Will The Rock return to WWE after The Smashing Machine's poor box office run? Veteran gives his honest opinion

The Rock's WWE run came to an abrupt end when The Final Boss disappeared from the product following Elimination Chamber 2025 in Toronto. Recently, Vince Russo gave his take on whether Johnson would return to the promotion following The Smashing Machine's poor run on the big screens.

It's common for a critically acclaimed film to bomb at the box office, which is what happened with The Smashing Machine in its opening weekend. While the film has a few more weeks to earn money, Johnson did address the weekend's collection and didn't seem happy about it.

Speaking on Behind The Turnbuckle Studios' The Coach and Bro Show, Vince Russo was asked whether The Rock would return to WWE following The Smashing Machine's poor run. The wrestling veteran stated that it all depends upon Johnson's choices, and the poor run shouldn't put him down as critically acclaimed movies often end up making less money.

"God, it just kind of depends on where The Rock's head is at these days. Just reading that tweet, he sounds down. He sounds depressed. He sounds disappointed just reading that tweet. And I would say to him, Critically acclaimed movies don't draw. They've never drawn. But I really think it's going to be a personal choice of where his mindset is," Russo said.

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When can The Rock return to WWE for a final run?

The Rock left an ongoing storyline heading into WrestleMania 41 without an explanation. The Final Boss was set to play a part in John Cena and Cody Rhodes' storyline, but Travis Scott appeared in Las Vegas to help The Franchise Player instead of Dwayne Johnson.

The storyline was eventually shelved, and The Leader of The Cenation went back to his roots. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON), Saudi Arabia wants The Rock to headline WrestleMania 43 and has negotiated for the multi-time WWE World Champion's return to the promotion.

If the report turns out to be true, The Rock might return to the Stamford-based promotion in late 2026 to early 2027 for The Showcase of the Immortals in Saudi Arabia.

If you use quotes from the article, please credit Behind The Turnbuckle Studios and provide an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.

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Edited by Aakaansh Sukale