The Rock's WrestleMania history: Every WrestleMania match, year-by-year (2024)

Before he was “The Rock,” Dwayne Johnson made his WWF debut in 1996 as “Rocky Maivia.” Only a few months after his first official match with the company, Rocky Maivia captured the WWF Intercontinental Championship in February of 1997, defeating Hunter Hearst Helmsley.

The following month, Maivia made his WrestleMania debut and retained his title against his real-life cousin “The Sultan,” who would later be more well known as Rikishi.

Although The Rock is beloved by WWE fans today, at the time the fan response to his character was often hostile. His obvious push from management early on in his career turned some fans against him, and after a return from injury in 1997, Maivia switched from being a face to a heel as a part of the “Nation of Domination,” leaning into the fan sentiment.

“The Rock” moniker was born in late 1997, and at the 1998 Royal Rumble, The Rock beat Ken Shamrock by DQ. Shamrock got his rematch at WrestleMania, where – once again – The Rock won by disqualification.

The Rock would go on to spend much of the rest of the year feuding with members of The Nation, and by Survivor Series, where he captured the WWF Championship for the first time, The Rock was fully a singles wrestler on the path to superstardom.

We get our first WrestleMania match between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in 1999.

Vince McMahon won the 1999 Royal Rumble and a spot in the WrestleMania main event, with help from the Rock, eliminating Austin last. When McMahon then forfeited his right to face The Rock at WrestleMania, then-commissioner Shawn Michaels declared that the spot would go to the runner-up, Austin. This led to a steel-cage match between Austin and McMahon, where Austin would lose his match with The Rock if McMahon could win (a match that featured The Big Show making his debut by popping out from under the ring).

Austin won, however, and despite McMahon’s best efforts to interfere in the main event, Stone Cold stunned The Rock to win the title.

The main event of WrestleMania 2000 appeared to be The Rock vs. Triple H on the night of the 2000 Royal Rumble, where The Rock eliminated The Big Show last to win, but the controversial finish led to a bigger match. Video replays showed that The Rock’s feet actually touched the ground as he eliminated Big Show, and there were then multiple matches between Big Show and The Rock to determine who got to main event WrestleMania.

In the end, Big Show, The Rock and Mankind were added to a Fatal 4-Way with Triple H, who retained with the help of Vince McMahon hitting The Rock with a chair.

A legendary end to what is the single greatest WrestleMania card, in my books. Arguably the greatest promo reel for a WrestleMania main event. An incredible swerve ending. X-Seven had it all.

The Rock won the WWF title back at No Way Out in 2001, defeating Kurt Angle. Austin had again won the Royal Rumble to set up a WrestleMania main event, and McMahon featured heavily in the build-up, ordering Austin’s wife Debra to serve as The Rock’s manager.

Seriously, if you have a few minutes, re-watch this promo. It’s epic:

The title match was made a no-disqualification match, and Austin shockingly turned heel, allying with McMahon in the match. McMahon handed Austin a steel chair, which he used to decimate The Rock before winning the match and taking the championship.

In 2001, WWF acquired WCW, and the “Invasion” storyline saw many of WCW’s top talents. The New World Order – Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall – arrived at No Way Out in 2002, which led to The Rock challenging Hogan to one of the biggest WrestleMania matches ever: Icon vs. Icon.

Cody Rhodes has called Rock vs. Hogan the greatest wrestling match of all time – not because of the wrestling technique on display, but simply for the electricity generated inside the ring in Toronto. As a WrestleMania spectacle, nothing tops The Rock vs. Hogan.

Stone Cold Steve Austin’s send-off match. There were reported real-life rifts between Austin and WWE in 2002, a year in which Austin left the company entirely and publicly criticized the direction the company was going.

Austin also was dealing with significant health issues, but was still able to deliver an incredible bout with The Rock in what would be his last real in-ring action for nearly two decades. Austin returned to the ring to face Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38.

By 2003 The Rock was fully transitioning to his blooming acting career, and his WWE appearances became more and more sporadic. His appearance at WrestleMania XX, reuniting with Mick Foley in a handicap match against Batista, Randy Orton and Ric Flair, would be his last match until 2011.

The Rock served as a special WrestleMania “host” in 2011, a move that was really about planting the seed for his eventual showdown with John Cena a year later. The Rock delivered a Rock Bottom to Cena in the main event, allowing The Miz to score a pinfall and shockingly capture the WWE Championship. On Raw after WrestleMania, the Rock vs. Cena main event for XXVIII was set.

The Rock made a few appearances teaming alongside John Cena in 2011, and returned to episodes of Raw in 2012 in the build-up to WrestleMania – but this was a matchup that didn’t need much to make it a must-see event. One of the greatest stars of the Attitude Era vs. WWE’s Golden Boy of the PG Era.

With Cena still leading the company and The Rock clearly focused on his career outside of wrestling, many fans assumed Cena would win – but a surprise Rock victory set up “twice in a lifetime” the following year.

The build-up for The Rock vs. Cena part two is controversial among wrestling fans. Such a match doesn’t need to have a title on the line to feel important, just as Rock vs. Hogan didn’t need one, but at the 2013 Royal Rumble, Cena won the Rumble to earn his WrestleMania main event opportunity, and The Rock ended CM Punk’s WWE Championship reign at 434 days.

Cena then won the title at WrestleMania 29, and moved on on to a feud with… Ryback? Cena would eventually lose his title at SummerSlam that year to Daniel Bryan (who immediately lost the belt to Randy Orton via a Money In The Bank cash-in).

No wrestling for The Rock in New Orleans, but he did share a cool moment with fellow icons Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin to open the show.

The Rock made a cameo appearance at WrestleMania 31 and was attacked by Stephanie McMahon, which set up the arrival of Ronda Rousey and her feud with McMahon.

The Rock made an appearance in Dallas for WrestleMania 32 to announce the attendance number for the show (a whopping 101,763), but was confronted by The Wyatt Family. The Rock challenged them to a match, and then beat Erick Rowan in a WrestleMania record six seconds.

WWE fans are still waiting hopefully for a titanic showdown between The Rock and Roman Reigns, but that will have to wait for another year. In 2024, a slightly messy storyline unfolded where The Rock returned at Royal Rumble and started a beef with Reigns for the right to be at the “head of the table” of Reigns’ faction, The Bloodline.

Although The Rock and Reigns announced their intention to face each other at WrestleMania 40, Cody Rhodes – the 2024 Royal Rumble winner – reversed course from an earlier decision and said he would face Reigns at WrestleMania. The Rock then joined The Bloodline and will be teaming with Reigns against Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the main event of Night 1.

The result of the tag match will influence the Night 2 match between Rhodes and Reigns. If The Bloodline win, the Night 2 main event will be held under “Bloodline Rules” (No DQ). If Rhodes and Rollins win, members The Bloodline will be banned from ringside for the Rhodes-Reigns match.