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A 45-year-old wrestling veteran who was released from WWE this past February, admitted that he wanted to quit the company after seeing superstars running up to The Rock for photos.
In the latest episode of the Talk'n Shop podcast, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, the two former WWE stars, reflected on the changes they saw towards the end of their second tenure with the company. This primarily had to do with the "corporatization" of the product following the TKO merger deal - one that directly resulted in The Rock becoming a member of the Board of Directors and subsequently gaining more backstage influence.
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Karl Anderson, the 45-year-old veteran, confessed on the podcast that The Rock has been on his Mount Rushmore of Wrestling several times over. However, he hinted at The Rock's backstage power (and use of it) being the reason why he has to take him out of his personal Mount Rushmore. Anderson noted that when he saw WWE stars running up to The Final Boss for photos, it made him want to quit:
"When I saw people running up to The Rock backstage at Gorilla and ask for pictures… in the Gorilla, in Gorilla! I was like, I gotta get out. This ain’t for me brah." (H/T POST Wrestling)
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Anderson didn't need to quit WWE since he was released in early February 2025 while dealing with an injury.
Surprising reports have emerged about The Rock's WrestleMania 41 status
While there seems to be a widespread assumption that The Final Boss will be present at WrestleMania 41, perhaps with Travis Scott, the backstage reports seem to tell another story.
According to a report from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there has been no internal confirmation regarding The Brahma Bull's appearance at WrestleMania 41. If true, this is quite shocking, as The Final Boss has been an integral part of Cody Rhodes' story (especially at WrestleMania) for over a year now.
It's also possible that WWE has decided to keep it under wraps. The Great One's involvement in John Cena's surprising heel turn has yet to be addressed beyond a surface level, and that has directly led to some criticism among fans over how the storyline has been handled.
With two episodes of SmackDown and one of RAW remaining until WrestleMania 41, we will see if any major surprises are in store in the coming 10 days. If not, the job will be dutifully handed to Cody Rhodes to carry the story on his shoulders for the next week.
