WWE legend reacts to The Rock's "unusual" WrestleMania 41 comments

The Rock was one of the biggest talking points from WrestleMania 41 weekend despite not appearing at the two-night event. WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff heard the Hollywood star's explanation for missing the show and thought his remarks were "unusual."

On March 1, The Rock's Final Boss character formed a villainous alliance with John Cena and rapper Travis Scott at Elimination Chamber. Many expected the TKO board member to interfere in Cena's WrestleMania 41 match against Cody Rhodes. However, he said on The Pat McAfee Show that he decided not to appear because he wanted Cena and Rhodes to have the spotlight.

On his 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff questioned the logic behind The Rock removing himself from the biggest storyline of the year so far:

"I don't even know how to frame it. It's unusual, to say the least. Look, if you take your emotion out of it and just step back without any bias and ask yourself, 'Does that sound plausible? Could that have actually happened that way?' And I think the answer to that is yes. We weren't in the room. We weren't a part of those discussions. Is it a possibility that the way Rock laid it out is the way he really saw it? Absolutely. Does it have some holes in terms of logic? Sure does." [From 4:25 – 5:07]

On April 20, Night Two of WrestleMania 41 ended with John Cena defeating Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship. The 48-year-old secured his record-breaking 17th World Title win after receiving help from Travis Scott.

Eric Bischoff is still unsure why The Rock did not appear

In the 1990s, Eric Bischoff played a key role both on-screen and off-screen, helping WCW Nitro overtake WWE RAW in television ratings. He also worked for TNA and WWE later in his career.

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Having been part of hundreds of backstage creative discussions, Bischoff cannot understand why The Rock would suddenly step aside before WWE's most important event:

"Unless you're in that room and a part of those conversations, I don't think we'll ever know. It sounds to me like this is Rock's explanation for why he did what he did. On paper, I get it. But, still, there's the issue that we talked about immediately following the second night. You started a story and walked away from it." [From 5:09 – 5:36]

The Rock's failure to appear at WrestleMania 41 led to speculation that he might have a strained relationship with WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H. However, the wrestler-turned-actor was quick to play down those rumors.

Please credit 83 Weeks and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.

About the author

Danny Hart is a journalist who has been reporting on pro wrestling (WWE) at Sportskeeda since 2017. He grew up as a massive fan of football/soccer and wrestling, leading him to pursue a career in sports journalism.

Before assuming his current role, Hart worked as a football writer at Goal.com between 2009 and 2016. He prides himself on writing original content that is fact-based and highly accurate. Hart thoroughly proofreads his work before submitting it and relies only on credible sources for information.

Hart’s favorite pro wrestler is The Undertaker. He admires the 2022 WWE Hall of Famer’s ability to reinvent his character and remain relevant across his decades-long career. If given the keys to WWE’s creative department, he would bring back The Phenom for a farewell bout against AJ Styles in a stadium full of fans. Not only that, but he would love to have the multi-time world champion’s greatest rivals seated at ringside for the spectacle.

When not watching and covering sports, Hart enjoys long-distance running, playing video games, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

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Edited by Danny Hart