In a memorable recent interview, Dwayne Johnson, the giant of Hollywood, also known as “The Rock”, reflected on his debut into the wrestling scene and his unique transformation journey within it, with Patrick-Bet David. He detailed the significant pitfalls he faced while portraying a babyface character in the early days, his struggle to gain audience acceptance, and how a pivot to a heel persona breathed new life into his wrestling career.
The Rock made his initial entry as the character Rocky Maivia, a babyface wrestler, who, according to him, was not well received by the audience. During his talk with Bet David, The Rock recalled, “What [Vince] did say to me was, ‘I want you to go out there and smile. … I want the audience to feel that you’re grateful, so I want you to smile all the time.’ So I would go out every night and my music would hit, and I would come out and I would smile. But then when I would get beat, I had to smile, like, coming back to the locker room. And eventually, people just started to feel like, well, that’s not real. That’s not authentic. And I started to feel that, too. And it would eat me up inside.”
His career took a revolutionary turn when he asked for a chance to change his persona to a heel. He told Bet David, “I said, ‘Okay, I have one request. Can I have the microphone for two minutes? I just want to express myself.’ And he said, ‘Oh boy, I don’t know about that.’ ‘Just give me one minute.’ He said fine. … and within two months I became the hottest bad guy in the company, and then turned into The Rock.”
More details of his thrilling journey can be enjoyed in the courtesy video provided below: