WWE Fans Want To Know: Will Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Be At ‘SmackDown’ 1000?

SmackDown 1000, the 1,000th airing of the televised WWE wrestling program that airs opposite to the Raw brand, is set to broadcast on Tuesday, October 16. Although many fan-favorites are already slated to appear, many are curious if The Rock — also known as Dwayne Johnson — will show up as well.

It certainly would make sense. According to reporting from Bleacher Report, the show itself is named after one of Johnson’s favorite catchphrases from his heyday with the wrestling organization.

Several legendary wrestlers are already planning to make an appearance on the historic program next week. Triple H, Batista, Randy Orton, and Ric Flair will all return as members of the wrestling stable “Evolution,” and recently re-signed Rey Mysterio Jr. will also be coming to the show. Former SmackDown general managers Teddy Long and Vickie Guerrero are also being advertised as attending SmackDown 1000, according to a report from F4Wonline.com.

But The Rock remains unconfirmed to make an appearance. It’d be quite a disappointment to fans if he didn’t show up — his persona and antics on the program, back when it started in 1999, helped to skyrocket its popularity in its early years. His attendance will likely depend upon his availability, however, as Johnson is, of course, a huge Hollywood star these days, laying the “smack down” on theatrical bad guys rather than the heels he met in the ring years ago.

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Because of his popularity among fans, and because his name is synonymous with the SmackDown brand, Bleacher Report reported that the WWE was definitely in pursuit of bringing Johnson back to the program for the big show (no, not that Big Show).

Such a move wouldn’t be unprecedented for Johnson to do, either. The 10-time world champ came back to the ring as recently as WrestleMania 32, back in 2016, where he defeated Erick Rowan. He’s also main-evented WrestleManias 28 and 29, fighting against John Cena in both.

Again, if The Rock is to make a return to SmackDown next Tuesday, it will likely be because he has a short break in his movie-making schedule. A possibly optimistic sign for some wrestling fans? Fellow Hollywood star Dave Batista, who starred as Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, is slated to return as well.

Batista’s “star power” in Hollywood, however, isn’t quite as high as Johnson’s, and Batista is also rumored to have just signed a contract with WWE to become part of their roster at least until the next Wrestlemania, according to reporting from The Sun.

So will The Rock return? SmackDown fans will just have to wait until Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network when SmackDown 1000 airs to know for sure.