When Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show mere hours away from where SmackDown was being held in Denver, Colorado, it got fans talking.

Would “The Great One” make his return to television for no other reason than proximity? Would he, much like John Cena, use his newfound free time thanks to the SAG-AFTRA strike to return to the professional wrestling ring, maybe for a long-awaited Premium Live Event match against his Bloodline counterpart Roman Reigns? And what about Pat McAfee? Was this a one-time return for him, too, or would this instead serve as a hint at something bigger in the future, maybe a return after the end of College GameDay?

While for now, it looks like the return really was nothing more than a marriage of convenience, fans now know how it all came together, as Johnson discussed his big surprise on The Tonight Show.

“So, here’s the crazy thing about that. We were in Boulder. I was there for College GameDay, and I found out the night before that WWE SmackDown was going to be in Denver, which is right up the road,” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said via 411 Mania. “So I called my buddies at WWE, Nick Khan, and I said, ‘I heard SmackDown is here, can you confirm that?’ ‘It is.’ ‘Good. Well, The Rock is coming to SmackDown.’ And I went out there — it was a really an incredible thing. I’ve been really lucky over the years to entertain in a lot of different ways, but that kind of connection with the WWE audience — by the way, that kind of connection is just like this tonight with a live audience. There’s nothing like it. There’s nothing like it.”

Asked if the fans in attendance knew he was about to come out – some surely did, as it was reported beforehand – Johnson said no, noting that the reaction he received was downright incredible.

“So, my music hit, ‘If you smell–‘ I went out there, they had no idea. And you guys know how hard it is to keep a secret. It doesn’t exist. This was a full on secret. The people went nuts. 13,000 people sounded like 130,000 people. And it was just incredible. WWE audience is my family, and I love them and it was incredible. There’s nothing like going to SmackDown, and laying the SmackDown on their candy asses all night long,” Johnson noted.

“And by the way, I gotta say, not only is that connection, just like this, incredible, but there’s nothing like going to SmackDown and laying the SmackDown on their candy asses all night long.”

Unfortunately for fans actively awaiting a full-time return from “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment,” you may be disappointed, as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson used much of his remaining time on The Tonight Show discussing the live-action Moana movie, which he will be filming as his next project. Still, the potential for his schedule to line up with WWE's once more is always a possibility, and as a result, fans should continue to tune in and believe.

Megan Morant celebrates Pat McAfee's contributions to WWE.

Speaking of the eponymous leader of The Pat McAfee Show, though he has only made a few minor appearances for WWE in 2023, his place in the promotion is still a celebrated one, with plenty of in-ring and on-mic talents alike enjoying their time working with the ESPN personality.

One such talent is Megan Morant, who described her first interaction with McAfee at WrestleMania 38 in an interview with Sam Roberts and how much of a great person he was to be around with regularity.

“My first WrestleMania in Dallas, Pat McAfee being there and ‘Stone Cold' Steve Austin coming out was amazing — and nobody knew that second night that he was gonna be there,” Megan Morant told Sam Roberts via Fightful. “Just hearing the glass shattering and him and Pat was awesome. It was really cool for me, I started the week after Pat had started. I think the world of Pat. One of the things about Pat is that he’s so kind to everyone. He knows everyone’s name, the people who mic you up, the people who do camera work, everybody, Pat knows their name and just getting to watch him be who he is was cool for somebody who wants to be in television for a long time, whether that be in sports entertainment or sports or wherever it may be. He’s a star, and watching what he does is very cool.”

While the idea of bringing McAfee aboard in an increasingly expansive commentary role may have seemed like an odd choice to some wrestling fans – and, frankly, never worked for more than a few people, including Corey Graves – his development into a one-man energizer bunny was infectious and took some time to come down from when he moved along to ESPN.