The Rock Hints at WrestleMania Return During ESPN Appearance Ahead of ‘College GameDay’

Dwayne Johnson hasn't wrestled in a scheduled WWE match since 2013.

Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?

According to the man himself, it may be his first true professional wrestling match in a decade.

Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN Friday afternoon, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson implied that he may potentially return to the discipline that made him famous at WrestleMania XL in Philadelphia.

“The Rock headlining WrestleMania with Roman Reigns at SoFi Stadium, that was locked. We were doing it," Johnson told McAfee, referencing WrestleMania 39 in Inglewood, Calif. this past April.

Per Johnson, extensive discussions over what shape a match between The Rock and Reigns would take didn't cross the goal line in time for that event.

"The Rock headlining WrestleMania with Roman Reigns at SoFi Stadium was locked in..

We got really really close but there's WrestleMania in Philadelphia coming up" 👀@TheRock #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/fyKjL1j0jE

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 15, 2023

"We decided to put our pencils down," Johnson said. "There's WrestleMania in Philadelphia … that’s a potential, too. I’m hoping.”

The Rock has not wrestled in a scheduled WWE match since 2013, when he lost to John Cena at WrestleMania 29. Since then, he has become one of the world’s most bankable movie stars while making occasional appearances at WWE events.

He is scheduled to appear on College GameDay Saturday in Boulder, Colo. as the show’s celebrity guest picker.

WrestleMania XL, the first since WWE's corporate merger with the UFC parent company Endeavor under the TKO Group Holdings banner, is scheduled to be held from April 6–7, 2024.