Since his participation in John Cena’s heel turn at Elimination Chamber 2025, Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock has not made an appearance on WWE programming. Some fans and wrestling analysts speculated that TKO CEO Ari Emanuel would decide to phone The Rock and ask him to attend SummerSlam in order to help improve WWE’s stats because tickets are not selling out. Even the fact that the Summer’s Biggest Party often sees the return of some of the biggest names in the Wrestling business further fueled the rumor of his potential return.
Rock vs TKO?
Wrestling Inc. founder Raj Giri said earlier this month that he did not expect it would happen. He stated that there is some heat between Dwayne and TKO. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select has now responded to Giri’s claims by stating that while he cannot confirm it but there are many indications that The Rock and TKO are indeed at odds.
Dwayne may have attempted a power move when he appeared on The Pat McAfee Show last year to defend his sudden departure from Cena’s heel turn angle before WrestleMania 41. As you may remember, The Rock made fun of WWE creative in that interview by stating that he would have ‘finesses things a little differently’ for the Cena and Rhodes angle.
Additionally, despite being a member of the TKO Board, The Rock did nothing to assist WWE in promoting WrestleMania 42 this year. If there is real heat between The Rock and TKO, that explains his lengthy absence from WWE.
Why WWE Changed Gunther’s Name?
Another rumor or news that is making the rounds is the reason why WWE changed Walter’s name to Gunther. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer, Vince McMahon thought that people could start calling him ‘Wally’, which is not a moniker he wanted for a main event ‘foreign menace heel’, which is why WWE changed the name WALTER to GUNTER years ago.
