The Rock has permanently returned to WWE TV and while he might not be seen in competition at Wrestlemania 40, he ended up stealing the spotlight from Cody Rhodes to a certain extent. He also made a significant impact on SmackDown this week by aligning himself with Roman Reigns it seems that segment gained a considerable amount of viewership on YouTube.
The latest reports claim that The Rock’s promo segment on Friday Night Smackdown has received 1,751,331 views in 13 hours, which is simply insane. The runner-up segment from the same episode was Kevin Owens qualifying for the Elimination Chamber match which received only 452,000 views in that same period.
According to the reports of Fighful Select, this particular episode of WWE SmackDown was also “the highest-grossing WWE event ever in the Salt Lake City market.” This achievement only showcases the loyalty of WWE’s fanbase in recent times and the appeal that the product managed to pull up heading into Wrestlemania 40.
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The Rock’s appearance helped Smackdown to pull up big numbers
For all the right reasons, The Rock helped a lot in drawing the numbers. Plus, that particular episode, broadcasted from the Delta Center in the city also went through a dual taping for the upcoming episode on February 23. This dual-event format also played a significant role in drawing a larger crowd who stayed even after the live show was over.
After Smackdown ended, The Rock exchanged handshakes with fellow Bloodline members, essentially dropping his heel persona. It happened after Roman Reigns and the rest of The Bloodline went backstage. This post-show behavior was similar to events from 21 years ago. In the lead-up to WrestleMania 19 in 2003, the ex-WWE Champion criticized the Toronto crowd on RAW but then he broke character once the actual taping was over.
In his promo segment, The Rock mentioned how Cody lost last year to Roman and this ‘finish the story’ logic doesn’t apply in sports. He also called the fans in attendance on WWE Smackdown to be crybaby bi**hes. Keeping his heel mode intact, The Rock said he will do everything in his power to make sure that Cody walks out of WrestleMania 40 a loser before officially joining The Bloodline.
