WWE News: Finally, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Is Coming Back To ‘Saturday Night Live’
For the first time since 2009, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will return to the set of NBC’s Saturday Night Live for his fourth appearance as the host of the popular comedy show.
Johnson will host the March 28 episode of SNL, which is interesting timing given the goings on of his former employer at that time. This happens to be the same night as the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, which will be broadcast live on the WWE Network (and also on tape delay, in a shortened format, on the USA Network). Johnson’s SNL gig also occurs the day before WWE’s Super Bowl, WrestleMania 31, on March 29.
There have been no recent discussions for Johnson appearing at WWE’s biggest show of the year, and it would appear that the SNL hosting role would make travel difficult, though not impossible. Johnson would need to appear on NBC Saturday night in New York City, then hop on a plane and travel to Santa Clara, California, for WrestleMania 31 less than 24 hours later. This scenario does not seem likely, though Johnson has pulled off some wrestling appearances in the past while in a tight squeeze, time-wise, from his acting career commitments. Dwayne last appeared for WWE at this year’s Royal Rumble.
Dwayne Johnson first hosted Saturday Night Live back in March of 2000, just weeks before WrestleMania 2000 where he competed in the main event in a fatal four-way, defending his WWE championship against Triple H, Mick “Mankind” Foley, and Big Show. That first SNL appearance was a massive hit for Johnson, and it ended up opening doors for Dwayne in show business that eventually pulled him out of the wrestling business and into Hollywood full time. Johnson has since gone on to become one of the biggest action stars in the film industry.
The upcoming SNL appearance on March 28 will be to promote the release of Johnson’s latest film, Furious 7, which opens six days later on April 3. The musical guest for the show will be George Ezra, a 21-year-old singer from Hertford, England.
Following the release of Furious 7, Johnson will have to go right into promotion again, as he has a second film, San Andreas, releasing on May 29. In San Andreas, Dwayne Johnson plays a Los Angeles fire department rescue-helicopter pilot who experiences a family crisis shortly after a massive earthquake in California. Johnson’s character must partner up with his ex-wife (Carla Gugino) to seek out the couple’s estranged daughter in San Francisco.
Though there have been many memorable moments over Johnson’s previous three appearances on SNL, below is his monologue from that first appearance on the show back in March, 2000.
[Image via Vebidoo.com]
