“Me and You, 1 on 1”: Despite Being XFL’s Owner, Dwayne Johnson Challenges Football Players During a Training Session

Dwayne Johnson would have been currently experiencing his career as a retired footballer if he had not tasted failure early in his career. After failing to get drafted in the NFL, Johnson started playing in the Canadian League. However, he did not succeed there and changed his career lines.After a failed career in football, Johnson followed in his family’s footsteps and joined the pro wrestling industry. Soon, he would find his way into WWE as a pro wrestler and later transition his career into being an actor. Johnson is currently one of the world’s most-known actors.

Apart from being an actor, Johnson also is an ace businessman. He has several ventures and investments of his own, and he keeps increasing his portfolio. One of his most famous ventures is the XFL is a football league, and an alternative to the NFL, and was launched by Vince McMahon in the early 2000s.

Back then, it served as a direct competitor of the NFL with faster gameplay and cheerleaders. However, it would soon go bankrupt. Although McMahon again launched it in 2020, it would fail again. Until Dwayne Johnson bought it and completely revamped it before launching the league.

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Recently, Dwayne Johnson took to his Instagram to reveal a video of him training directly with the players in the league. It was the first time, an owner was seen training with the players. He himself wrote, “And I’m a different kind of league owner who wants that smoke 💨 and gets down in a 3 point stance READY TO RUMBLE.”

In the video, Johnson was seen challenging the players, and said, “So, we’re  going to kick this off the only way I know how. 51-from Grambling? We’re gonna do a pass rush drill, me and you, one on one.”

He would further state that they belonged to different league of culture, opportunity, passion, pride, and grit. It was a wholesome moment seeing an owner getting in the mud with the players. And the video served its purpose.

How did the television series ‘Ballers’ fulfilled Dwayne Johnson’s childhood dream?

The 50-year-old once suffered from depression and major career setback, after he was rejected from playing in the NFL, and had to play in the Canadian League. His childhood dream of playing in the NFL was torn, when out of 53 different players on the roster list, he came 54th. However, as fate would have it, he later on in his life, fulfilled the dream, but unusual.

Dwayne Johnson played a retired NFL player in the television series, ‘Ballers’. However, he himself never got the chance to play in NFL. Johnson belonged to a wrestling family, a family full of athletes, and went to Miami University on a scholarship.

During his time with his University, he was in a dominant team and won several accolades. However, as he was about to achieve his moment, he injured his shoulder. And was replaced by the legendary Warren Sapp. Sapp’s emergence as a player became a barrier in Johnson’s pathway.

Warren Sapp’s rise stopped Johnson’s career. And he went undrafted in that year’s NFL draft. However, he fulfilled his dream by playing in the series, “Ballers”.

Watch this story: The Evolution of Dwayne Johnson