When Did The Rock Leave WWE?

The Rock left WWE in 2004 to pursue a career in Hollywood. He has since become one of the biggest movie stars in the world, appearing in blockbusters like The Mummy Returns, The Scorpion King, and G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

January 2004

Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor, producer, and semi-retired professional wrestler.Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Johnson was born into a wrestling family: his grandfather Peter Maivia and father Rocky Johnson were both36 Professional Wrestling. In 1996, Johnson secured a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) after initially being cut from the World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF) for looking too muscular. He rose to prominence after developing a charismatic persona of a boastful trash-talking wrestler named The Rock. He won his first WWF Championship in 1999 and helped usher in the company’s “Attitude Era” by becoming one of the leading figures of that era. After pursuing an acting career full-time from 2004 onwards, he went on sabbatical from WWE from late 2004 until 2013, but has returned on multiple occasions since.

Wrestlemania XX

In 2004, at WrestleMania XX, The Rock finally returned to WWE to have a rematch with Hulk Hogan. This was one of the most anticipated matches in WWE history, and it did not disappoint. The match was billed as “The Battle of the Legends”, and it was everything that it was hyped up to be. The Rock and Hulk Hogan put on a classic match, with The Rock getting the victory. After the match, The Rock gave Hulk Hogan a huge hug, and it appeared that all was forgiven between the two legends.

However, that would not be the case. The Rock would go on to have a few more matches with WWE, but he would never again be a full-time wrestler. In 2009, he had a rematch with John Cena at WrestleMania XXV, and this time Cena came out victorious. The Rock would make occasional appearances on WWE programming over the next few years, but his days as a full-time wrestler were clearly over.

The Rock would finally leave WWE for good in 2013. He made one final appearance on Raw to accept induct him into the WWE Hall of Fame. It was a touching moment, and it brought an end to one of the most iconic careers in wrestling history.

Aftermath

In the weeks following WrestleMania 29, The Rock began making more frequent appearances on WWE television. On the April 8 episode of Raw, he came to the aid of WWE Champion John Cena, who was being attacked by Lesnar and Heyman. The Rock then had a staredown with Lesnar, which was interrupted by Triple H. Later that night, it was announced that Cena would face The Rock for the WWE Championship at Extreme Rules. That match took place on May 5, with The Rock defeating Cena to win his eighth WWE Championship.

Following his victory at Extreme Rules, The Rock began appearing on Raw on a more consistent basis, as he had to defend his title against Cena in a rematch at WWE Payback on June 16. At the event, after a back and forth match, The Rock retained his title when he reversed an Attitude Adjustment attempt into a pinfall. Three days later on Raw, after losing a tag team match where he teamed with Mark Henry against Cena and Daniel Bryan, The Rock was attacked by Bryan. This led to another rematch between Bryan and The Rock for the WWE Championship at SummerSlam on August 18, which Bryan won to become WWE Champion for the first time.

The next night on Raw, after defeating Dolph Ziggler in a singles match, The Rock was confronted by Rusev (with Lana), who challenged him to a match at Night of Champions; The Rock accepted Rusev’s challenge later that night during an in-ring promo. At Night of Champions on September 21, after a back and forth match between both men that saw Rusev sustain an injury during the match (revealed to be kayfabe), The Rock pinned Rusev with a roll-up to end Rusev’s undefeated streak and win his ninth WWE Championship.