Source: Eric Charbonneau / Getty
The Rock is in the building. This time, it’s the WWE building as the wrestler-turned-actor signed on to the board of the combined WWE and UFC.
Their parent company is actually TKO Group Holdings, which made the announcement this week. As part of the deal, Dwayne Johnson will receive exclusive rights to his “The Rock” moniker, which, considering his enormous success, may prove to be the most lucrative part of it. He’ll be paid $30 million to promote his brand, and those stocks will vest in 2024 and 2025, per CNN.
And aside from his business acumen as a partner in ZOA Energy drink and his involvement in the recently formed United Football League, a merger of the USFL and the XFL, Johnson may be front and center as his Rock alter-ego if the rumors of him getting in the ring with current WWE champ Roman Reigns come to fruition. After an appearance with Jinder Mahal at Smackdown in San Diego, where he hinted as much, social media blew up to the tune of 171 million views for the WWE.
“Very few people on the planet understand the convergence of sports, entertainment, media, and business like Rock,” Vince McMahon, the executive chairman of TKO’s board said in a release. “We are proud to have him join the TKO board to help take our company to new heights.”
Groupon co-founder Brad Keywell was also tapped to join the TKO Board, bringing its total number to 13.
“My grandfather was a pro wrestler for WWE, my dad (Rocky Johnson, the first Black wrestler to win a tag team WWE title with Tony Atlas) who was a pro wrestler for WWE, trailblazed, both men of color, they would have never thought a day like this would come and here I am, sitting at this table, a table that they helped to build,” Johnson said on First Take on Tuesday.
Johnson once wanted to be a football player, winning a championship at the University of Miami in 1991 despite limited action on the field, but wrestling ultimately called him as it did his father and grandfather.
“This business gave me life. I’ve had a very lucky and fortunate career,” he said. “I’ve accomplished a few things in my life but it all came from this business. It all came from my very first match ever in the WWE. It was at Madison Square Garden and that was sink or swim, New York City, baby! That was a very special night and as life can come full circle, as it has for me in this way sitting on the board of the WWE, publicly traded….it’s very, very special.”
As far as those WrestleMania rumors, it appears they may be more than just rumors. While Johnson didn’t confirm anything, exactly, this is what he told Stephen A. Smith, Molly Qerim and Shannon Sharpe on the show.
“If myself and Roman Reigns were to main event WrestleMania, and I mean this very respectfully to all the WrestleManias prior because I grew up in this business and I love it, with us as a main event, we could possibly put on, with us as a main event and this incredible group of men and women who are incredible performers, we could possibly put on, the greatest and the biggest WrestleMania of all time.”
Watch the full First Take interview below:
WrestleMania 40 is scheduled for Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on April 6 and 7.
The Rock Joins WWE Board Of Directors & Talks Returning To WrestleMania was originally published on cassiuslife.com
