It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that we’re huge fans of Dwayne Johnson here at CinemaBlend, and we’re heavily anticipating his upcoming turn as a supervillain and his new HBO show Ballers. And that fandom all started back when he gained his “The Rock” moniker as a rising star in the then-WWF, where he became one of the most quotable wrestlers of all time. He appears on tonight’s episode of The Graham Norton Show and explains a couple of his most famous catchphrases. Check it out!
First off, we have the greatest way to rudely interrupt someone in the history of rude interruptions. After bringing up a picture of the iconic raised eyebrow, Norton asked how “It doesn’t matter…” could possibly become a catchphrase, and as Johnson explained, it’s all in the execution. Ask someone a question where the answer is important, and let that person know immediately just how unimportant that answer is. For all that people chastise professional wrestling for various reasons, The Rock’s skills with the microphone were undeniably amazing.
Which brings us to “If you smell what The Rock is cooking,” arguably still the best in the biz, although Steve Austin’s “Austin 3:16” stint was pretty great as well. In any case, it’s not just that Johnson says the phrase for Norton and guests Snoop Dogg and Spaced star Jessica Hynes. It’s that he gets up and explains the process behind it, from the inherent bravado needed to the way to set one’s feet to how to hold the microphone. And then, of course, there’s the whole tongue-waggling thing, as showcased in the erotically disturbing moment below.
It’s strange how a goofy phrase that was uttered seemingly millions of times throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s can still be so exciting to hear. But dammit, it is. Johnson continues to visit the WWE every so often, most notably during WrestleMania – the most recent one saw him take the ring with UFC standout Ronda Rousey.
The Graham Norton Show is apparently the place to go for celebrities to relive some of their glory days, as we’ve seen Matt LeBlanc go all Joey Tribbiani and Will Smith sing the theme to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. With other fantastic guests like Hugh Laurie and George Clooney on the same episode, here’s hoping we get to see some more golden moments. Paging Dr. Doug Ross!
