WWE officials admit The Rock surprised them

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made his big WWE comeback earlier this year, signing a unique contract and joining the TKO Group's Board of Directors. The Hollywood heavyweight impressed many wrestlers, fans, and analysts with his WrestleMania Season performances, but now we know how he surprised key people in the company.

The Rock had not wrestled in 2,925 days when he locked up in the ring at WrestleMania XL, where he was banged up and hurting. His last match before then was the six-second squash over Erick Rowan at WrestleMania 32, and his last full-length match was the 24-minute WWE Championship loss to John Cena at WrestleMania 29, which was 4,017 days before he teamed with Roman Reigns for a win over Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins.

Less than one month before his 52nd birthday, The Great One laced up his boots with four of the greatest pro wrestlers going and held his own for just over 44 minutes and 30 seconds, from bell-to-bell.

The Rock was said to be all in on his WrestleMania return, and officials never had a doubt he would excel in the lead-up to the big event, according to a new piece from ESPN. However, the eight-time WWE Champion still needed to deliver in the ring after being a part-time talent since 2003.

Bruce Prichard, who now works as the Executive Director of WWE's Creative Writing Team, told ESPN what he thought of The Final Boss vs. Father Time.

"Father Time doesn't do many jobs. I thought that Rock kind of kicked his a**," Bruce Prichard said.

WWE had previously shipped wrestling rings to The Rock's places in Florida, Hawaii, and Los Angeles. He trained for his return with a 12-week training camp in LA and Hawaii, and it's no secret that he called on Gallus to help prepare. WWE Hall of Famer and Senior Producer Michael "PS" Hayes recalled how he was also surprised by the 10-time Slammy Award winner.

"You can be cosmetically in shape, but then there's ring shape, and those are two different things. ... He really surprised me that first session in L.A. and then even more the next day," Michael Hayes said.

Hayes worked with Robert Roode to produce the WrestleMania Saturday tag team main event. The former Fabulous Freebird also produced Rock's 30-minute win over Cena at WrestleMania 28 and the aforementioned loss at WrestleMania 29. Hayes provided more insight into how The People's Champion went into the match.

"I do think he was way more ready this time. ... He really knew that if he wasn't ready, this could really blow up in his face. ... I think he knew deep down that this [match] can be really f*****g good, or if [he's not ready] it can be really bad because there's always people wanting to s**t on you. It's America... they want to see you fail," Michael Hayes said.

The Rock is expected to return to the storylines in the near future as there are plans for his new character, but no date has been confirmed. A potential WrestleMania 41 match with Cody Rhodes or Roman Reigns has been rumored.

WWE NXT and NJPW stars have pitches for The Rock

The Rock is widely regarded as the most successful pro wrestler to make it in Hollywood and other non-WWE areas.

Lola Vice is on her way to the top of the WWE NXT women's division. The former Bellator MMA fighter was born in Miami, Florida, and her character is inspired by the popular 1980s cop drama Miami Vice.

The Strike Artist recently spoke with Under The Ring and revealed how she wants to team with The Great One to re-make the four-time Emmy-winning series. Vice did not say who would portray Don Johnson's "Sonny Crockett" character and Philip Michael Thomas' "Rico Tubbs" character.

Gabe Kidd is the current NJPW Strong Openweight Champion. As one of the fastest-rising stars in Japan, the 27-year-old often makes headlines for his controversial takes and harsh promos. The Young Bull recently spoke with WRESTHINGS and invited The Rock to NJPW after a few harsh words and non-PG language.

Kidd also had a viral warning for Randy Orton last week. Vice is coming off an NXT Underground win over Shayna Baszler at Saturday's Battleground PLE. The Rock has not replied to either mention as of this writing.