You’d think we’d know by now that no one is ever truly retired from the WWE.
The Undertaker retired in February, but came back to face Goldberg and has since signed a contract for, most likely, the rest of his life. To add to that, just a month or so from quietly retiring, Dwayne Johnson, aka the Rock, has been challenged by Randy Orton.
While this may seem disorganized, it explains why the Rock is going to appear on Smackdown’s first episode on Fox. Not only is he helping to kick off a new era on the show based on his coined phrase, but they have a story line set up for him.
What happened
On Thursday night via Twitter, Randy Orton challenged the Rock (Dwayne Johnson) to a match at Wrestle Mania 36 to “see who the better third generation superstar is.
While this is surprising, it isn’t. Does that make any sense?
In Vince McMahon’s world, no one is ever retired, and if he needs them he’ll work out some deal to bring them in. Of course, the talent probably has some say in it — about as much as they have in the creative direction of their character (Remember, Steve Austin had to walk out over not agreeing with what they planned and was villainized by Vince and company).
There is one huge difference between this scenario with the Rock versus the Undertaker and Goldberg, and that’s Johnson hasn’t continued wrestling for years and he’s physically in good shape. Walking away when he did saved him some wear and tear, as evidenced by the Deadman’s Instagram where he states he’s changing some life habits to combat the years of in ring action (LINK HERE).
Johnson could, theoretically, compete at a high level and possibly steak the show. Now, whether or not he will is up in the air (chances are he will), but if he does, it opens the doors for other retired superstars to come back. Steve Austin answered a fans’ request by saying he theoretically could come back for a match, and the Rock ‘N’ Roll Express just won their 9th tag team championship in the NWA (they’re in their 60s) so anything is possible.
In the end, it simply depends on how much we’re willing to believe and how badly Vince McMahon wants it.
