Why The Rock Hasn’t Wrestled A WWE Match Since 2013

The Rock was once the WWE‘s People’s Champion, but hasn’t wrestled a full WWE match since back in 2013, against John Cena at WrestleMania XXIX. Before The Rock, aka Dwayne Johnson, became one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, professional wrestlers who attempted to transition into an acting career were usually seen as curiosities at best, and laughingstocks at worst. While some wrestlers did manage to turn in decent performances – such as Roddy Piper in They Live or Andre the Giant in The Princess Bride – most failed to impress.

That all changed with The Rock, and the tide seems to have firmly turned, with both Dave “Batista” Bautista and John Cena now major forces in Hollywood. Even the wrestlers who act in less high-profile projects like TV shows or direct to video/streaming movies tend to get more respect overall, as no one really knows who’ll be the next breakout movie star to emerge from the world of professional wrestling, WWE in particular.

Back in 2004, The Rock first retired from WWE, not because he had to, but because he wanted to pursue acting full-time. He stayed away from wrestling for seven years, only to finally return home to WWE in 2011, kicking off a two-year on-and-off feud with Cena, who had succeeded him as WWE’s top man. He wrestled a handful of matches during this period, also sharing the ring with the likes of CM Punk and The Miz. His last real match to date was a loss to Cena at WrestleMania in 2013. Here’s why he re-retired.

Why The Rock Retired From WWE

While The Rock earned boos when he first started taking time off from WWE to make movies in 2001 and 2002 – which he smartly capitalized on by creating an egotistical Hollywood heel character in 2003 – by the time he returned in 2011, a seven-year absence had made the heart grow fonder and the fans exploded with joy when his music first hit. This led to a huge main event against John Cena at WrestleMania XXVIII in 2012, which Rock won. The two then had a rematch at WrestleMania the following year, this time for the WWE Championship. Cena got the duke this time, but unfortunately, Dwayne Johnson ended up sustaining a severe injury during the match.

While performing his Rock Bottom signature move on Cena, Johnson’s abductor and abdominal tendons suddenly tore clean off his pelvis. Despite the horrifically painful injury, The Rock finished the match as planned, later saying he could barely feel one of his legs for most of it. Rock then skipped a planned appearance on the next night’s Raw episode, and a few weeks later underwent surgery. This delayed the scheduled filming of Hercules, in which The Rock played the lead, by several weeks, costing Paramount millions of dollars. Reports at the time said that Johnson was now receiving Hollywood pressure not to wrestle anymore, as it might endanger his acting career.

To be clear, Johnson does technically have a match on his record from 2016’s WrestleMania XXXII – but it was only a match in the most technical sense, as he won it in seconds with a Rock Bottom after taking no offense from his opponent. When asked about his status as a wrestler in 2019, Johnson confirmed he did quietly retire from WWE, saying he felt he accomplished all he could in wrestling, and went out the way he feels big stars should; putting someone else over.

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