The Rock Boosts His Business With WWE Acquisitions

The Rock has expanded his business and the hold on his WWE character since returning to the company on the TKO Board.

The Rock was announced as the newest member of TKO’s Board of Directors in January 2024. That preceded his run on TV that first seemed to pit him against Roman Reigns but now sees him challenged to get in the ring again by Cody Rhodes.

When The Rock’s new corporate role was revealed, it was reported that the deal also saw Dwayne Johnson take control of “The Rock” trademark that had previously been owned by WWE. But that was just the tip of the iceberg.

The Rock Holds All The Cards For His Catchphrases

In the TKO Holdings Annual Report, the full list of intellectual property now owned by The Rock is laid bare and it includes some terms that have not been heard in a very long time:

“Rock IP” means any and all Intellectual Property Rights throughout the world at any time owned by the TKO Group Parties, or any of their respective Affiliates, whether registered or unregistered, relating to (a) the following ring names and taglines: “The Rock”, “Rocky Maivia”, “Team Corporate”, “Rock Nation”, “The Nation”, “Roody Poo”, “Candy Ass”, “Jabroni”, “If you smell what The Rock is cooking”, “The Samoan Sensation”, “The Blue Chipper”, “The Brahma Bull”, “The People’s Champion”, “The Great One”, “Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth”, “Team Bring It”, “The Rock Just Bring It”, “The People’s Elbow”, “Rock Bottom”,

“Finally, The Rock has come back to …”, “It doesn’t matter what…”, “Blue Hell”, “The millions… (and millions)”, “Rockpocalypse”, “Project Rock” and “The most electrifying man in sports and entertainment”, (b) the logos and all other Intellectual Property Rights set forth on Schedule A, (c) all other service marks and trademarks relating to the items in clause (a) and (b) and (c) all other nicknames, caricatures, voice, signature, gestures, routines, costumes or parts of costumes, accessories, crowns, relating to the items in clause (a), (b) or (c).

“The Blue Chipper” was the nickname given to a young Rocky Maivia by WWE announcers in 1996 while “Team Corporate” was the original name given to the group that became better known as The Corporation.

The document makes clear that the agreement does not extend to any WWE footage of The Rock:

For the avoidance of doubt, the “Rock IP” does not include any photographic, audio and/or audiovisual footage of Dwayne Johnson embodied in the copyrighted works of WWE, nor does the “Rock IP” include any photographs, audio and/or audiovisual footage of Dwayne Johnson created by WWE in connection Dwayne Johnson’s services under the terms of the Services Agreement.

The Rock is set to make a return to SmackDown as he appears to be on his own road to WrestleMania for the first time in years.