The Rock comments on daughter Ava working in WWE
It's 2024 and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is back in the fold, regularly appearing on WWE programming. The Hollywood megastar is a member of the TKO Board, the parent company of WWE, and is scheduled for his first match in eight years this weekend at WrestleMania XL. It is also a special year for the star as he will induct his grandmother Lia Maivia into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Despite being a highly successful actor in Hollywood, The Rock has always made time for the professional wrestling business. He continued to make appearances and compete in matches sporadically for the sports entertainment giant even though he left the company in 2003 to pursue an acting career. In 2020, Simone Johnson, better known by her ring name Ava, became the youngest signee to WWE and two years later joined the NXT roster.
It is no secret that the wrestling business is a hard life for the athletes, as they travel regularly, and take significant bumps in-ring, all of which ultimately take a toll on their body.
Taking feature films The Wrestler and the most recent one about the wrestling business, The Iron Claw, as references, Johnson was asked on the Will Cain Show why the offsprings of famous wrestlers of yesteryear continue to get into the business:
"That's right," The Rock admits that his life would have been like Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. "Because it's in your DNA, and it's in your bone marrow, and it's big, and it's global, and it's scaled up as we can see as professional wrestling is, and WWE, and WrestleMania ... It's still at its core, this unique one of one culture." [From 17:54 onwards]
When The Rock returned to WWE on the Day 1 episode of RAW in January, he teased a showdown with his cousin Roman Reigns. However, when the company decided to go ahead with the dream match at the expense of the 2024 Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes, the creative team had to make some drastic changes.
The Rock reveals original plans for his WWE return
In the aforementioned interview, Dwayne Johnson detailed the initial plans for his WrestleMania match. The creative team intended to bring him back as the biggest babyface to face The Tribal Chief. However, based on the audiences reaction, Johnson took it upon himself to "pivot" because that is what leaders do.
Instead, the two men will team up to take on Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins on Saturday night. The contest will determine what the stipulation is for Night Two's main event between The American Nightmare and Roman Reigns.
If you use the quote, please credit Will Cain Show and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.