WWE Rumors: Will The Rock Appear At ‘Survivor Series’ 2016?

The latest WWE rumors that have hit the internet are speculating that wrestling superstar The Rock might make an appearance at the Survivor Series 2016 pay-per-view. The event is scheduled for Sunday, November 20 in Toronto, Canada, and already has a huge main event match set up. The bout features the anticipated rematch between Brock Lesnar and Goldberg. The latter of the two competitors made his return to the WWE ring 12 years after leaving and already owns a victory over Lesnar from a previous encounter. However, could Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appear at Survivor Series as well?

These new rumors were first set off based on PWInsider’s Q&A section in regards to Survivor Series a few days ago. One person asked a question regarding the 20th anniversary of The Rock’s debut match with WWE, which came at the Survivor Series. During that 1996 pay-per-view, The Rock was the sole survivor for his team. The inquiring individual wondered if The Rock, real name Dwayne Johnson, might appear during the 2016 edition of the pay-per-view, not necessarily in a match, but simply as part of the event.

PW Insider’s Dave Scherer felt that The Rock could potentially show up, but added a caveat to that idea.

“The Rock can come back to WWE whenever he wants to. It’s his call. With that said, if you can get him to appear, you make sure to promote it well in advance and sell Network subscriptions. You don’t do it as a surprise, especially at a time when viewership is down.”

So it would seem WWE would want to let fans know a bit further ahead of the actual event to expect The Rock as part of it. However, he’s also made a surprise appearance or two when he’s returned to the WWE. Take, for example, his run-in with Rusev and Lana on an episode of Monday Night Raw back in 2014 in Brooklyn, New York. The WWE managed to keep tight wraps on The Rock’s return and it certainly was one of those surprise goosebump-inducing type moments.

As Sportskeeda mentions in their report, The Rock appeared in a match back at the Survivor Series 2011 edition. During that pay-per-view, he and John Cena battled against The Miz and R-Truth in a tag team bout. The Rock ending up winning the match as he hit a spinebuster and then the “People’s Elbow” on The Miz for the pinfall. Post-match, The Rock hit his other trademark move “Rock Bottom” on his tag team partner, John Cena. That would lead to their first match at WrestleMania 28, which The Rock ended up winning.

The Rock showed up at WrestleMania 32 earlier this year in Texas. During that event, he used a flamethrower to light a display of his name on fire while Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders danced on stage during his introduction. After getting into the ring, The Wyatt Family showed up to interrupt the good times. Rock won an impromptu match against Erick Rowan but then was nearly attacked by The Wyatts. That all led to a surprise return by his former foe in the ring, John Cena, who came to The Rock’s aid to fight off The Wyatt Family.

With that said, if done right, WWE could always surprise the fans by bringing The Rock in during the upcoming Survivor Series pay-per-view. It could possibly be a build for something bigger at WrestleMania 33. Where WWE needs to be careful is not to take away from the big match feel of Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar that they have in place already. Some fans are already speculating that The Rock might get involved in that match, setting up a match down the road with Lesnar at WrestleMania.

There are even been a few fans suggesting that maybe Shane McMahon will have to withdraw from being on Team SmackDown for their five-on-five Survivor Series matchup with Team Raw. The rumors there would have Shane announcing “this man” as his replacement with The Rock’s theme music hitting and sending the arena into a frenzy. It could certainly happen in Toronto, but one has to believe that WWE would want to announce The Rock participating in an actual pay-per-view match a bit more ahead of the card. So if anything, The Rock’s surprise appearance at the upcoming pay-per-view would be used to begin his promotion towards WrestleMania 33.

For now, stay tuned to SmackDown and Raw for any potential announcement, but as for now, there is nothing official with regards to The Rock’s appearance at Survivor Series 2016.

[Featured Image by WWE]