The Rock Reveals When He Originally Planned To Retire From WWE

The 53-year-old opened up on his match with Cena at WrestleMania 29 when he faced the 48-year-old for a second year in a row at the Show of Shows. He told NPR's Fresh Air that he tore both his abdomen and his adductor and quad tendons off his pelvis, but kept quiet:

"I didn’t want to tell John that because I knew the match would end, and I didn’t want the match to end in that way. Not only was it important to me to go out on my shield, I knew this was my very last match of my entire career. My career was going to end on this night. No one knew, but I knew."

The Rock had defeated Cena at WrestleMania 28 in their 'once in a lifetime' battle, but they crossed paths again with the People's Champion defending his WWE Championship. He lost on this occasion and explained why he wanted to finish the match despite his injuries:

"The other reason, and maybe more important than my career ending, I was doing the honors. That means you’re passing the torch to someone who is going to carry it from here on out. That was to John, and that was the finish to our match; me doing the honors for him and him beating me in the middle of the ring to become champion. That’s why I didn’t want the match to end right away. I wanted him to have his moment. That’s important."

The Rock didn't remain retired after their match at Mania in April 2013 and has since competed twice. He first defeated Erick Rowan of The Wyatt Family in a six-second match at WrestleMania 32 in April 2016.

But Rock's first proper match since the loss to Cena was his tag team match on night one of WrestleMania 40 last year, which saw him pick up the victory alongside Roman Reigns against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins.

The Rock 'Honored' To Pass The Torch To Roman Reigns

WWE were forced to pivot on the Road to WrestleMania 40 after The Rock was initially announced to challenge Reigns for the WWE Championship in the main event. Rhodes had won the Royal Rumble, and fans made clear they wanted the American Nightmare to "finish the story".

This led to Rock turning heel and aligning with Reigns, putting their potential match on the back burner, but many feel they will eventually lock horns. That could come at WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia amid reports that Saudi officials are trying to tempt the Hollywood megastar back to the ring for the PLE in 2027.

Rock and Reigns are Bloodline cousins, and a match to take place could be the ideal send-off for the former 10-time WWE world champion. He was asked about the prospect of facing the OTC back in 2020 by his brother-in-law, Hiram Garci,a on his YouTube project ‘The Rock: Through the Lens':

"You know what, the truth is, I would be honored not only to share the ring with Roman and to go back to the WWE, but of course, I would be honored to have him raise his hand on that one."

The Rock is currently busy with his acting career, and his new movie 'The Smashing Machine' has just been released in theatres. It would be unlikely to see him return for a match at WrestleMania 42 after skipping this year's Mania despite his involvement in Cena's heel turn at Elimination Chamber in February.