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The Rock returned to WWE nearly three months after his last appearance when he showed up in the final moments of the Bad Blood Premium Live Event in early October. He made back-to-back appearances on the RAW premiere on Netflix and NXT's New Year Evil.
What stood out from his segments was his apparent face turn, as he acknowledged the Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and he was the one that crowned Roman Reigns the Undisputed Tribal Chief after the latter's victory over Solo Sikoa in a Tribal Combat.
However, his face turn created speculation as to whether he would miss WrestleMania 41 or if it was a work and he would eventually revert to his heel persona and go after The American Nightmare and the Undisputed WWE Championship.
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That said, we take a look at three indications that could explain why his face turn could be a work.
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#3. His appearance on the RAW premiere on Netflix as the High Chief Seiuli
The Rock kicked off the RAW premiere on Netflix and spoke about WWE's new era with the move to the global streaming platform. He also paid tribute to his ancestors and opened up about how important it was for him to be called the High Chief Seiuli.
On social media, The Final Boss had previewed his appearance on RAW as the High Chief Seiuli and stated that he intended to honor his ancestors and not reveal what was next for him.
Instead, on a post following RAW on Instagram, he hinted at his return and signed off The Final Boss, not the High Chief Seiuli, meaning that we should see him back in the ring soon.
#2. WWE would thrive on Netflix with The Rock as a heel
WWE moved to Netflix with the expectation that the global streaming platform would allow it to reach new audiences and attract waves of fresh viewers. WWE sees the move to Netflix as a new era for the company, and The Final Boss is expected to be part of it.
At the same time, The Rock had an impressive run last year on The Road to WrestleMania, which saw him do a great job as a heel and dominate Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins.
Thus, we should expect him to show up at some point during this year's Road to WrestleMania and target Cody Rhodes.
#1. The Rock revealed that he was thinking '20 steps ahead'
After the RAW premiere on Netflix, The Rock went to NXT and the New Year's Evil Premium Live Event and closed the show with a promo. During the segment, among other things, he referred to fans' comments about his praise for Cody Rhodes and the fact that he had backstage talks with him, compared to last year when he did everything he could to prevent him from finishing his story.
Fast forward to today, The Rock told WWE fans to just follow him on his ride and revealed that he was thinking '20 steps ahead,' meaning that there is a lot more to come in his run with WWE and the likely scenario is that he will maintain his heel persona and will pursue The American Nightmare and the Undisputed WWE Championship.
