Without a doubt, one of the most well-known personalities on the planet is Dwayne ‘The Rock Johnson, who gained wide recognition after his tenure in WWE. The Rock made his WWE debut in 1996, and until the end of his contract in 2004, he was one of the best wrestlers in the company.
It became apparent towards the end of The Rock’s tenure with WWE that Hollywood was interested in him. The Rock had been in his first movie back in 2001, and it was likely that he would leave WWE for good sooner rather than later.
Bruce Prichard stated in 2020 that Vince McMahon intended to keep the main star tied to a contract and that he did not want The Rock to leave. However, Rock’s contract abruptly expired in 2004 and he left the company. He didn’t come back until 2007.
The narrative is noteworthy though, considering the rumors and conjecture at the time that suggested Rock simply left WWE because they didn’t renew his contract.
A few years ago, Bruce Prichard also disputed this, saying that The Rock’s contract renewal “slid away” under the circumstances.
Johnson had already started making appearances in Hollywood movies like “The Mummy Returns,” “The Scorpion King,” and “The Rundown” before he left. He left the organization in 2004 and focused on his acting career before returning in 2011 to challenge John Cena to a WrestleMania battle.
Johnson wrestled Cena one more in his last match, but was defeated. Johnson announced his retirement from wrestling in 2019 after on and off stints in WWE.
The fact that The Rock’s contract has just expired is quite a funny story. However, whatever he went through during that time, he doesn’t think it was to separate himself from WWE or wrestling, as he has mentioned several times that he appreciates the time he spent there.
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