The Rock sends surprising message to top WWE star and seemingly takes dig at AEW in first comment on his SmackDown return

The Rock recently commented on his surprising WWE return on SmackDown last Friday.

The Brahma Bull returned to SmackDown last Friday for the first time in several years to confront Austin Theory. The Rock laid out the former United States Champion with a People's Elbow. He then instructed Pat McAfee to deliver another People's Elbow to Theory before celebrating together. The 51-year-old also had a heartwarming moment with John Cena backstage.

The Hollywood star recently took to Twitter to comment on his return. He surprisingly thanked Theory and seemingly took a shot at AEW.

"I was - I'm still - completely blown away by this crowd reaction in Denver this past Friday night on SMACKDOWN. My appearance was a 💯 surprise to everyone and this crowd of 14,000 erupted with the roar of 100,000 strong. Top 5 loudest crowd reaction of my career 🤯🥹🙏🏾 (which I was like 'holy sh*t' when I walked out 🤣) I'm so grateful and humbled by this. I never take it for granted and 'coming home' will always be sacred to me," he wrote.

The Brahma Bull added:

"Thank you my guy PatMac, the talented Austin Theory, @wwe family backstage, Team Rock behind the scenes - everyone who joined us to go ALL IN. But most importantly, thank you with all my love, gratitude and respect, to THE PEOPLE. Our connection is real. Electrifying. ~ people’s champ ✊🏾"

Check out an update on The Rock's awaited WWE in-ring return here.

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The Rock teased facing Roman Reigns at WWE WrestleMania 40

Ahead of SmackDown, The Rock revealed in an interview on the Pat McAfee Show that the plan for him to square off against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 was "locked in." However, it was later scrapped.

During the same interview, The Brahma Bull teased facing The Tribal Chief at WrestleMania 40.

"So we got really, really close, but we couldn't actually nail what that thing was. So we decided to put our pencils down and then we agreed, 'Hey, listen, there's a merger coming up. Eventually, that will happen. There's WrestleMania in Philadelphia," he said. [H/T: wrestlingnews.co]

"It's my turn, right?" - Ex-WWE star teases return after five years following The Rock and John Cena's comeback. Check out the details here.