The Rock Faces a Huge Setback with Oscars Snub Despite Smashing Machine Role

The Rock hasn't been nominated for the Best Actor in a Leading Role category for the 98th Academy Awards.

The Rock Faces a Huge Setback with Oscars Snub Despite Smashing Machine Role

The Rock [via- WrestleOps/@X]

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The nominations for the 98th Academy Awards are out, and The Rock has notably been left out. The WWE legend was pegged for his maiden Oscar with his portrayal of Mark Kerr in the MMA great’s biopic—The Smashing Machine. Dwayne Johnson‘s riveting performance was hailed by the movie critics for being his most touching and emotionally grounded on-screen role. But it wasn’t Oscar-worthy.

The nominees for the Best Actor in a Leading Role category for the 2026 Oscars include Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme, Leonardo DiCaprio in One Battle After Another, Ethan Hawke in Blue Moon, Michael B. Jordan in Sinners, and Wagner Moura in The Secret Agent. Earlier this month, The Rock missed out on a Golden Globes award as well.

He was nominated for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture for Smashing Machine. ‘The Great One’ later posted a video message on Instagram revealing a special note his daughter had left him.

The 53-year-old Hollywood mogul would have read it during his speech had he taken home a Golden Globes trophy this year. The Rock recently sat down for a conversation with Raffi Talks, where he was asked about his participation at WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia.

First of all, the 10-time world champion said he’s excited for the brand of WrestleMania and for WWE Superstars getting to be a part of such a global event in Riyadh. As far as his negotiations with the Saudi Arabian officials are concerned, the Black Adam star guffawed before saying, “It’s all good; it will always be good.”

Not that long ago, Andrew Baydala reported that the Saudis have made a big push to feature “two bald Attitude Era megastars” at WrestleMania in 2027. Of course, The Rock is one of them, and his great rival, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, is the other missing piece of the puzzle. Speaking of the latter, ‘The Texas Rattlesnake’ is being reported for a WWE return appearance in the near future as per WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select.

Was The Rock behind the phone call to Adam Pearce on Raw?

On this week’s Raw, Paul Heyman approached GM Adam Pearce backstage after the latter cost The Vision a 6-man tag team match against Rey Mysterio, Dragon Lee, and Penta. Heyman told Pearce that he was the best general manager WWE has ever had, and people will miss him after he’s gone.

Adam Pearce and The Rock
Adam Pearce and The Rock [via- WrestlingInc]

Pearce warned ‘The Oracle’ about threatening him. Just then, the Raw GM received a phone call, which Heyman insisted Pearce might want to pick up. Afterwards, the Vision bumped into Pearce backstage, where the latter informed ‘The Wiseman’ that he’d like to smooth things over with a suspended Bron Breakker should he come to Raw next week.

The on-screen WWE official affirmed that it had nothing to do with the phone call, and the decision to talk with Breakker face-to-face wasn’t influenced. Heyman said it would be his honor to have ‘The Unpredictable Badass’ on the show next Monday.

Since that segment has aired, everyone has been taking some wild guesses about who could be behind that phone call. Many fans on social media have outright declared it’s The Rock himself.

That belief got firm when Heyman told Logan Paul during his YouTube vlog that the caller would ring up the WWE CCO Triple H, and even he wouldn’t want to take the call. It made The Maverick utter, “Oh, it’s gotta be the big man himself.”

That iteration from Paul fits with the description of a certain “final boss.” Even though there’s no solid evidence to say it was indeed The Rock behind that call, the netizens are leaning toward it.

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