Details on Vince McMahon refusing to let The Rock change his name
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has given details on the process behind WWE Chairman Vince McMahon naming him Rocky Maivia at the start of his career.
In 1996, The Rock made his in-ring debut under the name Rocky Maivia at WWE Survivor Series. The name was created to pay homage to The Rock’s father (Rocky Johnson) and grandfather (Peter Maivia).
Speaking in a video on WIRED’s YouTube channel, The Rock said he respected his family’s wrestling history but disliked the Rocky Maivia name. The third-generation star attempted to change the name but Vince McMahon insisted that he keep it.
“I hated it because the lineage I had gave me the opportunity to at least knock on the door but I wanted my own identity, my own space,” The Rock said. “So I was very proud to come from who I came from, with my dad and my grandfather, my whole family’s wrestling. I still wanted my own space, so I said I hate it. He [Vince McMahon] said, ‘Okay, great, well that’s your name,’ and I went, ‘Okay.’ So I embraced it and I did it, and that name did not stick.”
WWE fans rejected the Rocky Maivia babyface character, leading him to turn heel and join The Nation of Domination in 1997. During his time with the villainous faction, The Rock began using the name that we know him as today.
Pat Patterson created The Rock’s name
Before passing away in 2020, Pat Patterson worked as Vince McMahon’s right-hand man in WWE for over 30 years.
The Rock, who viewed Patterson as a father figure, said the WWE Hall of Famer suggested he change his name in 1997.
“Eventually, when I became a bad guy, it got truncated down to The Rock,” he added. “A guy who was my father figure, Pat Patterson, was a mentor of mine in pro wrestling, and I lost him last year when I lost my dad at the same time… I lost my father and my father figure in the same year.
"He said, ‘Why don’t we call you The Rock?’ French guy, tough French accent. And I said, ‘I love it.’ He goes, ‘Okay, you’re The Rock.’ That was it.”
The Rock did not discuss his possible WWE return in the interview. However, he did recently say in another interview with Entertainment Tonight that “there’s nothing” to rumors about him making an in-ring comeback.
Please credit WIRED and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.