Weird Things Everyone Ignores About The Rock

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"The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment," Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been entertaining audiences for decades, from his start on the football field to his work in the wrestling ring, and now, under the bright lights of Hollywood. Johnson has come back into the spotlight in WWE after appearing on the "WWE Raw" debut on Netflix, seemingly squashing his WrestleMania 40 beef with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, leaving fans scratching their heads at the decision to end their feud, and bringing Rock's name back into headlines.

Johnson has always been a controversial figure in storylines to fans who began watching him when he joined the then-WWF as Rocky Maivia in 1996. He went through various heel and babyface turns throughout his career, taking fans along with him on the journey from Intercontinental Champion to the Nation of Domination to the WWF Championship. He left the business, for the most part, for Hollywood in 2004, which was a questionable decision in the eyes of some of his fans.

The Rock has made questionable decisions in the past, including his involvement in the controversial People's Fund of Maui, to his epically strange experiences with the fast food chain In-N-Out Burger. Those aren't the only things that are strange about "Dewey" Johnson, however, there are some weird things people just tend to ignore about The Rock. From a failed football career to his starring role in "The Scorpion King," to even a strange attempt to take over DC Comics' movie universe as Black Adam, some fans tend to just ignore some facts about their favorite in-ring and movie star.

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From starting out with just $7 in his pocket, The Rock is now one of the highest-paid, most successful actors in North America, with his films grossing over $12.5 billion worldwide. He didn't start out as an overnight success, however, which some fans tend to either forget or straight up ignore about his career. He entered the world of Hollywood, starting with a role in 2001's "The Mummy Returns," where he played Mathayus "The Scorpion King," though he wasn't in the movie for very long. Though starring in a high-profile sequel alongside Brendan Fraser looked good on his resume, The Rock only had about 15 minutes of screen time and no dialogue. 

The film did lead to his own spin-off movie, "The Scorpion King" in 2002. Despite mixed reception to the film, Johnson set a Guinness World Record at the time for the highest salary for a first-time leading man. He was paid $5.5 million for the role, kicking off his financial successes when it came to scoring movie roles. When his WWE contract expired in 2004, he left professional wrestling full-time to go back to Hollywood. His first commercial success in the film industry didn't come until 2011 when he played Luke Hobbs in "Fast Five."

While Johnson's production company, Seven Bucks Productions, has received more attention in recent years, he founded the company back in 2012, just when his career in big Hollywood movies was really taking off. Johnson himself broke into the producing game in "Fighting with My Family," a film about the Bevis family, including former WWE star Paige, which was released in 2019.

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Johnson's bad behavior on movie sets, more specifically on that of his recent Christmas movie "Red One," made headlines throughout 2024, but it's something fans choose to ignore, either because his habits are too gross to acknowledge, or because his movies are too enjoyable to think about his behind-the-scenes antics. Despite usually seeming well-behaved and always putting on a "good guy" front for cameras and media members, reports initially claimed that The Rock would urinate in bottles rather than stop to use the restroom on set, to the disgust of many.

A report also stated that he was usually seven to eight hours late to set, and even missed entire days of production multiple times. This increased "Red One's" already large budget by around $50 million. One source said, "Dwayne truly doesn't give a f***." The report also stated that the Hollywood star would be late to the set of the HBO series "Ballers" and Netflix movie "Red Notice," the latter of which caused an argument between The Rock and co-star Ryan Reynolds.

The Rock sat down for an interview with GQ magazine, when he was named its "Man of the Year," and admitted that he did sometimes arrive late and "pee in a bottle," but denied the degree of how late he was to set, and how often. Johnson said the overall report was "bulls***." The magazine also spoke to actors who worked with The Rock closely, including Chris Evans and Emily Blunt, who came to his defense. As of this writing, The Rock seems to be on his best behavior while shooting for the live-action "Moana" film set to release in the summer of 2026, but "Red One" flopped at the box office.

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Despite being one of the greatest wrestlers of his generation within the squared circle, The Rock just wasn't destined to become a professional football player in his earlier years. Johnson started playing football in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania while attending Freedom High School. By that point in his life, he was already 6'4" and 230 pounds and his coaches thought he was the perfect size for the team.

Johnson received scholarship offers from multiple schools, including Penn State, Florida State, and Clemson, but chose to play as a defensive tackle for the University of Miami on a full-ride scholarship. He suffered a torn shoulder in 1991, and the now-legendary Warren Sapp took his place, leaving Johnson as a second-string player for the rest of his time at the school. He played all four years, and appeared in 39 games, but started in just one. He went undrafted after graduation and never achieved his dream of making it to the NFL. He did, however, sign with the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders as a linebacker. The Rock's fortunes didn't fair any better in Canada, and he was cut from the team's practice squad two months into the season.

Despite The Rock's failed football attempts, it's another thing fans tend to ignore about the star, as he's an entrepreneur when it comes to the sport. The Rock bought the XFL (the doomed football league originally created by Vince McMahon in the 90s) for $15 million in August 2020, after the league filed for bankruptcy under McMahon when he attempted to re-launch the league just prior to the start of the pandemic. The new XFL, under The Rock's leadership, kicked off in 2023, before merging with rival league, the USFL, later that year.

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When Johnson was cast as DC Comics anti-hero "Black Adam" in 2007 fans of the wrestler were excited to see him in a superhero/villain movie, as he was still early in his transition into Hollywood at the time. However, it took another 15 years for the movie to be released, and it bombed in theaters, leading to the sequel being quickly canceled. Johnson, however, had other ideas for the "DC Universe." After years of trying to get "Black Adam" off the ground, Johnson had ideas for a series of movies, in an attempt to completely insert himself within the DC cinematic universe, akin to Robert Downey Jr. or Chris Evans in the Marvel cinematic universe.

Even before the post-credit scene of the movie teased a future for Johnson's character against Superman, it was rumored The Rock wanted to change the hierarchy within DC, allegedly wanting to take over the studio and place his own Seven Bucks production company at the helm to handle all DC Extended Universe Projects. Reports said that The Rock's manager wanted to oust the then-chief of DC Studios, but a change in leadership that included the hiring of James Gunn foiled that plan. Johnson and Seven Bucks Production were evicted from DC shortly after, and Superman actor Henry Cavil was ousted from the cinematic universe as well.

When speaking on Kevin Hart's Peacock series "Hart to Heart," Johnson seemed reluctant to answer any questions about "Black Adam" or his alleged attempted coup of DC. He then admitted that he believed Gunn being hired changed everything and blamed new leadership for the lack of a sequel to the movie.

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The Rock accomplished a lot within his initial WWE career, as well as his subsequent runs within the company in later years. From a Royal Rumble win, to a WWF Championship reign back in 2000, to a "Once in a Lifetime" (turned twice) match against fellow wrestler-turned-Hollywood star John Cena, to competing in the main event of WrestleMania 40's night one and pinning Cody Rhodes, Johnson reached massive success in WWE. However, there are a few things he never accomplished within the company, that super fans of the star tend to ignore. 

There are smaller things, such as never winning the popular Hardcore Championship back in the day, despite challenging for it multiple times. He also was never successful in a Buried Alive Match, losing his first and only in September 1999. He also never won a casket match, another popular gimmick match in that era. Perhaps more common of a match, The Rock never competed in a TLC match during his career, despite being featured in a few ladder matches.

The Rock never won a King of The Ring tournament, but was a finalist in 1998. He faced his biggest rival that year, Ken Shamrock, who went on to the final of the tournament. The Rock did topple the reigning King of the Ring, Triple H, attempting to win it for all himself, however. He also never successfully defended the WWE Championship, or won it, at WrestleMania. He defended the title at WrestleMania 15 and 17 against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, both times in No DQ matches, and lost. The third and final time he held the championship at WrestleMania, he lost to John Cena on the 29th anniversary of the event.

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He's now one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood, but back in his youth, Johnson was more than a troublemaker, and he's admitted it himself. He told UK publication The Sun back in February 2021 while promoting his "Young Rock" TV series that he was arrested for fighting, theft, and other things when he was a teenager. He estimated he was arrested at least eight times by the time he was 17.

He said his life at the time was complicated and it was tough growing up, as his family constantly moved around when his father was lower on the totem pole in the wrestling world. Johnson turned to petty crime around 13 years old while living in Hawaii. He told The Sun that he and a group of friends would wait for seemingly wealthy tourists outside of designer shops, and "target" money, jewelry, and high-end clothes to sell. He has spoken about his arrests before, including a post on X (formerly Twitter) where he spoke about an arrest after a "wild foot chase" through a mall in Honolulu. 

He's also openly admitted to stealing Snickers candy bars from a gas station to use as pre-workout at age 14. The Rock famously returned to the store years later and bought out all the Snickers bars they had, as well as other shoppers' snacks, which was all captured on a video posted to his Instagram page. Johnson eventually channeled all his teenage angst into body building after his family was evicted from their one-bedroom home in Hawaii and eventually settled in Pennsylvania. The bodybuilding would lead him to football, and eventually, professional wrestling, like his father.

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Johnson has gone by many names in his lifetime, from the family nickname he used to be embarrassed by, "Dewey," to his first ring of "Rocky Maivia," to his most recent "Final Boss" gimmick, but surprisingly, and maybe weirdly to some who don't know a lot about how WWE works on the business side, he only recently became the official owner of "The Rock" name. When Johnson was appointed to TKO's board of directors following WWE's merger with UFC, WWE announced that Johnson was also given full ownership of the trademark of his ring name, which the company previously owned.

With the rights, Johnson can make sure no one profits from his name and reputation unless he wants them to, and he can now legally lend his ring name to merchandise and other collaborations outside of WWE. It also gave him rights to many of his catchphrases, including his iconic "Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?" USA Today released a full list of what names and phrases qualify under what TKO called "The Rock IP" (or intellectual property) and some of those 19 things included "Candy Ass," "Roody Poo," "Blue Hell," "Team Bring It," and of course, "The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment." As of this writing, The Rock hasn't brought his ring name into his previously established business (outside of Project Rock workout gear which began in 2020) like Zoa Energy or Teremana tequila.

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While Johnson now portrays himself as a nice guy, he's no stranger to heat in and out of the ring, and he's had disagreements, and even full-on feuds, with fellow celebrities. As previously noted, Johnson and co-star Ryan Reynolds didn't exactly get along on the set of their Netflix movie "Red Notice" due to Johnson's alleged behavior behind the scenes, including not showing up to set on time. The actors reportedly had a "huge fight" on set, and the "Deadpool" actor had to have a serious talk with The Rock, who allegedly stormed off following the confrontation. The pair reportedly didn't speak for years, outside of doing media tours for the movie, until they recently patched things up in 2024.

Johnson has famously been involved in a feud with Fast & Furious co-star Vin Diesel since 2016. The Rock initially took shots at his male co-stars on "Fate of the Furious" in a now-deleted Instagram post, and the feud built from there. Diesel allegedly wasn't happy with Johnson delaying production with his tardiness, and he admitted to giving Johnson "tough love" in 2021, right before The Rock left the franchise. The Rock later called out Diesel for "manipulation" after the star begged Johnson to return to the franchise in a series of social media posts. The pair seemingly squashed all beef in the summer of 2023, with Rock set to return to the franchise.

WWE fans can't forget the seemingly personal feud between Rock and John Cena back in 2008 when Cena questioned Rock's love for the wrestling business. A memorable, and somewhat cringey, moment in one of their WrestleMania programs occurred when Cena went off-script and pointed out notes to a promo written on Johnson's wrist, visibly upsetting him. They have since made up, but it was one of Johnson's first big real-life feuds.

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The Anoa'i Family Tree is extremely complex and deeply rooted within the depths of wrestling history, and both The Rock and Roman Reigns are a part of that tree – despite not being blood-related, which is something many people overlook when thinking about wrestling's strongest "Bloodline." High Chief Peter Maivia, The Rock's grandfather by adoption, and Reverend Amituana'i Anoa'i, Reigns' grandfather, sit atop the family tree. While not related by blood, the Maivia and Anoa'i families were extremely close, enough to take part in a blood oath pact, bonding them as blood brothers and uniting their families. Rock's mother, Ata Johnson, was adopted by Maivia when she was younger. 

While Reigns and Johnson may not be related by blood, their bond as cousins by ancestral blood oath is strong. With WWE storyline possibly mirroring real life, Johnson crowned Reigns with the familial ula fala, initially given to the younger family member by his late father, Sika, following Reigns' victory over cousin Solo Sikoa in a Tribal Combat Match.