Best Wishes To WWE Icon Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is celebrating a major milestone on Saturday as he turns 54.
The 10-time World Champion debuted in WWE in 1996 and had a mainstream wrestling career till 2004.
Competing under the name Rocky Maivia, his first match was at the 1996 Survivor Series pay-per-view, where he was featured in an 8-man tag team elimination match. Against all odds, his team emerged victorious after he was left as the last man standing against two members of the opposite team.
He subsequently became the Intercontinental Champion. He turned heel in August 1997 after joining the Nation of Domination. In November 1998, he became the WWF World Heavyweight Champion for the first time by defeating Mankind at Survivor Series.
He went on to win the title 9 more times. Along the way, he also won the tag team titles 5 times with different partners, including Chris Jericho, Mankind, and The Undertaker.
Since his departure in 2004, The Rock has made sporadic appearances in the company, even competing on live shows. He was the major attraction with John Cena at WrestleManias 28 & 29.
He has also become one of the biggest Hollywood superstars, and was recently nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance as Mark Kerr in The Smashing Machine.
His last WWE appearance was at the 2025 Elimination Chamber, where John Cena betrayed Cody Rhodes to align with him, turning heel for the first time in over 20 years.
The Rock Called Out For Silence Over WWE WrestleMania Crisis
WWE held its year’s biggest premium live event, WrestleMania, on April 18 & 19 in Las Vegas.
Ever since Triple H announced that the event was returning to Las Vegas for a second consecutive year, there was unrest among fans, who immediately called out the company’s money-grubbing attitude.
Even with days remaining for the show, there were thousands of tickets left unsold, mainly due to their higher prices. Elsewhere, The Rock never promoted the event on his social media, let alone made a public appearance to speak about the promotion’s biggest event of the year.
It led to former WWE creative writer Vince Russo calling him out on The Coach & Bro podcast, where he revealed that The Rock was making millions of dollars as a member of the TKO board.
How much is The Rock making from WWE right now? [Well, in the last four years, it’s been anywhere from 50 to 80 million dollars.] You think about that, guys. He works for this company. He’s on the board of directors. They are not selling WrestleMania. Not one quote from a guy working at the top of the food chain, board of directors, $80 million. Not one tweet. Are we idiots?
Also read: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Pulled Over By Police Amid WWE Hiatus