WWE ’13 DLC, Hornswoggle’s WWE Studios Film, The Rock On Raw

Well, to be fair, John Cena has also been said to “make his return to RAW” after a one week absence in the past, so the concept of “returns” has been diluted for some time.

I still think people were far too literal with Rock’s “never going away again” line. There is a big difference between Rock making sporadic appearances through his movie schedule than a complete absence for half a decade.

I mean, up until last year’s Survivor Series, it had been at least seven years (coincidentally the length of Bruno Sammartino’s first WWWF championship reign) since he had participated in a match. He’s had two matches since then and is advertised for two more.

I don’t think he should actually win the WWE championship at the Rumble, though, not unless he will be making regular appearances on WWE television OR, at the very least, appearing with the championship during his promotional appearances.