Dwayne Johnson Paid Tribute To NFL Legend By Naming His Character In This $428 Million Grossing Movie After Him

Even after being a WWE legend and a top Hollywood star, the love for football never gets any less for Dwayne Johnson. Over the years, fans saw ‘The Rock’ getting associated with the sport one way or another. Similarly, once Johnson paid tribute to an NFL legend through a movie.

A few years ago Dwayne Johnson’s famous film ‘Rampage’ hit the theaters and the fans loved it. However, fans were much more impressed as he used the last name of NFL legend Christian Okoye. The Rock’s name in the movie was Davis Okoye.

Johnson shared a tweet in which he wrote ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ noticed this tribute and explained why he used his last name. The Rock’s motive was to pay homage to one of his favorite NFL football players, Christian Okoye. 

Okoye played was born in Nigeria and played as a running back in Kansas City Cheifs from 1987 to 1992. Moreover, he was given the nickname ‘Nigerian Nightmare’, for his powerful running style and ability to break tackles.

As Johnson mentioned in his tweet, a Nigerian family adopts his character in the movie and so he used Okoye’s last name to pay homage. In the movie, Davis Okoye is a Nigerian primatologist who shares a special relationship with George, a silverback gorilla. The movie grossed about $428 million.

Surely, ‘The Great One’ hasn’t forgotten his first love, i.e football. It was his dream to play in the NFL but wasn’t successful. While he never got to play, ‘The Rock’ purchased XFL from his former boss Vince McMahon in 2020.

Now his own football league will be making a return next year in February. Also, the fans are excited to see how the revamped league will work.

Dwayne Johnson shares the story behind #54

A few days ago, The Rock shared a post on his Instagram where he talked about the NFL. He wore the XFL jersey with the number 54, which he called a personal number.

Read More:- WWE and NFL Fans Unite as The Rock and His Ex-wife Dany Garcia Open Their Heart Out Regarding the XFL

Johnson explained how it signified the fact that he wasn’t good enough at the sport. Yet, today he owns his own football league.

Further, he explained it was hard to accept that he didn’t have what it takes to be a professional player. Moreover, he took it as a motivation and became a star, but it still hurts DJ that he wasn’t able to become an NFL player. The former WWE Champion played college football back in the day at the University of Miami. He was also and was on its national championship team in 1991.

He aspired for a career in professional football but went undrafted in the 1995 NFL Draft. He then signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) but was cut from the team in his first season. 

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