“He’s gonna be on Mount Rushmore”: Dwayne Johnson Gives the Biggest Compliment to His Cousin Roman Reigns
Dwayne Johnson has had a great transition into the entertainment industry. The Rock made his acting debut in the 1999 movie Beyond the Mat. Johnson was a renowned wrestler before he started his Hollywood career. He was known for his ring name, The Rock, in the wrestling industry. Even though the Red Notice star left that industry behind a long time ago, there was a time when people almost thought the 51-year-old was returning to the ring.
In 2022, fans were certain that Dwayne Johnson would be meeting Roman Reigns for an ultimate battle to determine who would be crowned WrestleMania 39’s Head of the Table. However, that match didn’t take place, and WrestleMania 39 was headlined by Roman Reigns versus Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. The wrestler-turned-actor recently shared the reason for not returning to the ring and also praised his cousin Roman Reigns.
Dwayne Johnson highly praises Roman Reigns
Dwayne Johnson sat down with Pat McAfee on his The Pat McAfee Show and spoke about several subjects including a match with Roman Reigns that almost came to fruition. In 2022, rumors spread of The Rock facing off Reigns in the ring at the So-Fi Stadium in California, to be the Head of the Table at WrestleMania 39. However, the match didn’t take place.
During his current run, Roman Reigns has firmly established himself as one of the most dominant champions of all time. The Tribal Chief is getting close to breaking Hulk Hogan’s record after serving as the Universal Champion for more than 1,000 days.
Even though The Rock and Reign never came face to face in the ring, Johnson, on McAfee’s show, praised his cousin for his success in the wrestling industry. On The Pat McAfee Show, the 51-year-old said,
“We had a year to really think about this. So the North Star thought was, ‘Okay, let’s not do something good. Let’s not do something great. Let’s do something unprecedented. What can we create for the fans that has never been done before?’ A match? Great. Roman? Incredible athlete. He’s gonna be on Mount Rushmore. Super handsome, good dude, my cousin, family. Amazing.”
Surprisingly, Dwayne Johnson isn’t against the idea of battling Roman Reigns and has hinted at a possibility at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dwayne Johnson states the reason for not returning to the ring
Dwayne Johnson first wrestled in the WWF as Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father’s and grandfather’s ring names in 1996. Over the years The Rock has engaged in a series of high-profile feuds with the biggest stars in the WWF (now WWE) and captured the first of several world championship titles in 1998. He then transitioned to the silver screen and left the ring for good.
However, fans have been wondering why the wrestler-turned-actor hasn’t returned to the ring. There were rumors in 2022 of the 51-year-old battling Roman Reigns, but that didn’t take place.
During his chat with McAfee, the actor revealed the reason why he has not returned to the ring. The host questioned Johnson about whether or not he had refrained from engaging in in-ring combat to prevent getting harmed and jeopardizing his other ventures. He claimed that because he can regulate his schedule to a significant extent, it is not a problem.
The Red Notice star revealed on The Pat McAfee Show,
“Honestly brother, it’s not the injury that I’m concerned about because that’s just part of it. It’s just part of the game you sign up for. You get hurt, we all get hurt. That’s just the way it is. It’s not even the schedule because I can control the schedule, to a large degree. Me going back to WWE and wrestling a match, it always comes down to the reason why and what can we create that’s never been done before for the fans. So, that’s the idea.”
To further accelerate fans’ excitement, The Rock teased a match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40.
Source: The Pat McAfee Show
