The Rock makes a shocking announcement on Friday Night SmackDown; rising WWE star reacts

The Rock returned to WWE with some shocking news regarding the company and WrestleMania's future. Meanwhile, Ricky Saints reacted to The Final Boss' announcement from the blue brand.

On the latest edition of Friday Night SmackDown, The Rock made a surprising appearance and revealed that WrestleMania 42 in 2026 will take place at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans in April.

After SmackDown, NXT's newest signee Ricky Saints reacted to The Final Boss' bombshell announcement on social media.

"😊🙂‍↕️," Saints reacts on X.

Former AEW star Ricky Saints is from New Orleans. The Absolute One recently stated that his goal is to get called up to the main roster by next year as he wants to compete at WrestleMania in his hometown.

Ex-WWE writer details major problem with The Rock's appearance on SmackDown

The Rock has made a handful of appearances on WWE TV since 2024, and The Final Boss' recent appearance has raised more questions than answers since he demanded Cody Rhodes' soul and wants an answer from him at the Elimination Chamber.

In a recent episode of BroDown on Backstage Pass, Vince Russo discussed the segment. The veteran claimed that something was wrong with it based on the reaction The Final Boss received from the audience before WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas.

"Mac, to back up what you are saying, all you had to do was listen to the fans during the Cody-Rock promo. When Rock is in the ring and The Rock is getting that kind of a response... bro, something is dreadfully wrong."

Moreover, he thinks the segment made it seem like The Rock is more important than the company itself:

"So, basically here, here's what you're doing. See, this is where you know, 'Oh, Vince McMahon was this, and Vince McMahon was that.' No bro, this is what you're clearly saying. Rock is more important than the WWE."

The Rock and Cody Rhodes are set to appear in Canada for the Elimination Chamber 2025 Premium Live Event. It'll be interesting to see what's next for the two in the coming weeks.