Legend recalls The Rock's WWE contract expiring due to admin error

The Rock has been one of WWE's biggest names since the late 1990s. Jim Ross, a WWE commentator and backstage executive in those days, recently addressed the Hollywood star's brief departure from the company.

In late 2004, WWE surprisingly allowed The Rock's deal to expire. Gary Davis, a spokesperson for the company, revealed that the former WWE Champion's contract situation was an "administrative oversight."

John Laurinaitis, aka Johnny Ace, replaced Ross as WWE's Head of Talent Relations midway through 2004. On his Grilling JR podcast, Ross recalled how Laurinaitis and former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon were likely responsible for the admin error:

"Johnny Ace had to be involved in his role as the Head of Talent Relations. He had to be involved. But The Rock's involvement goes beyond Talent Relations, so I'm straddling the fence here, but Johnny Ace has got to be involved to some degree, certainly, and then the next level up, the Vince McMahons of the world, would be your next step." [20:49 – 21:27]

Ross did not place the sole blame on his successor for the contract issue. However, he acknowledged that the oversight was "not good" just a few months into Laurinaitis' tenure in charge.

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Jim Ross on Vince McMahon's view of The Rock's movie character

In 2005, The Rock portrayed a homosexual bodyguard in the movie Be Cool. At that point, The Great One had become a full-time actor after drastically reducing his in-ring schedule in 2002 and 2003.

Grilling JR host Conrad Thompson recalled how Vince McMahon allegedly raised doubts about his former top star playing the homosexual character. Jim Ross, by contrast, did not have any concerns:

"He [Vince McMahon] might have [thought the character was a risk], but it wasn't. It was still theatrical in nature and I didn't have a problem with it, and I'm [one of the most] old-school redneck guys you could get. I trusted The Rock's judgment on the characters that he played. I think we all did." [22:55 – 23:19]

The latest Grilling JR episode revolved around WWE's WrestleMania 21 event in 2005. Later in the show, Ross admitted Trish Stratus' WrestleMania opponent was not ready to compete on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

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Please credit Grilling JR and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.