After a long absence from WWE, superstar Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson made his much awaited return to the ring on an episode of SmackDown in Denver, Colorado.

Just hours after he appeared on the Pat McAfee Show – live on the campus of the University of Colorado – The Rock showed up at the wrestling promotion where he made his name.

McAfee, who is a commentator with WWE, was in the ring with 2022 United States Champion Austin Theory when The Rock made his sudden entrance.

Johnson has been absent from the ring since October of 2019 – when he appeared on the SmackDown 20th anniversary show.

The Rock was met with massive cheers from the crowd at Ball Arena – who were then treated to a small display of his wrestling capabilities.

With a brief skirmish between The Rock and Theory, Johnson was able to bring out two of his more famous finishing moves: a spine-buster and the infamous ‘People’s Elbow’.

Then, Johnson pointed to McAfee – who had remained in the ring – and instructed him to deliver his own version of the ‘elbow’, still billed as ‘The Most Electrifying Move in All of Sports Entertainment’.

Later on in the show, The Rock stood face-to-face with one of his old WWE ‘rivals’ John Cena – who was set to appear later in the show.

The pair stared each other down before cracking smiles – with Cena saying ‘Welcome home’.

It’s the first time that Johnson wrestled in any capacity since that October 2019 appearance, which came around the time that he announced his retirement from pro wrestling.

It isn’t clear if ‘Rocky’ will be making a return to the WWE or if this was a one-off appearance because he was already in the Centennial State. 

But Johnson’s time in Colorado is not done just yet. He’ll be making an appearance on College GameDay live from the University of Colorado campus in Boulder – just half an hour north of Denver.

The Rock will be appearing on the show as a celebrity ‘guest picker’ to take a crack at selecting the winners of Saturday’s slate of American college football games.

Wrestling legend Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has teased a possible run for President – but only once his young daughters have grown up.

The wrestling great also revealed on Friday that he was ‘locked in’ to face Roman Reigns at this year’s WrestleMania and is ‘open’ to a return in 2024.

Johnson, now 51, has floated a bid for the White House in the past, with his Young Rock TV shows centered around a 2032 bid for the presidency.

Speaking on The Pat McAfee Show this week, The Rock did not rule out a possible run for power in the future, saying: ‘We’ll see.’

‘I don’t know if I’m the right guy or not,’ he explained. ‘I have to tell you: I have been really overwhelmed.

‘It’s so humbling to have people tell me what they tell me and these polls that come out – there was one last year and 40-43 per cent of people said they’d vote for me as president, which I appreciated – thank you so much!

‘From (having) $7 (to my name) to having that kind of conversation is really incredible. Right now, I am a proud girl dad. I have a seven-year-old (Jasmine), I have a five-year-old (Tiana) and I love being at home, taking them to school, picking them up, making cookies and doing that. 

‘And I just know that if something like that – the presidency – would happen all that goes away and I’ve been there before… in wrestling I was gone all the time and I missed so many years with (his eldest daughter Simone, 22) and it’s heartbreaking. 

‘I don’t want that to happen right now with my girls. Now, my girls will eventually grow up and get older and then, maybe? We’ll see.’   

The Rock announced his retirement from professional wrestling back in 2019 but on Friday, the 51-year suggested he could be back in the ring next year.

He claimed that a headline clash with Roman Reigns was ‘locked in’ for April and that he is open to facing Reigns in Philadephia.

‘The Rock headlining WrestleMania with Roman Reigns at SoFi Stadium – that was locked in,’ he said.

Earlier this week, the WWE’s $21billion merger with the UFC was finally sealed and Johnson explained: ‘We got really close, but we couldn’t figure out what that thing was, so we decided to put our pencils down, and we agreed: “Hey listen, there’s a merger coming up, there’s WrestleMania coming up in Philly, that’ll happen.” I’m saying that is potential too, I’m open.’ 

Darren Drozdov, an NFL player turned wrestler who was paralyzed after an accident in the ring, has died at the age of 54.

His family released a statement confirming the news.

‘We are sad to share our beloved Darren passed away this morning of natural causes. There are no words to convey the deep sense of loss and sadness we are feeling right now,’ it read.

Drozdov, or ‘Droz’ as he was known to his fans, became a notable figure in wrestling after signing with WWE and making his debut in 1998.

Dorz was left paralyzed during a SmackDown TV taping in October 1999 after sustaining a serious neck injury after D-Lo Brown attempted to execute a running power bomb and accidentally landed on his neck.

Drozdov was rushed to hospital and underwent surgery but, despite regaining feeling in his upper body, he never regained control of hi lower body and was left in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. 

He said he never blamed Brown for the incident, telling Jim Ross in 2014: ‘I have no hard feelings toward D’Lo because s**t happens and everyone who gets involved in athletics, including WWE, knows the risks that exist. It was an accident.’

He was briefly part of the new Legion of Doom in 1998 as a potential permanent replacement for Road Warrior Hawk before returning to working as a singles star for a while and eventually paring up with Matt Bloom. 

He earned his second nickname, ‘Puke,’ from his appearance in the ‘Beyond The Mat’ scene, which showed him throwing up on command in Vince McMahon’s office.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has led tributes to him on social media, saying: ‘Man I’m so sorry to hear one of our ring brothers has passed away. 

‘Darren Drozdov aka Droz. We wrestled on a lot of cards together. Such an awesome dude. Great personality and great wrestling talent. We always talked about football and fishing. Sending love, strength, mana and light to his family. RIP brother.’

The WWE also released a statement honoring its former star, tweeting: ‘WWE is saddened to learn that Darren Drozdov passed away on Friday, June 30, at age 54. WWE extends its condolences to Darren Drozdov’s family, friends and fans.’ 

Before becoming an imposing force in the ring with WWE, Drozdov had a successful football career.

The New Jersey native played as a defensive tackle at the University of Maryland before signing with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent. 

He appeared in six games during the 1993 season before spending stints on the rosters of the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets.