Kurt Angle Reveals Why Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Returned to WWE After Stepping Foot in Hollywood

The Rock was sidelined after an epic clash against his arch-nemesis ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania X7. The match had the most dramatic ending in the company’s history.

The match had a perfect blend of emotions and physicality. However, The Rock was bested by ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin when he hit The Rock with a steel chair handed to him by Vince McMahon.

The Rock was then kayfabe suspended by Vince McMahon so that he could take some time off to film ‘The Scorpion King’ which turned out to be a box-office hit.

However, when he came back on the July 30 episode of Raw is War. ‘The Great One’ went after Booker T, who was the WCW Champion instead of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin.

Booker T and The Rock put a stellar performance at SummerSlam 2001, where ‘The People’s Champ’ won the WCW Championship for the first time in his career.

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WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle detailed what WWE benefited from The Rock’s return from Hollywood.

Kurt Angle details the importance of The Rock in the wrestling business

Speaking on his podcast ‘The Kurt Angle Show‘, the Hall of Famer detailed why WWE didn’t go toward Steve Austin vs The Rock storyline after Dwayne’s return.

He said that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon had a heavy interest in Kurt Angle’s babyface run against Steve Austin. That’s why The Rock faced Booker T.

He also talked about how The Rock’s return benefited the WWE.

“I was surprised [that] they didn’t get back to Austin and Rock. But Stone Cold [Steve Austin] and I had great chemistry, and we had a great storyline running already. And I think Vince [McMahon] had enough confidence in me to know that I can handle that spot. But with The Rock coming back, it’s a big deal. It’s gonna help ratings, PPV buys. It’s gonna draw a lot of interest. He’s a huge star, one of the biggest superstars in the history of the business.” Kurt said.

Undoubtedly, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Jonson is a huge draw for the wrestling promotion and he never disappoints. If he ever returns, we’d love to see him square up against his cousin, Roman Reigns.

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