It was a recipe for disaster when Dwayne Johnson returned to the WWE and inserted himself into WrestleMania XL. Despite waiting to see Johnson take on Roman Reigns, fans wanted Cody Rhodes to finish his story since he did win the Royal Rumble. Moreover, The Rock being part of TKO and using his power over the WWE reminded fans of a pipebomb done over a decade ago. However, it was soon revealed that it was all part of the WWE’s creative plan. But there was legit backstage heat on Johnson.

Most of this heat came from how The Rock became part of Mania. With no buildup and taking over Rhodes’ earned Mania spot, it rubbed fans the wrong way.

Dwayne Johnson never said the infamous saving WrestleMania line

It comes as no surprise that many fans hated the episode of SmackDown where Rhodes handed over his spot at Mania to Johnson. All the hype towards The Rock vs Reigns turned to anger, and fans didn’t think it would go this way. Despite turning heel and giving Rhodes his shot at the title, Johnson was still part of Mania XL as The Final Boss. This not only got him heat from the fans but also backstage. Many stars wondered why Johnson was given so much importance. On the latest episode of the Busted Open podcast, Brian Gewirtz explained the whole ordeal. He said, “I think he was bothered by the narrative that started emerging of him kind of waltzing in saying, ah, f##k everything.”

Since The Rock’s return and his new Final Boss persona, fans have speculated that he believes he is saving WrestleMania. Gewirtz clarified, saying, “There was this narrative that, like Rock, has vowed that he’s going to save WrestleMania. Those words never escaped his mouth.” The heat from the fans and wrestlers backstage was all due to the privileged nature of the storyline the WWE put forth. However, it was all planned.

The Rock changed his schedule to be part of WrestleMania XL

Gewirtz went on to explain how much Dwayne Johnson loved the business. He said, “That’s why he rearranged both, you know, his movie schedule, his personal schedule is blah, blah, blah to make sure that January through, you know, early April was cleared.” When the idea of being the main heel was put forward, The Rock wanted it to satisfy the fans.

As Gewirtz explained, Johnson didn’t want to do a couple of promos and show up at Mania. He wanted to be on every episode of SmackDown and whenever needed on RAW. This went to show that The Rock wanted to be part of the storyline as a full-timer. Fans believed that his run would amount to that of a part-timer. What do you think of Johnson’s reaction to the heat he received? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.