WWE legend recalls major character breaking moment with The Rock: "I didn't take life so seriously"
The Rock's comedic timing and charisma often made it difficult for other WWE Superstars to maintain their serious on-screen personas during the Attitude Era. Meanwhile, legendary ring announcer Lilian Garcia recently reminisced about her early days with Dwayne Johnson, highlighting the unscripted nature of their iconic backstage segments.
Garcia was not only a full-time ring announcer from 1999 to 2009 and then again from 2011 to 2016, but she also served as a backstage interviewer. During her tenure, the 58-year-old interviewed prominent figures from the Attitude Era, sharing memorable moments with The Great One, Mick Foley, and others.
In a recent interview with Steve Fall of Ten Count Media, the 58-year-old legend recalled The Rock's iconic backstage promos, admitting that some of them would be considered inappropriate by today's standards. Lilian Garcia revealed that there were no detailed scripts during her initial WWE tenure, and she was simply given bullet points as a guide.
"[There are some things that] we could never get away with today, by the way. We would never be able to do it today, ever. But at the time, it just seemed so funny. I didn't take life so seriously. It's so wild; I've been asked that before, and I'm trying to think exactly, but because you just said it, so many years, so many things happened. I don't remember exactly if I knew ahead of time. When I first got there [WWE], there were no scripts. When I first got there, it was more like bullet points," she said. (From 00:32 to 01:10)
Lilian Garcia also revealed that The Great One's backstage promos were largely unscripted, which kept her and the WWE production team on their toes. The former ring announcer described the thrilling experience of how she had to maintain a straight face while The Rock's improvisations would send the audience into a frenzy.
"And we always had to stand somewhere where he [The Rock] could hear the audience. So wherever we were, in whatever arena we were, we were right by one of the doors, corridors, or areas where he could play off the audience, and it seemed like the more the audience got riled up, the more he just kept going and going and going. So I do know that there's no way that the whole thing was scripted at all. But trying to keep my face straight, that was pure acting because they would yell, 'Cut,' and both of us would be rolling," she added. (From 01:27 to 02:00)
You can check out the full video below:
The Rock makes a massive announcement about his upcoming project outside WWE
Dwayne Johnson had an incredible run back in WWE on the Road to WrestleMania 40. The Final Boss teamed up with his cousin, Roman Reigns, to defeat the duo of Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes in a tag team match on Night One of The Show of Shows.
Following this year's Showcase of The Immortals, the former WWE Champion turned his attention to his Hollywood projects. The Rock announced on X (Twitter) today that his new Christmas movie, "Red One," would be released in theaters on November 15, 2024.
"Our RED ONE Christmas movie hits theaters NOV 15th 🛷🎄⛄️. Our new trailer hits today @8PM EST! ~Callum Drift Commander of The E.L.F. NOV 15th #RedOne!'' he wrote.
Check out the WWE legend's tweet below:
It will be interesting to see if The Final Boss returns to the Stamford-based promotion ahead of the Survivor Series: WarGames Premium Live Event in November 2024.
Please credit Ten Count Media and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.