The Rock On His Passion For Wrestling, What He Saw In Talents At The WWE PC, His Daughter (Video)
As seen above, the WWE Performance Center's YouTube channel has released a new interview with The Rock, featuring footage from his recent visit to the facility in Orlando, Florida.
The footage was apparently filmed a few months back, before WWE officially announced that Rock's 18 year old daughter Simone Johnson had signed and reported to the Performance Center. Simone trained some for a few months in 2019, and then WWE made it official earlier this month.
"So where we are today is the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. I had an opportunity to fly in probably just for about 4 or 5 hours, and watch the students train, watch my own daughter Simone train and perform," Rock began.
Rock revealed that this was his first visit to the Performance Center. He also recalled how excited Triple H and others in the company were when they were first planning the WWE Performance Center several years ago.
"I had not had an opportunity to come down to the Performance Center before," Rock said. "I remember talking to Triple H years ago when the brainchild of this whole thing was being put together, and he was so excited about it then as the company obviously was too, as well. So, it's very gratifying for me to come here and see not only the Performance Center, which is really spectacular, but also, too, it's really gratifying to see a lot of the young men and women here who are really putting in the hard work to succeed in a business that is in my blood, and that I love."
Rock continued about the passion that he and Simone have for the business, and the passion he saw in the WWE NXT Superstars that day.
"My daughter Simone is so passionate about the wrestling business," Rock said. "As I am, as is our entire family because of the lineage that we have. But also, the students that I saw here today, there's a lot of passion in their eyes, and in their DNA. The coaches are great. These are coaches who I've known over the years and there's some really good energy here, and not only optimistic energy and positive energy, but also there's a hunger and a desire. The bond that I was able to have with the students today is the kind of bond that is only identified here in this world."
Rock continued and talked about how unique the pro wrestling industry is, and how it can be tough.
"It's hard to explain because there is no other industry like this industry," Rock said. "This is an incredible opportunity for anybody who has a desire to make it in the WWE. It also comes with incredible angst and pressure, and responsibility and anxiety, and it's not easy, and it tests your mental capacity. Physically you're tested. So, I've been down that road and I understand everything that they're going through. Their ideas are big. And they should be, and I would expect them to be. And the road that they want to travel is a road that I have gone down, so I was able to share a little bit of insight, perspective with them, and I could tell just by looking in their eyes that they were absorbing everything. So, I had a great time today, and I look forward to coming back."
This new video from the Performance Center goes along with a lengthy video that The Great One posted to Instagram earlier this month, along with more footage from that day and a message to the up & coming wrestlers. Both videos, above and below, feature shots of The Rock in the ring that day. For those who missed it, you can see that full Instagram post below:
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