Roman Reigns Talks The Rock's On-Screen Rivalry With Steve Austin

Roman Reigns recently spoke with Sports Illustrated to promote his new ad campaign with Brisk Iced Tea, featuring the new "Can of Whup Ass" commercial that we posted earlier this week. You can see the ad above.

The "ice cold can of whup ass" is one of The Rock's lines in the Hobbs & Shaw movie that inspired the ad campaign, but it's also a line made famous by WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin. Reigns praised the WWE Legends.

"Those are two icons, Austin and The Rock," said Reigns. "They were just so good. When they were facing off against each other, Steve was at a different point in his career?he was an established babyface superstar and it seemed like everyone was rebelling with him, and then you also had a charismatic young talent like Dwayne come in as the bad guy.

"Everyone thrives from competition, and their art still thrives today. Their rivalry evolved over the years to unknown territory, and it still means something today, even when we hear a line about a can of whup ass."

Reigns did admit that his relation to The Rock kept him rooting for The Great One, despite admiring The Rattlesnake.

"From a family lineage, I was always supporting The Rock," said Reigns. "Steve was such a compelling character, but family is family, so we were always cheering for Dwayne."

Reigns also said it meant a lot to him to include his Samoan ancestry in the Brisk commercial, and he's optimistic that his connection to the new iced tea product will connect with fans of WWE. Reigns said he knew teaming with The Rock for the "Hobbs and Shaw" movie that hits theaters in August would bring new opportunities.

"The partnership connects to the big Hobbs & Shaw film," Reigns said. "I knew teaming up with Dwayne and Fast & Furious was going to be incredible, and so many great opportunities continue to unfold, like this new ad with Brisk."

He continued, "Dwayne wanted to show tidbits of our culture and our customs, and Brisk was really into that. Plus, I got to add my own intellectual touch. The cover of the book isn't always what you'll see, and that's the part of me you see when I open the can."