Why is The Rock receiving massive backlash backstage following WWE comeback? 

The Rock made a blockbuster return to WWE last year and appeared in the main event of WrestleMania XL Night One, this past April. He stunned fans in a new heel role as The Final Boss which garnered widespread acclaim for the 52-year-old.

However, the feeling among people backstage was that The Rock returned to help benefit his stagnating Hollywood career. The Peoples Champion has enjoyed a hugely successful movie career but the failure of Black Adam and the cancellation of Young Rock have been problematic.

Dave Meltzer highlighted the same issues while speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio recently:

"I mean, there were definitely people in WWE who felt that his return to WWE this year was an attempt to turn around, kind of like a losing streak, so to speak, you know, Young Rock got canceled. Some of his movies weren't as successful as hoped for. WWE was an easy win," stated Meltzer.

Meltzer did stress how The Rock had wanted to work a program with his cousin Roman Reigns since 2019. That match didn't happen after fans turned on the proposed WrestleMania XL main event, preferring Cody Rhodes to challenge Reigns for a second consecutive year.

The Brahma Bull teamed with Reigns and beat Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the main event on Night One of 'Mania. He was a standout performer on the weekend, rolling back the years with a Hollywood-esque performance.

Meltzer touched on why The Rock postponed an in-ring return for several years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other such issues. He's sure the 10-time world champion will be at WrestleMania 41 as well.

"He said, 'Maybe I'll do Philadelphia next year,' but nobody believed it. But he did because they figured it just turned down Los Angeles never gonna do it. Well, he did it. And I would suspect he's going to do it next year, too. I mean, he's already built it up," he said. [H/T: WrestlingNews.co]

The Rock was a huge commercial asset for WWE heading into WrestleMania 40 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. He helped the Stamford-based company break several records, including record attendances for RAW and SmackDown shows leading up to The Show of Shows.

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WWE defended The Rock amid accusations over timekeeping at WrestleMania XL

The Rock's professionalism was called into question this week after American Entertainment outlet The Wrap made bold claims about the Hollywood movie star. One of those was that the TKO board member was three hours late for WrestleMania XL.

This comes after the Florida resident arrived two hours late for a fan convention ahead of The Show of Shows. Fans' frustrations were caught on video during this incident, but it was put down to travel issues and prior commitments.

WWE’s Executive VP for Talent Relations and Head of Communications Chris Legentil hit back at the claims against The Rock. He insisted The Bloodline member was early for Mania in Philly.

"Dwayne was not only on time for WrestleMania, he was hours early to help with rehearsal — and a pleasure to work with throughout the entire run," said Legentil. [H/T: talkSPORT]

Dwayne Johnson was pictured talking and working with talent before the event at Lincoln Financial Field. He's expected to be a prominent figure in the company since joining TKO's board (WWE's parent company).