How long will The Rock be away from WWE television following RAW announcement? 

The Rock surprisingly appeared on RAW after WrestleMania 40 and suggested that Cody Rhodes remains in his sights. The Final Boss pinned the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday.

The 51-year-old exchanged words with Rhodes to open RAW and admitted he was taking a leave of absence. The People's Champion has commitments in Hollywood that will take him away from the squared circle for at least a few months.

Reports claim that The Rock's latest Hollywood Blockbuster, The Smashing Machine, is set for filming. The WWE legend is expected to be away filming that movie until August, which likely means no physical activity in the Stamford-based company.

The Final Boss ensured fans would eagerly await his return after a tense promo exchange with Rhodes. He wanted to hold The American Nightmare's new WWE Championship belt and was allowed to do so.

Rocky liked how it felt and fired the leader of the new Renaissance era a warning about his eventual return. There is no doubt that the eight-time WWE Champion's current run as a villain has been a massive success.

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RAW Superstar CM Punk praises The Rock's in-ring performance at WrestleMania 40

The Rock competed in his first full-length match in 11 years at WrestleMania 40, when he and Roman Reigns beat Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. There were slight concerns about how the WWE veteran would cope with the younger superstars, but he flourished in a near-45-minute match.

RAW Superstar CM Punk was unable to compete at 'Mania due to injury but was a prominent figure during the event in Philadelphia. The Best in the World gave his take on how The Great One performed, and he had nothing but praise for his former rival in an interview with ESPN:

"I thought he looked great. Being somebody who wrestled him 10 years ago, the same questions were lobbied around. Everyone wanted to know what he was going to look like, how his wind was going to be. While there is a giant difference between a tag match or coming back to wrestle the champion, I thought he did well tonight. I thought he looked really good. He won the match, what really can I say?" [H/R TJR Wrestling]

The Rock's in-ring performance at The Show of Shows could lead to a potential WWE title match against Rhodes, especially after his promo on RAW. Filming for The Smashing Machine is slated to conclude on August 1, and WWE SummerSlam is five days later. That might be a stretch, but it's one of the company's biggest premium live events.