“$150K wrestling 235 times a year!” Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson blows Joe Rogan away after revealing REAL reason why he contemplated move to MMA

Dwayne Johnson revealed a time when he thought about fighting in MMA.

“$150K wrestling 235 times a year!” Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson blows Joe Rogan away after revealing REAL reason why he contemplated move to MMA

Dwayne Johnson recalled a time when he wanted to fight in MMA (via Man of Many)

Dwayne Johnson made an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast recently. In a particular segment, he talked about his idea to go into MMA. In 1997, he revealed that he made around 150k dollars per annum for his taxing service at the WWE. However, the fighters in MMA were getting double the amount that the Rock was earning. So, in an attempt to earn more, he contemplated a move to MMA.

In the JRE podcast, Dwayne Johnson explained in detail his idea to move into MMA in 1997. He said that he would meet a lot of MMA fighters when he was training in Los Angeles. That was when he heard about PRIDE and the salary of the fighters.

YouTube video

The Rock was astonished by the amount they were getting paid. Further, he contacted Ken Shamrock and Mark Kerr who were MMA fighters, and got down a few details about transitioning to MMA.

At that time I was making a 150 thousand dollars wrestling 235 days a year. So, do the math of that, how much you're making per match. We start hearing, hey these guys over in PRIDE are making 250/350/500 and I thought then, well Fu** I don't think I'm going to make that in WWE. And I had this idea in my head. Maybe, I should train to MMA.
Dwayne Johnson (via JRE)

Dwayne Johnson also stated that he wasn’t able to be authentic to himself in the WWE. As such, alongside monetary benefits, it played a major role in his idea of fighting in the MMA. Also, PRIDE made its inaugural event in 1997 and the UFC was in its infant stage. But the sport of mixed martial arts was increasing in popularity.

Later, he dropped the idea of fighting in MMA as he soon rose to stardom in the WWE. He served in the WWF for eight long years. Then, he pursued acting in Hollywood which was a massive success.

Dwayne Johnson revealed an incident with Vince McMahon that made him think about his future

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is a superstar who earned his fame through wrestling in the WWE. However, he revealed an incident when the promotion almost cut him. In 1997, he fought in the ‘Wrestlemania’ when he was booed by almost 25,000 fans.

This was the rise of the attitude era and The Rock was the smiley guy. Finally, when Johnson was realizing his dream as a 25-year-old this shattered his confidence.

Dwayne The Rock Johnson
Dwayne Johnson (via X)

The Rock met Vince McMahon backstage and they were unhappy. He revealed that McMahon told him that they had to make a change and he knew it was bad. Later, Rock injured his PCL while wrestling and McMahon told him to take time off. Also, what Vince McMahon said later distressed Johnson. Here is what Rock said about the incident:

I get hurt. I tear my PCL wrestling a guy named Mick Foley. By this time, it's May and Vince says you take time off, heal your knee. I don't know what we did wrong or where we went wrong but we got to really figure things out with you. I don't know if this is gonna workout.
Dwayne Johnson (via JRE)

This was the time when Dwayne Johnson thought about his move to MMA. However, he was offered one more event in the promotion and he capitalized on it. This led him to superstardom in the years that followed.

In case you missed it: