“Couldn’t show up because…” WWE legend discloses why The Rock missed WrestleMania 41 amid rumors of his beef with Triple H
Kevin Nash has offered his two cents on the actual reason that must've prevented The Rock from showing up at WrestleMania 41.

The Rock [Image via- WWE]
The dust has yet to settle on The Rock‘s WrestleMania absence this year. A number of conspiracy theories are circulating on the internet as to why The Final Boss decided to skip WWE’s biggest show of the year. His stance? The 52-year-old stated on The Pat McAfee Show that he wanted all the spotlight to be on Cody Rhodes and John Cena.
An industry veteran and former world champ doesn’t think so. He’s none other than Kevin Nash. Speaking on Kliq This, the former nWo member asserted that Dwayne Johnson couldn’t get involved with WrestleMania because of his upcoming filming obligations with Martin Scorsese.
For the unversed, Johnson will join an all-star cast feat. Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Blunt, etc., for a Hawaii-based crime thriller.
The Great One recently disclosed that the untitled movie will start filming next year. So if that’s the case and the principal photography for the movie is that far away, shouldn’t have Rock been at WrestleMania barely to accentuate the finish to Cena vs. Rhodes? As per Nash, it would’ve jeopardized his Hollywood commitments.
Rock couldn’t show up because Rock was fu**ing filming a Scorsese film.
Kevin Nash on The Rock’s WrestleMania 41 absence
The last time Rock wrestled right before filming Hercules in 2013, he tore his bone off the pelvis against The Cenation Leader at WrestleMania 29. It resulted in shoot delays and a major budgeting misadventure.
Kevin Nash On The Rock’s WrestleMania Absence: ‘He Didn’t Have The Option. Scorsese Was Not Gonna Let Him’ https://t.co/FdVhCHEXiG pic.twitter.com/rSo8SnwAYC
— Wrestling News (@WrestlingNewsCo) April 28, 2025
Had Johnson somehow injured himself while dishing out a Rock Bottom or a People’s Elbow last weekend, it would’ve been nightmarish for Scorsese and team. So for Big Daddy Cool, that’s why the Oscar-winning director made Rock sit out of WrestleMania 41.
Jonathan Coachman dissects The Rock’s backstage influence in WWE
As of this week, the rumors have only intensified about an alleged creative rift between The Rock, who sits on the TKO’s board of directors, and Triple H, the Chief Content Officer of WWE. It stemmed from The Great One’s guest appearance on Pat McAfee’s show a couple of days after WrestleMania Sunday. The Black Adam star mentioned that he was aware of the match finishes.

Furthermore, the Hollywood mogul added that even though he enjoyed Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena for the Undisputed WWE title, he would’ve finessed the finish to it personally.
Former WWE color commentator Jonathan Coachman recently weighed in on what’s happening behind the scenes in WWE in terms of who’s the supreme decision maker. First things first, Coach does believe that Rock and Hunter are beefing.
Emergency take heading to the airport: Will we continue to see the beef between Rock and HHH play out in front of us.
— The Coach (@Thecoachrules) April 28, 2025
-Ari called Rock not HHH
-HHH out in front at mania not Cena or Cody
-HHH already changing titles a week after mania. Did Chelsea Greene openly question NOT… pic.twitter.com/vlDzeDMqt6
The PFL analyst also pointed out that Rock strategically shunned any promotion for WrestleMania so that the spotlight would eventually fall on him and he could have his say. Coachman concluded that the Moana actor has the most backstage pull in WWE, followed by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. He was also baffled by Rock’s revelation of Emanuel calling him to boost the lukewarm ticket sales for the Elimination Chamber PLE.
Trailer out soon for The Rock’s Smashing Machine
After competing in his first WWE match in 8 years at WrestleMania XL, The Rock stepped away from WWE. He would go on to film a Mark Kerr biopic called The Smashing Machine. The filming was wrapped up by July, and the fans were anxiously waiting for an update on the movie’s trailer and release date.

Yesterday, the Attitude Era icon posted that the trailer will be out today, i.e., Tuesday. The project had its hiccups, with Dwayne Johnson also picking up an elbow injury, but that didn’t impact the timely completion of the biopic feat.
Benny Safdie's THE SMASHING MACHINE.
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) April 28, 2025
Trailer tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/JenvyUuFoe
A couple of months after having it filmed, The Final Boss returned to WWE for a one-off appearance at Bad Blood, which was rumored to resume his then-beef with Cody Rhodes, but a lot had changed. In 2025, the 10-time World Champion has showed up four times on WWE programming.
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