This week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown took place from Denver, CO and it kicked off in a big way as Pat McAfee made his return. The fans were thrilled to see Pat McAfee, but he was quickly interrupted by Austin Theory, and that’s when things got interesting. The Rock made his surprise return to a thunderous ovation from the fans.
The Rock went back and forth with Austin Theory for a few minutes before things got physical. After Theory attacked The Rock, The Great One hit Theory with The People’s Elbow, then Pat McAfee hit The People’s Elbow on Theory as well to end the segment.
Later in the show The Rock and Pat McAfee were joking around backstage as McAfee pointed at someone off camera and said it’s a person The Rock can’t see. John Cena and The Rock then both came face to face and smiled. John Cena welcomed The Rock home and hugged him as The Rock said that it’s “good to be here.” After they hugged they went their separate ways.
John Cena and The Rock have had one of the most talked about rivalries in wrestling history and it’s been some time since they have crossed paths on WWE programming. After a year of hype John Cena and The Rock finally faced off for the first time at WrestleMania 28 with The Rock picking up the win. John Cena then went on to defeat The Rock to win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 29 a year later.
The Rock and John Cena have both been focused on their acting careers in recent years, but it’s clear that the fans were happy to see them on Friday night. Cena will be on SmackDown through October 27, but it’s unclear at this point in time if The Rock will be making more WWE appearances moving forward, or if this is just a one off.
"Welcome home"
What a moment between @TheRock and @JohnCena #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/sZbeHJZ5Ki
— WWE (@WWE) September 16, 2023