Popular champion drops F-bomb and challenges The Rock to a match ahead of WWE SmackDown

The WWE Universe is patiently awaiting the return of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The third generation superstar has a few potential opponents for his ring return, including Cody Rhodes, but after receiving a new expletive-filled challenge, he may want to do battle with another popular champion.

The Final Boss returned to WWE for a busy WrestleMania XL Season, and he's expected to be back in the near future to continue this late-career run. Gabe Kidd is the current NJPW Strong Openweight Champion, and the youngest ever. The rising star often goes viral for his heated promos and controversial takes. A member of The Bullet Club since June 2023, the UK grappler spent time training at NJPW's LA Dojo.

War Ready spoke with WRESTHINGS this week and delivered a few harsh comments about The Rock. Kidd threatened to assault the Hollywood heavyweight, and challenged him to come to NJPW for a match.

“Hey, f**k The Rock as well. I'll beat the s**t out of The Rock. I'll slap the s**t out of The Rock... Little part-timer. You want some real wrestling? Come to New Japan," Gabe Kidd said.

The Rock has not publicly responded to The Young Bull as of this writing. Kidd also went viral earlier this week for his non-PG rant on Randy Orton, where he challenged The Viper for NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 19 in January.

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The Rock's awkward WWE RAW segment explained

The WWE RAW episode after WrestleMania XL featured an awkward in-ring title exchange segment between The Rock and Cody Rhodes. The segment teased the rumored Rock vs. Rhodes match, but was heavily criticized on social media.

Speaking on The Masked Man Show, Rock's creative partner, and former RAW head writer, Brian Gewirtz discussed Rock's recent storyline, and how things were inspired by Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. He was asked about the conclusion to the story.

"There is a lot of Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker to Rock and Cody Rhodes. He's not his father or anything, but there are a lot of parallels to that. That is, I feel, going to continue. He flat out said it... 'Your story with Roman is over, ours is just beginning,' and then he handed him the [gift] and we'll see where that goes," Brian Gewirtz said.

Gewirtz went on to reveal the famous Star Wars scene that was supposed to represent Rock-related happenings at WrestleMania XL and RAW. He also disclosed how The Great One really felt about his 'Mania 40 work.