Before Dwayne Johnson was the highest-paid person in Hollywood, he was the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. As The Rock, Johnson thrilled professional wrestling crowds all over the world. He was a skilled wrestler to be sure, but if anything his real fame came at the end of a microphone as The Rock could trade insults better than most. He almost always had the last word, even if he had to make the word up. And now, one of Dwayne Johnson's favorite words is now an actual word as "jabroni" has apparently been added to Dictionary.com.
Sport's Illustrated's wrestling focused Twitter account revealed that along with about 650 other words that were added today, was the word jabroni. It was a word that The Rock used frequently to refer to his opponents. It is, according to Dictionary.com, officially a reference to "a stupid, foolish, or contemptible person." Check out The Rock using the word back in 2000.
The word's second definition is pro wrestling specific and links the word jabroni to the pro wrestling term "jobber." While not used as much in places like the WWE anymore, jobber was an industry term for people who were more politely referred to as "enhancement talent." These were wrestlers, usually newer or less skilled performers, whose only job was to come in and make the more popular wrestler look good. They came in to "do the job" of losing.
While The Rock is credited with popularizing the word jabroni, he would be the first to tell you that the real credit belongs elsewhere. The Iron Shiek is actually the one credited with the creation of the word jabroni. The 1984 documentary film The Shiek included an interview with Dwayne Johnson where he discussed the Shielk mentoring him as a young wrestler and his adoption of the word jabroni.
This is the second word that the Rock is credited with that has become an actual word in at least some dictionaries. The Rock regularly threatened to lay the "smackdown" on his opponents. WWE eventually named its second weekly television show after the term and it officially recognized as a word in many places. As with the Rock's popularity in general, the words he used transcended professional wrestling and began to be used outside of wrestling circles.
The Rock hasn't wrestled in years, and it seems unlikely he ever will again, but no matter how popular and successful he gets as an actor, he will always be linked to the character he created in WWE. It's of course been even longer since The Iron Shiek wrestled regularly, but the two former WWE champions can both be proud of the mark they've left on the world thanks to the simple, but unforgettable word.
