns to help John Cena win. With Rhodes and Reigns gone, featuring this alliance on WWE TV would alleviate any concerns about not enough stars being on the show.

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What could The Rock and John Cena do together in 2025?

It would be quite ironic if Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns were busy filming movies while John Cena and The Rock feature regularly on WWE TV. Rhodes and Reigns, the two biggest stars of this generation, are irreplaceable in today's landscape, except when the people filling in for them are John Cena and The Rock.

Cena and Rock could, perhaps, injure Cody to write him off TV for a few weeks, which would give him enough time to go film Street Fighter. Meanwhile, with Reigns also expected to undergo a similar ordeal at SummerSlam, Rock and Cena might finally align with Seth Rollins over the next few weeks.

This could set up a blockbuster six-man tag team or regular tag team match involving a combination of Rollins, Cena, and The Rock on one side and Rhodes, Reigns, and CM Punk on the other once the WrestleMania 39 & 40 main eventing duo makes their return to WWE.