WWE got to the resulting finish, without the help or appearance of one of the biggest players in the story: The Rock.

With a multitude of voices analyzing and critiquing the ending, "Busted Open" host Dave LaGreca received a response from the Final Boss himself about his post-Mania rant that seemed to only exacerbate the situation even further by fully ripping the kayfabe mask off the show and the product. By doing so, The Rock seemingly killed the magic of professional wrestling to prove his point about John Cena's win without directly answering the criticism, and he didn't have to.

The Rock Dismissed His Absence from WrestleMania

The Rock Said He Was Worried About Taking The Shine Off Big Match John

The backlash to the finish of WrestleMania 41 was swift and severe, with fans and critics calling it one of the most disappointing finishes in Mania history, as The Rock was nowhere to be found in the main event match. The build to the match seemed to be predicated on the fact that John Cena, the white meat All-American good guy, sold his soul and turned heel and aligned with The Rock and Travis Scott, and that he was going to do whatever was necessary to win #17. Fan expected to see this come to fruition during the main event, considering that Johnson never appeared or spoke after Elimination Chamber.

After the criticism became almost universal, The Rock announced that he would be appearing on The Pat McAfee Show the morning after Monday Night Raw to discuss his creative decisions. After stating that the reason he appeared at Elimination Chamber was at the behest of Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel due to low ticket sales, Rock claimed that he did not appear at WrestleMania because the moment should have been about Cena's big win, not the Final Boss.

I knew then, the best thing for the Final Boss, we’ve established this idea of Cody’s soul, we can always come back to it. I did feel, and I made the call, I don’t want to be involved in that. Step back, let the Final Boss step back, back into the shadows. Let all the spotlight go to John, let it go to Cody, let’s not make it about Cody’s soul eventually or John’s soul, no, let’s let them do what they do.

I called John after Elimination Chamber, called Cody, and I said, I think the Final Boss’ work is done. We’ve established it. We just pulled off the greatest angle in the history of professional wrestling other than Hulk Hogan turning heel back in the 90s. I said, ‘this is amazing.’ We have six weeks. Now let’s build, you guys go and crush it and I’ll be right there with you. And I’m always here if you need me, but I think it’s best for the Final Boss not to be involved in that finish. I love the finish of the match. I would have finessed things a little differently on how they got there, but that’s just me creatively. There are a lot of minds in the room. That’s my thought, but ultimately the bottom line was, I love John getting 17.

The Rock's explanation seems to fly in the face of an entire creative output that occurred at Elimination Chamber, which saw Rhodes turn down Rock's offer to sell him his soul while Cena took the offer and aligned on this path. Fans expecting a payoff for what was seemingly the most pivotal heel turn since Hulk Hogan at Bash at the Beach, were left answerless and confused as only Travis Scott returned to assist Cena in his win.

Meanwhile, The Rock seemed to take shots at Chief Creative Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque's planned ending to the match, saying he would have "finessed things differently." Rock's explanation regarding his cautiousness about taking attention away from Cena's moment is certainly commendable in most instances, but it seems to fall flat in this context, as the crux of the entire story was built around Cena's selling out. The responses to the flat ending continued to filter in after Rock's appearance on McAfee, and the loudest critic got his attention.

Dave LaGreca's Response Got The Rock's Attention

Rock's Response Seemed To Make Things Way Worse

One of the most vocal and outspoken critics of the WrestleMania 41 main event finish is Dave LaGreca, host of "Busted Open" on SiriusXM, who took to his platform the night of the main event to give his immediate thoughts on the ending of the show. LaGreca then expanded on his criticisms after Rock's appearance on McAfee, saying that Rock had the luxury of providing alternative commentary now that the event was over, and it still doesn't fix the glaring omission of his appearance.

You’re gonna go on [McAfee’s] show and say, ‘Yeah, I would have done it differently. Yeah, I would have adjusted some things.’ It’s nice to hear from you now, pal! It’s over! You talk about a Monday morning quarterback? That’s a Tuesday morning quarterback. Thanks, pal! Didn’t make yourself available, didn’t show up at WrestleMania. But now I’m gonna say, ‘Yeah, I would have done things differently. You talk about completely throwing Triple H completely under the bus. That’s exactly what The Rock did… if you’re not going to be there and you didn’t take part in it, then you shouldn’t say anything about it.

The Rock, having seen LaGreca's rants and criticisms, responded to an Instagram post LaGreca posted. This answer was, if possible, even more controversial than his appearance with Pat McAfee, as Johnson decided to make it all about the nature of pro wrestling.

Hi Dave, the business is a complete work. Always has been, always will be. Every aspect of it. Every match. Every interview. Please me, Cody, Cena, Brian [Gewirtz] and the rest of us for our creative discussions so you can expand your perspective. Until then, stop ranting, it’s not healthy my friend. Enjoy the show. Ps, tell [Busted Open Radio co-host] Bubba [Ray Dudley] I have Grand Marnier and hush puppies for all of us.”

LaGreca then took the opportunity to respond to The Rock and his comments, saying that he was disappointed in Rock's apparent dismissal of his critiques.

By deflecting and pulling the curtain down completely on the business, The Rock missed a golden opportunity to not only respond to LaGreca's critiques of his absence and the finish, but also to explain in more detail than he gave on McAfee about not just why he felt it was more important to give Cena the full shine, but why the "Cena Sells His Soul" part of the story was pushed to the side.

The Rock Had No Reason To Expose The Business For The Sake Of Critique

The overwhelmingly negative response to the ending of WrestleMania 41 seems to have struck a chord with both The Rock and Triple H for different reasons. Triple H, having received nearly universal praise for his creative work since taking over the books from Vince McMahon, has, for the first time, received critique that is contrary to his public perception and has caused him to move into a damage control process, with defense seeming to begin before the event took place.

The Rock, however, took an opportunity to pull the mask off of the business completely in order to prove his point about the ending of Mania without directly addressing the gaping hole in the "Cena Sells His Soul" aspect of this arc while appearing to deflect blame from himself and comment negatively on Triple H's choice of ending. Moreover, Rock's answer seems petty and unusually shortsighted for him. He seems to ignore that the uniqueness of pro wrestling comes from its ability to suspend disbelief for fans in a way that movies or TV shows never could. If that gets taken away, why should people not simply watch the UFC, then?

By choosing this route, he has effectively damaged the magic that comes from professional wrestling and any goodwill that could have come from a dialogue on this particular creative decision. That's not to say that all creative choices should be publicly litigated with the critics or fans, but for a company that is thriving to be transparent with its fans, going so far as to have created a brand-new program that will fully pull the curtain on the creative process, the opportunity to give more clarity on this major plot hole was missed by a wide margin.

Fans continue to question their understanding of a missed opportunity, and The Rock's baffling answer to one of the most important voices in the wrestling community only added fuel to the fire. Based on the current state of things, it's difficult to see future analysis of Cena's 17th championship win as anything other than deflating and a missed mark, even with Cena doing his best to make this story compelling and interesting.