The actor began his professional wrestling career in the WWE and is still loyal to the federation.
Dwayne Johnson is a worldwide superstar and is one of the highest-grossing actors in the world. The star is known for his blockbusters such as Jungle Cruise, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Hercules, and Red Notice. He is one of the most influential actors working in Hollywood right now.
Johnson started his career as a wrestler, known as The Rock in the World Wrestling Federation. He became well-known for his fights and was known for his infamous feud with fellow wrestler and actor John Cena. However, the wrestler struggled initially and confessed that he planned on entertaining the MMA at one point in his career.
How Did Dwayne Johnson Get Into Wrestling?
Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Johnson came from a line of professional wrestlers and his father Rocky Johnson was part of the WWE himself. His father was one-half of the first black tag-team champions in the WWE. Johnson’s mother was the adopted daughter of Peter Maivia, a professional wrestler belonging to the Polynesian Anoa’i wrestling family.
Johnson began training for a wrestling career soon after he was cut from the 1995 season of the football team Calgary Stampeders. He revealed on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that his father was discouraging by his choice to pursue wrestling initially, but eventually came around.
The Jungle Cruise star revealed on the podcast,
“He used to wake me up and take me to the gym when I was 5…that is how I really got to bond with my Dad. He did not want me to do it [wrestling]. We got into the biggest f*cking fight…It ultimately got to a place where I said, ‘Either you are going to help train me…or I’ll go to somebody else.’”
Johnson made his debut in 1996 after WWF Vice President Pat Patterson put him in tryout matches before the show. Johnson then began to wrestle full-time and stayed in the WWE for seven years until he took his first retirement after starting his acting career.
Dwayne Johnson Considered Going To MMA To Earn More Money
Dwayne Johnson as The Rock
Dwayne Johnson has always stayed loyal to the WWE and has returned to the ring multiple times after his retirement. However, the wrestler had trouble initially with his character as he was hated by the fans. Johnson was called Rocky Maivia back when he started in 1997 and he revealed that he was booed off stage after a match.
The Rampage star revealed that he was being told to smile all the time in the ring despite receiving punches while he wanted to explore a more rebellious character like Stone Cold Steve Austin. The wrestler took a break after he suffered a knee injury during a fight and Johnson revealed that he came across many MMA fighters while he was recovering.
Dwayne Johnson
Johnson revealed on the Joe Rogan Experience that he would see MMA fighters who were part of the PRIDE organization, who were earning much more than he was. Johnson claimed that he actually considered leaving the WWE and entering the MMA. He said,
“At that time, I was making $150,000 wrestling 235 days a year…We start hearing, ‘these guys in PRIDE are making $250,000, $350,000, $500,000.’ I thought then, ‘F*ck, I don’t think I’m going to make it in WWE. People are booing me out of the arenas. I can’t be myself. They’re telling me to f*cking smile, I don’t want to f*cking smile. That’s not who I am.’”
He mentioned that he spoke to some of the PRIDE MMA fighters such as Ken Shamrock and Mark Kerr to give him more information about the industry. Dwayne Johnson almost gave up on the idea of WWE after he was booed off stage, but eventually returned. He would become one of its biggest stars.