WWE
The Rock moves the needle. On Friday night, The Rock made a return appearance on WWE’s SmackDown in New Orleans to announce that WrestleMania would return to the Big Easy in 2026.
You heard @TheRock! #WrestleMania 42 will be LIVE from the @CaesarsDome in New Orleans, Louisiana!
#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/vo4ZHQcgB4— WWE (@WWE) February 22, 2025
In his appearance, The Rock teased a potential WrestleMania 41 storyline with Cody Rhodes.
The Rock tells Cody Rhodes that there’s nothing in this world that he wants more than his soul…#SmackDown
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) February 22, 2025
The Rock’s return was a big win for USA Network, which crushed the competition with 614k average viewers in the 18-49 demo. Fox (425k viewers) and CBS (344K viewers) were the WWE’s closest competitors on Friday night.