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The Rock discusses WrestleMania 40 and appears on the TKO scoreboard

During an appearance Monday on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonDwayne “The Rock” Johnson discussed several topics, including his return to WWE in the build-up to WrestleMania 40.

Speaking to Fallon (h/t Felix Upton from Ringside News), the discussion shifted to WWE, and The Rock noted that he immensely enjoyed teaming with Roman Reigns against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the main event of the first night of WrestleMania 40, saying, “I had a great time. Cody, Seth and Roman, it was just crazy. I grew up in this world of professional wrestling. There’s nothing like when this music sounds and the crowd goes crazy.

The Rock also expressed his belief that his life had come full circle from growing up in a family of wrestlers, to becoming a major wrestling star, to turning that success into a career of massive actor and was now back in WWE in a management capacity:

“That’s a good way to put it. I grew up in the world of professional wrestling and followed my grandfather’s and father’s careers. My grandfather and father wrestled here at ( Madison Square Garden) in the ’70s, and here I am, not trying to spoil anything with their legacy Then, all of a sudden, the company became what it became, now owning the. WWE, and I the honor of serving on the TKO board of directors.

After several years away, The Rock returned in the months leading up to WrestleMania 40 earlier this year, and although it initially looked like he was going to challenge Reigns for the WWE title, he ended up teaming with him against Rhodes and Rollins.

The Rock turned heel for the first time in decades, calling himself The Final Boss, and it led to some of the best and most compelling WWE programming in recent memory.

After Rhodes defeated Reigns for the WWE Title in the main event of Night 2 of WrestleMania 40, The Rock confronted Rhodes and suggested they would face off at some point.

Reigns and Rhodes reluctantly teamed up last month at Bad Blood to beat Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu, and The Rock made a surprise return afterward, but he didn’t make it known why he was there.

There was a follow-up on why The Rock was in Bad Blood, but his appearance suggests there are big plans involving him, Reigns and Rhodes in the future.

MVP talks reasons for leaving WWE for AEW

MVP recently arrived in AEW, and he has since reformed the Hurt Business with Shelton Benjamin and Bobby Lashley, renaming it the Hurt Syndicate.

In an interview with Drop The Heat (h/t WrestlingPurists) this week, MVP gave some insight into why he decided to leave WWE and sign with AEW, saying:

“I didn’t want to re-sign and I made it known that I wasn’t going to re-sign because of the new management in place. At any given time, I don’t care where you work, when a new management arrives inside, it’s good for some people and not for others New people arrive, old people leave.

“So I felt like it was definitely time to leave because the new management just wasn’t for me and I’m not for him.”

MVP was likely referring to the fact that longtime WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon resigned from his position in July 2022 amid an investigation into hush money he paid to several women regarding the sexual relations they had with him.

This led to Triple H taking over as creative head, and although McMahon returned to WWE as president in January 2023 to facilitate the company’s sale to Endeavor, he resigned in January 2024 after the former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against him in 2024. in which she alleged that he sexually assaulted and trafficked her.

With McMahon seemingly out of WWE for good, Triple H and Chairman Nick Khan are poised to be the power players and key decision makers for years to come.

The Hurt Business came to life under McMahon’s leadership, and the group has been a dominant force during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Lashley winning the WWE Championship twice.

However, the stable disbanded shortly after the pandemic ended, and while there were occasional rumors of a reunion, they never came to fruition.

Benjamin was released from WWE last year, and MVP and Lashley saw their WWE contracts expire in recent months, paving the way for them to reunite in AEW.

Lashley made his AEW debut on October 30 and is already lined up to face former AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland at Full Gear, suggesting the Hurt Syndicate could quickly rise to the top of AEW .

IC Women’s Title Rumors After US Women’s Title Reveal

WWE made a historic announcement during last week’s episode of SmackDown, as SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis revealed the brand new WWE United States Women’s Championship.

This immediately led to speculation about the creation of a Women’s Intercontinental Championship, but the status of this potential title remains unclear.

Combative selection (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News) reported that the female superstars on the Raw roster were not informed of a new title until the start of Monday night’s episode of Raw.

There was no mention of a Women’s IC Title on the show either, suggesting that WWE is either waiting to reveal it or has no plans to create such a title.

The announcement of the US women’s title was a landmark moment for WWE as there had never been a women’s midcard title on the main roster.

WWE created the North American Women’s Championship in NXT earlier this year, and it’s been a huge success so far, as Kelani Jordan had a great reign before handing it over to Fallon Henley.

Now, female superstars on the main roster will have gold to fight for even if they aren’t in the WWE Women’s Championship or Women’s Tag Team Championship.

For now, it appears it will be exclusive to SmackDown, although it’s possible WWE could have the United States Women’s Champion appear on both brands if there are no plans for a Women’s IC Title.

At the same time, it might be wise for WWE to wait before creating a second midcard women’s title, as it might seem like a stretch to see Superstars fighting for new championships at the same time on separate shows.

Regardless, huge opportunities are on the horizon for stars in WWE’s women’s division, and a new step is underway to put it on par with the men’s division in terms of exposure and prestige.

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