There is no denying that The Rock has mega star power and would provide a boost to WWE's WrestleMania 41 and the path to the event.

But there is also no denying that Rock is about as polarizing as it gets right now.

Rock's involvement in the Bloodline saga over the last year or so happens to mirror his Hollywood outings as of late—resembling a rollercoaster with peak highs and some notable lows.

Ahead of 'Mania in 2025, Rock's involvement or lack thereof in the biggest event of the year remains a question mark, and his sparse appearances so far haven't helped.

As such, now is a good time to zoom out and see whether 'Mania 41 really needs Rock's presence at all.

Pros

Rock is, well, Rock. There's no bigger star power WWE could reel in for the event given his importance to fans and mass appeal to outside audiences.

Some of the storytelling possibilities are just downright amazing, too. He could come back and do any broad range of things. Want to see him have another match with the retirement-touring John Cena? Boom. What about rekindling some of that bad blood with CM Punk? No doubt that would be fun.

Of course, the biggest possibilities are either a feud with Cody Rhodes or Roman Reigns. WWE could opt for the former, but keeping it in the Bloodline feels like a much bigger deal.

In fact, that seemed to be what WWE was angling for last year, albeit sloppily. It's an obvious "once in a lifetime" opportunity. If built up well, it could be one of the greatest stories in modern times—Rock controlling Solo Sikoa's new Bloodline and Reigns overcoming it in an all-family feud would be historic.

General caveats apply, too. Rock's immense drawing power would make for one of the biggest 'Mania events ever, which is what WWE could use right now as programming moves to Netflix and the semi-alignment with TKO progresses.

WWE is getting more mainstream and global by the year, which Rock would boost immensely.

Cons

Remember last year? WWE desperately wants fans to forget when Rhodes attempted to give away his Royal Rumble win. Fans aren't stupid, though—it was obvious things were not planned out well and/or tampered with, which led to a sort of silly tag match at 'Mania.

How about this year? Remember when Rock showed up at the end of the Bad Blood PLE, slapped his goosebumps, and stared menacingly before leaving again? It was super silly and, according to Fightful Select (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), there was no actual plan behind it.

Not a great start to the build for next year's 'Mania.

And there's no promise it will get better. According to PW Insider (h/t Ortman), Rock gets what he wants and WWE will "pivot if and when Rock descends down from the Board of Directors and Hollywood."

That's the problem. If there's no long-form plan and build to an actual Rock match with a meaningful payoff, then it's a waste of a viewer's time. It will put more eyeballs on the product, but at a mind-numbing cost. It's one thing when Brock Lesnar returns for a violent fight. But with Rock, it's implied and almost expected that there be some actual connection to ongoing stories that make sense, especially now in this Bloodline-centric era.

And that's the other big thing. Rock is a part-timer at best who would again shove aside the likes of Seth Rollins or others. He's not going to settle for anything less than a main event (he's the guy who found his way into a gold title for his promo staredowns and such, somehow, after all), which immediately knocks the rest of the card back.

Not only is there the part-timer aspect, but this blurred-lines era means more fans than ever think and/or understand that Rock is back after some Hollywood struggles and perhaps only because of his position of power as an actual executive behind the scenes now. There's a stigma attached to his presence now that, unless played into well as part of a Bloodline story, isn't going to be easy to shake.

Final Verdict

Rock exists in a truly strange, unique spot right now. He's the perfect embodiment of pro wrestling evolving into something resembling more of a sport after the TKO merger and modernization spurred by the Triple H era.

But he's also the perfect embodiment of the old era as a part-time, aging Superstar who comes back at random and knocks other full-time guys aside. It's especially jarring in this golden era for storytelling and roster depth and even moreso considering there aren't many part-time veterans ever coming back to do this.

Removing Rock from the 'Mania 41 outlook, the card will still be historic. Rollins vs. Punk could main event Night 1. A babyface Reigns winning the Royal Rumble and going after Rhodes would be fun. So would Reigns keeping it in the family and giving Jacob Fatu a match. Heck, let Cena win the Royal Rumble. Give fans an unforgettable Randy Orton vs. Rhodes feud. Examples go on and on and on.

To put it simply, WrestleMania 41 doesn't need Rock. If he's involved, fantastic, but only if an actual plan presents itself and unfolds well. Otherwise, it could be a sloppy rehashing of last year that does the Bloodline tale and much of the roster more harm than good.