“I Owe That Name”: Dwayne Johnson on Finally Owning ‘The Rock’ Name After Becoming TKO Board Member

Dwayne Johnson gained popularity among wrestling fans during the Attitude Era while feuding against the likes of Steve Austin and Vince McMahon in WWE. His transition from Rocky Maivia to The Rock helped him achieve many summits later in his career, including Hollywood. While Dwayne Johnson left WWE in 2003, The Rock stayed behind with WWE due to copyright issues. Now, he has it back.

Dwayne Johnson now owns The Rock

WWE legend Dwayne Johnson was invited to the CNBC channel for an exclusive interview on January 23rd along with Ari Emanuel, CEO of TKO Holdings. During the interview, The Rock discussed his induction into the BOD of TKO holdings and a major perk he received during the process.

He revealed that he has complete ownership over the name “The Rock” from now on. Johnson felt ecstatic at owning the name as he said, “And this idea, the name of The Rock for me, I owe that name everything. Without that name, there would be no wrestling career there would be no Hollywood career. But also that name was a derivative name of my dad Rocky Johnson,”

For Dwayne Johnson, owning the name is not merely a financial benefit but a moral one as well. The name helped him build a successful career after a failed start as Rocky Maivia. With the lineage attached to Rocky Johnson, he has a strong attachment to the ring name.

Ari Emanuel does a favour for his friend Dwayne Johnson

The Rock also understands the business aspect of things, since he is also an entrepreneur. He understands the business side and the economic side of things. Hence, he made the request to Ari Emanuel, CEO of TKO Holdings to get his name back.

Read more: WATCH: Dwayne Johnson’s Platinum-Selling Artist Friend Praises Zac Efron’s The Iron Claw

Little do people know that Ari Emanuel and Dwayne Johnson are good friends courtesy of the long-term working relation they have. Hence, Emanuel made the sweet gesture on his part for The Rock. Reflecting upon it, Dwayne Johnson said, “I want to acknowledge Ari and give them his flowers because at the end of the day, he had a million reasons to say no but he found the reason to say yes.”

Do you like Dwayne Johnson’s ring name?

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