VIDEO: Dwayne Johnson Watches His First WWE Match
Dwayne Johnson celebrates his birthday on May 2, and regardless of the millions…and millions that he earns from his absurdly successful acting career, he will always be The Rock.
Of course, he didn’t start off as “The Rock.”
In the video below, Johnson looks back on his WWE debut that took place at Madison Square Garden on the Survivor Series pay-per-view event on November 17, 1996. Then billed as Rocky Maivia, he was a long way from becoming “The Most Electrifying Man In Sports Entertainment,” but even The Rock had to start somewhere.
Seriously, that hair alone was ridiculous (which he acknowledges), never mind his gear.
Eventually, crowds everywhere would soon sour on the squeaky clean Maivia. As if almost by fate, a knee injury put Johnson on the shelf for four months, and when he returned in August 1997, The Rock was born.
The rest is history.
WrestleMania: 10 Interesting Facts About 'The Showcase of the Immortals'
We’re on the final week stretch on the road to WrestleMania 38, which the WWE has said many times will be “stupendous.”
Taking place over the course of two nights on April 2 and 3, WrestleMania 38 will emanate from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The event will feature packed cards on both nights including WWE Champion Brock Lesnar taking on Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a Winner Takes All match to unify the two titles and Ronda Rousey challenging Charlotte Flair for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship.
Additionally, fans will see a showdown of sorts between Kevin Owens and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as part of a special WrestleMania edition of the “KO Show.”
To celebrate “The Grandest Stage of Them All,” here are 10 interesting facts about WrestleMania.
Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights
