The Rock could have a big year in 2024 if he returns to WWE

The Rock is an extremely popular and successful WWE legend. He started his career in 1996, and while he mostly retired beginning in the early-to-mid 2000s, he has had a Hall of Fame career. In fact, The Rock won ten world titles in the sports entertainment juggernaut.

The People’s Champion has only made a handful of appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment over the past five or so years. He showed up at a special episode of SmackDown as recently as a few months ago, but overall, The People’s Champion has kept himself away from his home promotion.

There’s reason to believe that this may be changing, however. A handful of clues have emerged that seem to indicate The People’s Champion may be returning to World Wrestling Entertainment sooner rather than later.

While The Rock’s future isn’t yet clear, and nothing official has been said, it is fun to speculate. This article will take a look at a handful of directions The Rock’s career could potentially take if he did return to the ring in the next calendar year.

Below are four possible directions for The Rock in WWE in 2024.

#4. The Rock could return for an epic match at SummerSlam

The Rock and Pat McAfee

Fans often assume The Rock’s return to action will be at WrestleMania 40. On occasion, some even suggest that The People’s Champion return to WWE could be in the Men’s Royal Rumble Match. While both options are fun, there’s no guarantee that’s the route his return may take.

Instead, The Rock could make his comeback later in the year, perhaps in the summer. WWE’s biggest event after WrestleMania is always SummerSlam, a show that has been growing more and more in recent years. The Biggest Party of the Summer no longer takes place in arenas. Instead, the shows are usually in stadiums.

With that in mind, the show needs a big hook to draw. The Rock returning at The Biggest Party of the Summer is precisely the kind of hook SummerSlam needs. Could The Rock clash with Roman Reigns or even Austin Theory at the second-biggest event of the year? There’s no reason why it wouldn’t be a huge success.

#3. He could surprisingly appear at WWE’s various international Premium Live Events in a goodbye tour

If The Rock does indeed come out of retirement for another match or for a short run, there’s no doubt that it will be one of the last times, if not the final time, that it ever happens. The former WWE Champion is now 51 years old, so his time in the ring is either behind him or close to being over.

With his age in mind, The Rock may not want to just do a one match return. Instead, The People’s Champion may want to do a “goodbye tour” of sorts that sees him travel with WWE to several big events. In particular, he may take advantage of the company’s busy international schedule.

There will be major Premium Live Events in Australia, France, and Germany in 2024. The Rock may appear at a few of these shows, if not all of them, as a thank you to the fans who have supported him for decades. He doesn’t even have to compete at each one. An appearance will be special enough.

#2. The Rock could form a Bloodline stable of his own

The Bloodline is arguably the greatest faction in WWE history. At the group’s peak, the stable featured Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, Solo Sikoa, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, and Sami Zayn. As a collective, they were seemingly unbeatable.

Over time, Jey and Sami have both left the WWE faction. Despite that, The Bloodline remains dominant. Roman Reigns claims to be The Head Of The Table and thus runs a group centered around his family. The Rock could return and challenge this, however.

Instead of fighting to become the new Tribal Chief, as some fans think, The Rock could form his own Bloodline. The People’s Champion could recruit Jey Uso, his daughter Ava, and maybe even Jacob Fatu if he can get out of his MLW contract. From there, The Bloodline vs. The Rock’s Bloodline could clash.

#1. He could compete in a WarGames Match for the first time ever

The WarGames cage

WarGames is one of the most exciting gimmick matches in history. The cool stipulation started in Jim Crockett Promotions in the 1980s and carried over into World Championship Wrestling in the 1990s.

WWE adopted the gimmick for the NXT brand in the 2010s. Once Triple H took over WWE’s creative direction in 2022, he brought the concept back and has changed Survivor Series to a WarGames-themed show for the past two years.

The Rock has never competed in the WarGames structure, thanks to the gimmick being in WCW when he was an active performer. He could return for Survivor Series WarGames 2024 just for a chance to compete in the bout. Who knows, it could even be part of the aforementioned Bloodline vs. Bloodline feud.