Look: The Rock Announces He'll Appear on WWE SmackDown Live's Debut on Fox

The Rock will a three-year hiatus from WWE when he appears on SmackDown's Fox premiere Friday.

The former WWE champion announced he intends to take part in the highly publicized event:

It's an appropriate setting for his return since SmackDown's name originated from one of his catchphrases.

The Rock's acting commitments have left him unable to participate in WWE in any meaningful capacity in recent years, but he has made the occasional appearance now and again since bringing his full-time wrestling career to an end.

Following his loss to John Cena at WrestleMania 29, The Rock helped open WrestleMania XXX with Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin, which represented quite a collection of legends in one ring.

The next year, The People's Champion teamed up with Ronda Rousey to take down Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a promo segment. The Rock handled the mic work, while Rousey was the muscle. That interaction ultimately helped set up Rousey's tag team match with Kurt Angle against Triple H and McMahon at WrestleMania 34.

The Rock stepped between the WWE ropes—albeit briefly—at WrestleMania 32. He quickly defeated Erick Rowan before incurring the wrath of the entire Wyatt Family. Cena arrived to help even the odds a little more.

Despite long ago making a full-time transition to acting, The Rock has maintained his passion for wrestling. During the premiere for his film Skyscraper last July, he left the door open for a return to WWE.

The Rock turned 47 in May, and he's one of the highest-paid actors in the world. Wrestling fans can almost certainly rule out any sort of extended run—even something along the lines of his comeback building up to WrestleMania 29—for The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment.

Still, The Rock is one of the biggest stars in WWE history and seeing him in the ring will bring back a flood of memories.