Does The Rock own WWE? Creative control, TKO

After spending the last week wondering if Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was forcing his way into the WrestleMania 40 main event, WWE fans want to know if The People’s Champ now owns WWE, and if he has creative control. Thankfully, we have the answers.

The Rock is one of the most popular WWE Superstars of all time and was a focal point of the company’s Attitude Era. However, Rocky managed to turn the majority of wrestling fans against him when 2024 Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes passed up the opportunity to finish his story and take on Roman Reigns for the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 40, standing aside for The Rock.

Thankfully, Rhodes was confirmed as The Tribal Chief’s challenger at a press conference in Las Vegas, but with rumors of creative control, where does Johnson sit in the WWE hierarchy, and does he have a say in the booking?

Does The Rock own WWE?

No, The Rock does now own WWE. In 2023, it was announced that WWE would merge with Zuffa, the parent company of UFC, to form TKO Group, which owns both companies. Ari Emanuel is the CEO of TKO, with Nick Khan serving as President of WWE.

The confusion surrounding Johnson comes from the news that he had been appointed to TKO’s Board of Directors. This means that The Great One has a say in major decisions that affect WWE as a business but does not own the company himself.

Does The Rock have creative control of WWE booking?

Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque is WWE’s Chief Content Officer and Head of Creative, but rumors suggest that Johnson’s new role on the TKO Board of Directors meant he was able to exert influence over the product and push himself into the main event picture of WrestleMania.

On top of that, PWInsider states that they understand that Brian Gewirtz, who was a Senior Vice President of Development at Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions, will be involved in any creative direction involving The Rock. They also suggested that Gewirtz was in place as a backup plan should they ever need to replace Triple H.

Is The Rock facing Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40?

As things stand, The Rock is not challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship at WrestleMania 40. Instead, ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody Rhodes will square off with The Tribal Chief in a rematch of last year’s main event, with Rhodes hoping to finish his story and claim the championship his father, the late Dusty Rhodes, never did.

As for Johnson, his road to WrestleMania is now a little less clear. The People’s Champ appeared to align with his cousin Reigns and The Bloodline at the WrestleMania 40 Press Conference, suggesting that the two are now working as allies rather than enemies.

World Heavyweight Champion Seth Freakin’ Rollins is still looking for an opponent for The Grandest Stage of ‘Em All, but a Rollins vs Rock showdown looks unlikely at the moment. Rollins’ challenger is set to be confirmed inside the Elimination Chamber, and qualifying matches have already been announced, with Johnson not included.

The popular theory among fans right now is that we’re getting a tag team match, possibly on night one of WrestleMania, with Reigns and Rock taking on Rollins and Rhodes. The championship matches would then take place on night two.

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