Dwayne Johnson Finally Gets His Name Back

What’s in a name? A Dwayne Johnson by any other name is still The Rock. The legendary Dwayne Johnson has been in the public spotlight since his WWE debut in 1996. He turned that into a multi-billion dollar career as an actor starring in the Fast and Furious franchise, the Jumanji franchise, and Disney’s Jungle Cruise (2021). 

But throughout his entire time as a star, something has been missing from his career: his name. But now, thanks to a new deal, Dwayne Johnson will forever be able to call himself Dwayne The Rock Johnson.

This week, Johnson joined the Board of Directors of the TKO Group, which owns the WWE and UFC. As a part of that deal, Johnson now legally owns the name The Rock. The name had previously belonged to the WWE, where Johnson started his career. But it’s more than just a name that Johnson is getting back; it’s his personal history.

The Rock’s nickname is derived from the name of Johnson’s father, Rocky Johnson. When he began his wrestling career, the younger Johnson wanted to acknowledge his family history and chose to call himself the Rock. Johnson also built his persona around that nickname with moves like the “Rock Bottom,” his slogan, “the Rock says…,” and his signature look, the “people’s eyebrow.”

Johnson told CNBC:

I owe that name everything. Without that name, there’d be no wrestling career. There’d be no Hollywood career.

Johnson’s father, Rocky Johnson, became the first person of color in World Wrestling Entertainment to win a title belt, alongside partner Tony Atlas. Both Johnson men would eventually be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Dwayne Johnson has never served on the Board of a publicly traded company before, but he comes to the TKO Group with years of business experience. He recently helped a merger between the XFL and the USFL to create the United Football League, which will begin playing games this spring. The games will air on Fox, Disney-owned ESPN, and ABC.

Johnson will work with TKO on strategic growth initiatives for the World Wrestling Entertainment and UFC businesses. Johnson said in a prepared statement:

I’m very motivated to help continue to globally expand our TKO, WWE, and UFC businesses as the worldwide leaders in sports and entertainment — while proudly representing so many phenomenal athletes and performers who show up every day putting in the hard work with their own two hands to make their dreams come true and deliver for our audiences. I’ve been there, I’m still there and this is for them.

The TKO Group and the WWE made news this week when World Wrestling Entertainment Executive Chairman and founder Vince McMahon was forced to resign from the company after he was accused of sexual assault and sex trafficking by a former WWE employee.

Working with multiple companies isn’t going to slow Johnson’s Hollywood career down. He is currently working on 11 films, including Disney’s live-action Moana and Jungle Cruise 2, which are in development.

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