Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is one of the most popular Hollywood stars today and is also still one of the most loved wrestling Superstars. However, very few people know that he did not plan to get into the wrestling business until 1995. Initially, he wanted to excel in football and pursue it professionally. But Dwayne was rejected by the college football team due to a shoulder injury, after which he decided to get into wrestling. He asked his father, Rocky Johnson, to train him for professional wrestling. Although his father was reluctant, he eventually agreed to train him when Johnson insisted. Within a year, Johnson was ready to make his in-ring debut. However, before that, he had to meet Vince McMahon.
The Rock’s conversation with Vince
While speaking on the ‘PBD Podcast’, The Rock opened up about his first meeting with Vince McMahon. He stated that the first thing the former WWE Chairman asked him was what was important to him. To this, The Rock replied that learning about the wrestling business was the most important thing for him.
“I said, ‘I want to do it on my own. I don’t want to get into something just because my grandfather wrestled for Vince McMahon’s father in the 70s, my dad wrestled for Vince McMahon in the 80s,” The Rock was quoted saying.
The Brahma Bull became a star
Vince McMahon then gave The Rock his WWE character name, which he accepted. “So your name will be Rocky Maivia, which is your father’s first name and your grandfather’s last name,” said McMahon. To which The Rock responded, “Uh, that’s not what I was hoping for.” Soon he made his debut as Rocky Maivia at Survivor Series in 1996, alongside his father. However, he was initially booed by the audience. When the audience was chanting ‘Rocky Sucks,’ Johnson grabbed the mic and said, “I may be a lot of things, but ‘Sucks’ ain’t one of them.
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That night a star was born and Rocky Maivia was rebranded as The Rock and by 1997, he was the most stunning heel in the company. The Brahma Bull went on to become WWE’s biggest superstars. The Rock left WWE in 2004 to pursue his acting career and returned briefly in 2011. He now occasionally appears in WWE and is expected to perform at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas next year.
