The Rock Kicks Off WWE RAW’s Netflix Debut with Explosive Return

WWE hyped this episode of RAW for months as they finally made their highly anticipated Netflix debut on January 6. This night went down at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, and that was a perfect location to see The Rock’s return.

This week’s massive episode of WWE RAW kicked off with Triple H welcoming fans into the Netflix Era of the show. Then The Rock was the first Superstar out of the gate as Michael Cole and Pat McAfee settled into their commentary roles on the show.

The Final Boss received a tremendous reception from the California fans. He brought up how watching WWE has changed, because things are much different from when he was a kid. The largest arena gate in WWE history was thrilled to see him make history.

He also didn’t get very far into his promo before The Great One said “bullsh*t,” and we already knew that this was going to be an uncensored show. He also didn’t want to have that profanity glitched out. Then The Rock got around to thanking Cody Rhodes, who was already in the crowd at ringside watching the show. Then The Rock acknowledged Roman Reigns, and that got a huge “OTC” chant from the crowd, as The Rock said he is the Original Tribal Chief.

When The Rock went to give his iconic “if you smell” tag line, he stopped short, so fans could chant his name. Then he wrapped it up with “is cooking,” and that finished up his time on the show. He didn’t get involved in any angle during this appearance, but his time in the ring was certainly impactful.

The Rock is famous for a lot of things, from his time in WWE to shows like Ballers, that also did very well on Netflix. He is also a member of TKO’s Board of Directors, which gives him real power within the company. If anyone can write their own WWE schedule, it’s Dwayne Johnson.

We will have to see what The Rock does on the road to WrestleMania. He will certainly be a big candidate for any marquee match he wants at this point. That being said, his busy schedule as a Hollywood Juggernaut certainly makes him a hard person to coordinate schedules with.