The SAG-AFTRA strikes that have brought television and movie production to a standstill. The strike has expanded to include actors and other workers after initially being started by the Writers Guild of America. The strike action is predicated on the poor or non-existent residual pay writers receive for hit streaming shows and the use of AI and digital recreation to replace actors and writers, among other labour issues in Hollywood. It represents the first time both writers and actors have initiated strike action at the same time since 1960.
Production has ceased on almost every scripted production in Hollywood, which has obviously left a number of actors at a loose end. This has had a surprising upshot for WWE. The pro wrestling giant is a scripted show, but their writers are not part of the WGA. This means that not only can they keep running shows without breaking picket lines, but performers can work for them without doing so either.
This has led to the surprising return of two WWE icons. John Cena and The Rock have both launched comebacks, having been away from the ring due to their Hollywood commitments. While ordinarily they would be busy making movies as two of the most in-demand stars of today, the strike has seen their schedules unexpectedly clear. With both holding a lot of affection for their wrestling years, Cena and Rock have returned to the company that made their names.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is one of the most bankable leading men in the industry. He outgrew the wrestling business at the close of the vaunted Attitude Era in the early 2000s, though he has been back intermittently since. Johnson’s last official match was a six-second victory over Erick Rowan in 2016. ‘The Great One’ had his last proper bout with Cena himself in 2013, losing in the main event of WrestleMania 29.
Cena has been a bit more active than Johnson since crossing over into Hollywood. While roles such as The Suicide Squad’s Peacemaker and Barbie’s brief-but-unforgettable Merman Ken have kept him largely out of the ring, he has performed intermittently. The former ‘Doctor of Thuganomics’ lost to Austin Theory at WrestleMania in April and also popped back for a SmackDown tag team match last December. His last extended run was the 2021 ‘Summer of Cena’, when a break in his film schedule allowed him to see weekly action again for the first time since 2018.
Cena is back on a similar arrangement to his 2021 deal. He has returned to the SmackDown brand and will be appearing on the show most weeks between now and the end of October. The 16-time world champion has thrown himself heartily into WWE storylines, brawling with Grayson Waller and The Bloodline contingent of Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso. Programming Cena with some of WWE’s emerging young stars like Sikoa and Waller seems like an expert way to leave some of that starpower behind when he inevitably heads back to Hollywood.
While Cena has plugged right into storylines and will be a fixture of programming over the next couple of months, The Rock’s situation is more unclear. The Jumanji star recently confirmed he had been in talks to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39 last year. The reigning WWE Champion is The Rock’s cousin and his Bloodline faction is made up of family members. The idea of The Rock facing Reigns for control of the Bloodline makes storyline sense and would likely do sizable viewership and ticket numbers for WWE.
Whether that match takes place is anyone’s guess. But The Rock did return to the fold on SmackDown this Friday in a confrontation with Austin Theory. The crowd reaction to his return in Denver, Colorado was one of the loudest in years. ‘The People’s Champ’ was not promoted before the show, meaning his entrance was a total surprise to the 14,000-strong crowd. The ensuing brawl with Theory, ending with the People’s Elbow finishing move, was rapturously received.
Whether this was a one-and-done before the SAG-AFTRA strike subsides or it leads to more down the line remains to be seen. Given The Rock’s revelations about the Reigns match nearly happening last year, you’d imagine he is open to one more match.
Another figure from WWE’s past who is affected by the Hollywood walkout is Dave ‘Batista’ Bautista. The man once known as ‘The Animal’ is another wrestler who has gone on to become Tinseltown royalty, starring in everything from Guardians of the Galaxy to Glass Onion via Blade Runner 2049. Batista retired from in-ring competition in 2019 after a WrestleMania loss to Triple H. But ‘Big Dave’ has expressed an interest in returning to the ring in the wake of the strikes. Could he follow in Cena and The Rock’s footsteps in the near future?
If things carry on as they are, WWE could look more star-studded than it has in years. The Rock, Cena and Batista are three of the biggest stars ever to set foot in the ring. Equally, if the SAG-AFTRA walkout is resolved they could all be back to work pretty quickly. But for now, WWE are making hay while the sun shines. These gifted performers have found a place they can spread their wings without breaking the picket, while WWE gets to welcome back some of their most iconic superstars. A true win-win situation where the people benefiting most of all are the WWE fans.
