The Rock Recalls Early Meeting With Vince McMahon About What Was Important To Him

When Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson first ascended to the zenith of WWE stardom, few could have predicted the journey that lay ahead for the charismatic superstar under the stewardship of Vince McMahon. Despite coming from a lineage of wrestling royalty, Johnson's path in the WWE was not laid out on a silver platter, but was instead carved through determination and a candid conversation with McMahon. Speaking on the "PBD Podcast," Dwayne Johnson reminisced about his initial encounter with Vince McMahon.

"I got there in the WWE and I have a meeting with Vince McMahon. And Vince says ... 'What's important to you?' I said, 'What's important to me is learning the business, even though I grew up in professional wrestling, [there's] still so much to learn. And I want to be good. I want to be really good at what I do. I will put in the time and put in the work,'" Johnson recalled. "I said, 'I'd like to do it on my own. I don't want to be given anything just because my grandfather wrestled for Vince McMahon's dad in the '70s [and] my dad wrestled for Vince McMahon [Jr] in the 80s.'"

This candid exchange set the tone for Johnson's WWE career, but McMahon's response was not entirely in line with Johnson's hopes for anonymity. "He said, 'Ok, got it. So your name is gonna be Rocky Maivia, which is your dad's first name and your grandfather's last name. And I went, 'Uh, that's not what I was hoping for,'" Johnson joked, indicating his initial reluctance to carry the burden of the family name. 

With the controversy surrounding Vince McMahon approaching an all-time high, fans eagerly await the "Mr. McMahon" docuseries streaming on Netflix on September 25. The series will chronicle the former WWE CEO's career, and all of the controversies associated with it.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the "PBD Podcast" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for transcription.