"This is by design" - WWE veteran weighs in on fan reactions to The Rock missing the buildup to WrestleMania (Exclusive) 

Former WWE head writer Vince Russo recently spoke about The Rock missing several shows in the buildup to WrestleMania 41. He was last seen on the company's programming at Elimination Chamber 2025.

The Final Boss was seemingly the mastermind behind the attack on Cody Rhodes at Elimination Chamber. He joined John Cena and rapper Travis Scott in annihilating Rhodes at the premium live event. However, the Hollywood star hasn't been seen on WWE TV since that fateful night in Canada.

This week on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Legion of RAW, Vince Russo said fans would still watch WWE shows even if The Rock was not there. He felt everyone was expecting the legend to show up at WrestleMania, and most probably The Final Boss would be there.

The veteran writer added that WWE was not mentioning Rocky by design for a loud pop when he appeared at The Show of Shows.

"We're talking about WWE fans here. They'll continue to watch this, they'll be disappointed when he's not on the show. They'll be [like] 'Let's watch 'Mania.' He's gotta show up at 'Mania. And yeah, you're right, once out of eight weeks, the guy is gonna show up at 'Mania. Again, this is by design. The fact that no one is bringing up his name is by design." [From 5:40 onwards]

WWE may have strategically not mentioned The Rock while presenting Rhodes' feud with John Cena. Over the last two weeks, Cena and The American Nightmare have had a couple of run-ins but neither of them has namedropped The Final Boss.

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