The Rock and his mild-mannered ego, Dwayne Johnson

The Rock claims in a recent statement, that he may have wrestled his last match at Wrestlemania 29.

"Mania may have been my last match. The 3 year goal was to come in & elevate the @WWE. Then proudly 'do the honors'."

~Source: http://www.WrestlingInc.com/wi/news/2013/0426/562324/rock-qa-highlights-was-wrestlemania-his-last-match/#ixzz2RgjOmfHk

Of course, there is a lot of speculation that this wasn't The Rock's last match; this blogger believes that The Rock's "true" last match was at Summerslam 2002 against Brock Lesnar.

This was the last match that we saw "The Rock" and not "Dwayne Johnson". When every People's Elbow, Sharpshooter, and Rock Bottom mattered. Granted, The Rock still has passion in the business, but this last match was before all the glitz, glamour, and showmanship that he currently possesses. Before Hollywood. Taking a look at this match and the Rock's most recent match at Wrestlemania 29, I was watching two different men. At Wrestlemania, there was no intensity, no drive, no passion. There wasn't even a "kip-up"! Everyone knew, from Cena, to The Rock, to the WWE Universe, that this was not The Rock; it was Dwayne Johnson. At Summerslam 2002, New York was on their feet in a match that was half as long!!

Ironically enough, the WWE wanted to put The Rock against Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules before he developed an injury. And honestly, I guarantee that The Rock wouldn't have the same tenacity as he had back in 2002. He put Paul Heyman through the announcer's table! Lesnar on the other hand, would kill the Rock at his current stage. And, of course, much of the results within the WWE are scripted, of course, but in the natural order of things, there are so many differences involved between the Rock of old, and the Dwayne Johnson of today.

Critics may say that I may be too harsh on The Rock. I disagree in that statement entirely. The Rock should not have ever returned unless it was to go all out in a blaze of glory. However, that was not the case. He came back with opportunity given to him; he took away CM Punk's impressive title reign to set up a WWE Championship match with John Cena. And Cena himself has just as much as a bad hand in this as the Rock does. I can understand the "passing of the torch" as Hogan did to The Rock to John Cena, but not in the way it happened over six months. It was quick, cheap, and it devalued a lot of the Rock's wrestling career, and it created a ripple effect that tarnished the reputation that CM Punk built on the WWE Championship. And everyone knew at Wrestlemania 28 that John Cena would be WWE Champion, the Rock would give it to him, and go right back into Hollywood, riding off into the sunset.

The Rock, before he hit Hollywood, was the WWE's Superman. Much like Hogan was Superman back in the Golden Era, the Rock one of the few superstars every child wanted to emulate. Cena has taken that mantle now, because of his own drive. But the difference between the Rock in the Attitude Era and Cena of today is that Cena has been shoved down our throats day in and day out without any break in between as a record holding 11-time WWE Champion. And now, we don't even have Dwayne riding off into the sunset; he's put on the shelf and scolded by film producers to stop wrestling because it's bad for their pockets. AND HE LISTENS!! Then again, Vince is no longer writing his checks; Hollywood is.

All in all, whether we have The Rock or Dwayne Johnson, I respect the man for everything he has done for the wrestling business, and what he continues to do even though he doesn't necessarily need to return to wrestling entertainment. He is also a talented actor (in some aspects; never do children's movies again). Granted, I am disappointed that he didn't go out the way he may have wanted to, and I am pretty sure he shares similar sentiments, but I would be more impressed if the Rock went out on a higher note with a differently packaged Cena. A face Cena defeating a face Rock did nothing for credibility in the Wrestlemania 29 match for either man, It wasn't exciting, and it just hurt the Rock.

Dwayne Johnson needs to stay in Hollywood. If the Rock ever returned, he should return as the man of steel he once was.

Just not like this.