Will The Rock return at WrestleMania 42 amid low WWE ticket sales?

WWE could be banking on a return from Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to give WrestleMania 42 a much-needed boost amid low ticket sales.

The Grandest Stage of Them All is suffering a slump in fans booking their seats for the event, despite it being held at the same venue as last year.

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WrestleMania’s two-night extravaganza is again taking place at Allegiant Stadium, the home of the NFL side Las Vegas Raiders.

However, as of April 10, ticket sales were 19 per cent down compared to last year’s Show of Shows, mainly due to rising costs.

As a result, WWE introduced several drastic measures, which included a surprise 25 per cent discount on Night One tickets last weekend.

That enticed another 1,265 punters to take WrestleMania Saturday to 40,610, lagging behind the undiscounted Night Two at 42,769 fans.

WWE have since attempted to move the needle further by announcing that the now-retired John Cena is the host of the show.

One ace in the hole the company could turn to next is to bank on an appearance from The Rock in a last-ditch effort to boost ticket sales.

It is a tried and tested strategy that WWE owners TKO previously used with board member Johnson at Elimination Chamber 2025.

“I get a call from Ari Emmanuel, who we know owns TKO,” The Rock said on The Pat McAfee Show. “TKO owns WWE. He’s been my longtime business partner and one of my best friends for over 20 years. He said, ‘We need help at Elimination Chamber.’

“Ticket sales are a little slow, but beyond that, he goes, what we are finding is with Elimination Chamber, it’s become the pay-per-view that’s been interesting.

“Fans have had fun, but it’s also the conduit to WrestleMania. And how do we create an Elimination Chamber that people must tune in to see? How do we create that? And he goes, right now, we don’t have that. And he said, will The Final Boss show up?

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“I said, well, let me give it some thought, and let me get back to you. So I gave it some thought. I got back to Ari, I got back to Triple H and Nick, we had a call. I said, I have an idea.

“What’s most important to The Final Boss? The most important thing to The Final Boss isn’t titles, it’s not money, it’s not fame. Been there, done that, and grateful for that. Final Boss wants your soul.”

Rocky ultimately announced on Thursday, February 20th, 2025, that he would be returning to WWE on the following night’s SmackDown.

There, the 53-year-old confirmed his Chamber appearance for a week later, where he was infamously at the heart of Cena’s heel turn.

Will The Rock return at WrestleMania 42?

In theory, TKO’s tactic is one that the company could reuse for ‘Mania, but as of yet, an appearance from The Rock has not been announced.

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The People’s Champion was name-checked by Night Two headliner CM Punk in the build to his feud with his ‘cousin’ Roman Reigns.

Yet, according to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, a cameo from The Rock has been met with a firm ‘no’ backstage.