The Rock’s role at WrestleMania 43 may look far different than many expect. While Saudi Arabia has pushed to get him back in the ring, his Hollywood commitments could take a match at WWE‘s biggest show in 2027 off the table entirely.
The scheduling conflict centers on Fast Forever, the 11th and final installment of the Fast & Furious franchise. Vin Diesel has said filming is expected to begin in December 2026, with the movie set for a March 17, 2028 release.
On a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said the production timeline makes it “very unlikely” that The Rock will wrestle at WrestleMania 43. Meltzer noted that filming is expected to run for months, which would make it especially difficult for The Rock to put in the physical preparation needed to return to the ring.
“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. I mean, could he fly to Saudi Arabia and show up? Of course. Of course he could, and he could always do that.
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. 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-ass it. I mean, the one thing that you could say is every time he came back, he trained his ass off.
I don’t see him doing a match. 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.”
Meltzer did not rule out a non-match appearance, however. He noted that The Rock could still fly to Riyadh for a segment, particularly given the strong interest from the Saudi side in having him on the show.
The Rock’s most recent match took place on April 6, 2024, during Night One of WrestleMania XL, where he teamed with Roman Reigns to defeat Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. His last appearance on WWE programming came at Elimination Chamber on March 1, 2025, in Toronto.