The Rock (left); Vince McMahon (right)The Rock (left); Vince McMahon (right)

The Rock’s first WWE heel turn in 21 years is the talk of the wrestling world right now. Hall of Fame journalist Bill Apter believes the Hollywood star’s character change may be linked to the recent allegations against Vince McMahon.

On January 25, former WWE employee Janel Grant accused McMahon of sexual assault and trafficking. The 78-year-old denied the claims before resigning from WWE’s parent company TKO “out of respect.”

Apter appeared on the latest episode of Sportskeeda’s The Wrestling Time Machine with Mac Davis and Teddy Long. Sportskeeda’s Senior Editor gave his thoughts on how the timing of The Rock’s heel turn might not be coincidental:
“I think this is to take the attention away from the Vince McMahon issue,” Apter said. “This is far outdrawing in people’s minds [than] the Vince McMahon thing. It’s like a politician. When he doesn’t want to talk about something, they swerve something and make it a different topic. This is so strong, people weren’t thinking that week or that time about the whole McMahon thing, and that’s great for TKO and WWE.” [7:20 – 7:49]

Watch the video above to hear the panel discuss the WrestleMania XL main event and Scott D’Amore’s departure from TNA.

Teddy Long reacts to The Rock’s heel turn

At the WrestleMania XL Kickoff event in Las Vegas, Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes chose Roman Reigns as his WrestleMania opponent. The American Nightmare also made remarks about The Bloodline’s family, prompting Reigns’ cousin The Rock to slap him.

WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long thinks The Great One is equally as good whether he performs as a good guy or bad guy:
“I enjoyed seeing him turn heel, that’s great, because he can do it, you know what I mean? He’s the only guy that can go both ways and get away with it.” [6:24 – 6:32]

Bill Apter also praised The Rock’s acting seconds before he slapped Rhodes at the press conference:
“He did it in such a way when he turned to Cody and he said, ‘When you talk about his grandfather, that’s my grandfather (…) and now we have a problem.’ I got goosebumps. The camera angle, everything was perfect.” [6:34 – 6:58]
WrestleMania XL will be held at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 6-7. The Rock’s role at the event is currently unclear.

Do you think the Vince McMahon allegations affected WWE’s WrestleMania XL storyline? Let us know in the comments section below.