The Rock’s Hollywood commitments could make a potential match at WWE WrestleMania 43 difficult to pull off.
WrestleMania 43 is scheduled to emanate from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next year, and Saudi organizers are believed to have significant interest in getting The Rock back in the ring for the event. However, his upcoming filming schedule could present a major obstacle.
Vin Diesel recently revealed to Variety that Fast Forever, the planned final installment of the Fast & Furious franchise, is expected to begin filming in December. The Rock is scheduled to reprise his role as Luke Hobbs in the movie, potentially putting him on set during the crucial months leading into WrestleMania.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio at F4WOnline.com, Dave Meltzer addressed the situation and suggested that while an appearance from The Rock would remain possible, actually preparing for and wrestling a match could be another story.
“Because that movie is gonna take months to film, if he is in it, which he is scheduled to be in it, that him doing a match at WrestleMania would be out the window,” Meltzer said. “I mean, could he fly to Saudi Arabia and show up? Of course. Of course he could, and he could always do that.”
Meltzer noted that Saudi officials are interested in having The Rock wrestle, but questioned whether his movie schedule would leave enough time for the extensive training he has traditionally put into his WWE returns.
“I know that the Saudis really wanted him to wrestle on that show next year, and if they offer enough money, there may be a way, but I don’t know where he’s gonna get time to train when he’s doing a movie like that,” he continued. “And I don’t see him doing something in the ring without training. He has too much pride, if that’s the right word, to go out there and half-a** it. I mean, the one thing that you could say is every time he came back, he trained his a** off.“
While Meltzer remains skeptical about The Rock actually competing at WrestleMania 43, he believes a non-wrestling appearance would be much easier to envision.
“I don’t see him doing a match,” he said. “Now, as far as showing up for an appearance, I could certainly see that. To get Dwayne to do something at this stage, especially in Saudi Arabia, the amount of money would be giant. But, like I said, from a timing standpoint, I think it would be very unlikely he’s doing a match.”
The Rock has not appeared on WWE programming since Elimination Chamber 2025 in Toronto. He had previously become heavily involved in WWE storylines on the road to WrestleMania 40, ultimately returning to the ring for the first time in eight years when he teamed with Roman Reigns against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins on Night One.
Whether WrestleMania 43 leads to another in-ring comeback remains to be seen, but his increasingly busy Hollywood schedule could make an appearance rather than a match the more realistic possibility.
