Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made a name for himself quite literally in the '90s as a top tier WWE superstar. He's mostly moved on to a film career nowadays, appearing in everything from the action-packed The Fast and the Furious franchise to comedies like Central Intelligence, and he even has a TV show on HBO. Still, The Rock hasn't forgotten his roots as Rocky Maivia, and he recently sat down to re-watch and talk about his first WWE match, held back when he was only 24 years old. Prepare yourself for an awesome throwback to '90s wrestling and check it out!
You really don't even need to be a WWE fan to get a kick out of The Rock's commentary on his first match back in 1996. The whole ten minutes feels like the opening of a sports comedy that starts with a former wrestler looking back on his career before spending the next two shenanigans-filled hours trying to get back in the ring. The combination of nostalgia and affectionate mockery of his grand WWE (then-WWF) debut is a joy to hear. Honestly, the only thing I didn't like about the commentary clip is that The Rock stole all the jokes I was going to make about his hair. Kudos to the actor and athlete for his sense of humor throughout the whole video.
The Rock's inside info about fellow wrestlers Crush and Goldust makes the video worth watching more than once, if only to catch the trivia behind the laughs. The story of Crush's encouragement during his first match in front of 22,000 people is pretty heartwarming, especially considering he has since passed away. It's definitely a nice peek at the camaraderie between the wrestlers when they aren't mugging for the cameras or strutting their stuff in the ring.
Personally, I really enjoyed seeing that Dwayne Johnson hasn't forgotten what made him a star in the first place. He's landed so many leading roles and helped rejuvenate franchises on the big screen that it might have been easy for him to only look forward. His hair has certainly been less goofy in his non-wrestling roles, although his Scorpion King 'do wasn't exactly the most flattering. The Rock almost certainly never would have become the star that he is today without his WWE work.
The Rock is still professionally attached to WWE and re-enters the ring every once in a while. He'll return to the small screen for Season 3 of Ballers at some point, and he's working behind the scenes on a new show called Muscle Beach for USA. You can see him back on the big screen once more when Fast 8 hits theaters on April 14, 2017. Check out our fall TV premiere schedule to see what you can catch on the small screen in the near future.
