"I'm not gonna make it in WWE" - 'The Rock' Dwayne Johnson was one impulsive decision away from becoming an MMA fighter back in '97
Dwayne Johnson is undoubtedly one of the biggest superstars in Hollywood today and is widely considered a bona fide legend in the professional wrestling world. While Johnson is mainly known for his time in the WWE, 'The Rock' recently revealed that he was just one daredevil decision away from being an MMA fighter.
A natural athlete, Johnson was handed a full football scholarship to attend the University of Miami. After graduating in 1995, he began his professional wrestling career and signed a contract with the WWE (then WWF) after winning the USWA tag team championship with Bret Sawyer in the summer of 1995.
During a recent appearence on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast (JRE #2063), Dwayne Johnson opened up about his early days as a professional wrestler and how low wages almost tempted him to train in MMA and compete in the PRIDE Fighting Championship in Japan. He said:
"In 97' during that time while I was still going to LA and working out, we were crossing all the MMA guys. PRIDE just opened up in Japan. So I was seeing all these MMA guys going over to Japan... At that time, I was making $150k wrestling 235 days a year. So do the math of that."
He continued:
"We start hearing these guys over at PRIDE are making 250k, 350k, 500k, and I thought then, 'F**k, I don't think I'm going to make it in WWE.' People are booing me out of the arenas... I have this idea in my head, 'Oh, maybe I should train in MMA and go to PRIDE and make money, real money.'"
Watch the full episode below:
Dwayne Johnson on his recent return as 'The Rock' on WWE SmackDown
Dwayne Johnson recently discussed his return as 'The Rock' for the first time in nearly four years on WWE SmackDown in September. The 51-year-old professional wrestler-turned-Hollywood star confronted Austin Theory and performed some incredible moves that sent the audience into a frenzy.
During an interview on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, 'The Rock' spoke about his long-awaited return to the WWE and revealed that he convinced WWE president Nick Khan to let him make a special appearance. He said:
"It was incredible. So, here's the crazy thing about that is that we were in Boulder... I found out the night before that WWE SmackDown was gonna be in Denver, which is right up the road."
Dwayne Johnson continued:
"So, I called my buddies at WWE, Nick Khan, and I said, 'Hey man, I heard SmackDown here. Can you confirm that?' He said that it is. I said, 'Good, well, 'The Rock' is coming to SmackDown!' And I went out there, and it was really an incredible thing."
Catch Johnson's comments below (0:17):