The wrestling world went wild when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made his much-anticipated return to WWE SmackDown on February 21. While his segment may have been controversial and a bit confusing, the WWE fans loved every minute of it, especially seeing different shades of The Final Boss.
As expected, he delivered, and the ratings soared. Reports say this episode brought in the highest audience numbers the show has seen since its return to the USA Network last September.
The segment where The Rock demanded Cody Rhodes’ soul got fans talking about the story and what The Rock’s plans might be. There was some controversy, but the episode attracted 1,736,000 viewers, a big jump from last week’s 1,384,000. The key 18-49 age group also saw a rise, going from a 0.42 rating to 0.51.
Gigantic numbers overnight for The Rock's return last night on SmackDown with a monster 614,000 viewers in 18-49.
— Alfred Konuwa (@ThisIsNasty) February 22, 2025
USA Network beat all other Networks in the key demo for the start of WWE's next cinematic story pic.twitter.com/uXnM307KLG
This was the highest rating in that group since the show returned to the USA Network on September 13, 2024. The show went up against college basketball on Fox, which came in second with a 0.41 rating. ESPN’s NBA coverage finished fifth with a 0.31 rating.
The Rock once hailed Drew McIntyre as WWE’s future star
In a video from 2019, WWE legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson praised Drew McIntyre as WWE’s future star. The video has recently become popular on social media. In the clip, The Rock talks about McIntyre’s potential and how he could become a big star.
The video was posted by Adam Glyn on the Adam’s Apple YouTube channel. While walking into a building, The Rock was asked who he thought would be the next big WWE superstar.
He said, “Personally, I like Drew McIntyre. I think he’s got a great look, a great build, and especially as he continues to hone in on his craft and connect to the audience—which is always the most important thing.”
