The Rock made a memorable debut on WWE NXT when he made his first-ever live appearance on the show. The Rock concluded the New Year's Evil special episode of NXT on January 7th, as was previously announced. The People's Champion began his promo by telling the fans that they only had 6 minutes and 33 seconds of the show left, but that it would be an unforgettable 6 minutes. The fans responded very favorably to this statement with prolonged "Rocky" chants.
WWE Legend The Rock Surprises NXT with Epic Showdown and Cody Rhodes Revelation
The Rock began by thanking the fans and introducing himself. He then mentioned that the previous evening, he had appeared on the Raw on Netflix premiere episode, which did not mention The Final Boss and did not express any resentment towards Cody Rhodes or Roman Reigns. Rock reminded the fans of who he is and to enjoy the ride, acknowledging that, similar to last year, there is some animosity from the fans:
“The Rock is the Final Boss thinking twenty steps ahead, so the best thing for them to do is to know their role, shut their mouths, and enjoy the ride that The Rock is taking them on.”
Before thanking the fans once more, Rock said he had spent weeks planning his appearance at NXT. He added that while the Raw show on Netflix was the show that fans had to attend, NXT was the show that they want to attend. Before the feed cut to end the show, Rock used his trademark catchphrase, "If you smell," to cap off his promo.
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