PRIDE?! The Rock Nearly Left WWE For MMA

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson almost followed in the footsteps of some of his fellow professional wrestlers before he made it big.

To become one of the most famous humans on Earth, if not the most famous, Johnson mastered his craft inside the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) ring. Johnson’s career didn’t start the smoothest while under the moniker of “Rocky Maivia,” however.

Seemingly unable to “get over” with the crowd, Johnson was forced to make a large character change, which ultimately launched him into a next-level stratosphere of popularity. “The Rock” revealed earlier today (Weds., Nov. 15, 2023) on The Joe Rogan Experience that instead of sticking with professional wrestling, he almost got into the truest form of combat amid his struggles.

“’97, I was still going to LA and working out,” Johnson said (h/t Fightful). “We were crossing all the MMA guys. PRIDE just opened up in Japan. I started seeing all these MMA guys going over to PRIDE. At that time, I was making $150,000 wrestling 235 days a year. Do the math on that and how much you’re making per match. We start hearing, ‘These guys in PRIDE are making $250,000, $350,000, $500,000.’ I thought then, ‘F—k, I don’t think I’m going to make it in WWE. People are booing me out of the arenas. I can’t be myself. They’re telling me to f—king smile, I don’t want to f–king smile. That’s not who I am.’

“I start talking to Ken Shamrock, I start talking with Mark Kerr, ‘Tell me about PRIDE,’” he continued. “I have this idea in my head, ‘Maybe I should train in MMA, go to PRIDE, and make real money and I don’t have to smile.’ I’m going to get f—ked up, knock one of my lungs loose (laughs), but if I find the right coach and train…I have this whole thing in my head. I’m talking to my wife at the time, ‘I think this is the way to go. I can make real money while these fans are booing me for $150,000.’”

“The Rock,” 51, never wound up getting into an MMA cage or ring, but he has been a fan for many years and made appearances in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) capacities. The most notable was when he made his classic entrance at UFC 244 in November 2019 to present the inaugural Baddest Motherf—ker (BMF) belt to the winner of Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz.