WWE fans all make the same joke as The Rock appears to forget his lines in ‘brutal’ NXT appearance
It’s safe to say things are never dull in WWE when Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is in town. Johnson made his fame as a wrestler with the company, debuting in 1996 as a fresh-faced youngster before developing into his Rock character during the Attitude Era. The Rock appeared in consecutive nights of WWE programming, following his Raw Netflix debut showing Soon he was off to Hollywood where his popularity and fame exploded to the point he became one of the most recognisable film stars on the planet. That was largely at the expense of further involvement with the wrestling world, his appearances with WWE extremely sporadic up until 2024 when, thanks to a new role on the Board of TKO – the grappling entity’s parent company – he made a triumphant return. He featured extensively up until April’s WrestleMania before movie commitments took over but The Great One has been back in the saddle this week in time for the humongous WWE launch on Netflix that came as part of a $5bn deal. The Floridian was a major part of Monday’s first episode of the red brand show, grabbing headlines not only with his performance in front of the camera but also his exchanges backstage. His wrestling week didn’t end on Monday, either – come Tuesday night he was back on duty at NXT which, outside of the US, also aired on Netflix. Rock made a visit to the brand that is, on screen, overseen by his daughter, Ava – acting as the NXT General Manager and welcoming her father into her backstage office during the show for an exchange. The People’s Champ then took to the ring to address the live crowd when, in true Rock style, he proved wildly entertaining – even if not everything seemed to go exactly to plan. Hitting back at criticism of his Raw appearance on Monday where he was pally with supposed bitter storyline rival Cody Rhodes, he told critics to ‘shut their mouth and enjoy the ride.’ Part of the promo that grabbed most attention with fans came when, with a wry smile, Rock appeared to completely lose his train of thought, stalling in silence in the ring before reverting to the age-old trick of engaging the crowd while he sought to recover. He did so in true Dwayne Johnson style, nailing his trademark ‘If you Smell…’ catchphrase right on cue before the Netflix broadcast came to an end – although some in the US reported the network TV feed for NXT had cut off just before. Rock made back-to-back WWE appearances by visiting his daughter in her role as NXT bossWWE/Netflix Tuesday night’s NXT was shown on Netflix outside of the US where it remains on CWWWE/Netflix Nonetheless, fans couldn’t help but poke a relatively gentle finger at The Rock for always causing a scene, plenty making the joke that he should’ve kept his promo notes close. Back in their epic 2010s rivalry, John Cena left his enemy red-faced by pointing out Rock had written words for his promo on his wrist. “Haha absolutely brutal; The Rock clearly forgot his promo,” pointed out one jokester, before adding in the inevitable: “Should’ve put it on your wrist!” “Bro should have used his old tactics,” quipped another, with a picture referencing the Cena promo. Another added: “Cena was right man needs notes for his promo on his wrist.” It seems whether for the good, the bad or the hilarious, there will never be another quite like The Rock.
It’s safe to say things are never dull in WWE when Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is in town.
Johnson made his fame as a wrestler with the company, debuting in 1996 as a fresh-faced youngster before developing into his Rock character during the Attitude Era.
Soon he was off to Hollywood where his popularity and fame exploded to the point he became one of the most recognisable film stars on the planet.
That was largely at the expense of further involvement with the wrestling world, his appearances with WWE extremely sporadic up until 2024 when, thanks to a new role on the Board of TKO – the grappling entity’s parent company – he made a triumphant return.
He featured extensively up until April’s WrestleMania before movie commitments took over but The Great One has been back in the saddle this week in time for the humongous WWE launch on Netflix that came as part of a $5bn deal.
The Floridian was a major part of Monday’s first episode of the red brand show, grabbing headlines not only with his performance in front of the camera but also his exchanges backstage.
His wrestling week didn’t end on Monday, either – come Tuesday night he was back on duty at NXT which, outside of the US, also aired on Netflix.
Rock made a visit to the brand that is, on screen, overseen by his daughter, Ava – acting as the NXT General Manager and welcoming her father into her backstage office during the show for an exchange.
The People’s Champ then took to the ring to address the live crowd when, in true Rock style, he proved wildly entertaining – even if not everything seemed to go exactly to plan.
Hitting back at criticism of his Raw appearance on Monday where he was pally with supposed bitter storyline rival Cody Rhodes, he told critics to ‘shut their mouth and enjoy the ride.’
Part of the promo that grabbed most attention with fans came when, with a wry smile, Rock appeared to completely lose his train of thought, stalling in silence in the ring before reverting to the age-old trick of engaging the crowd while he sought to recover.
He did so in true Dwayne Johnson style, nailing his trademark ‘If you Smell…’ catchphrase right on cue before the Netflix broadcast came to an end – although some in the US reported the network TV feed for NXT had cut off just before.
Nonetheless, fans couldn’t help but poke a relatively gentle finger at The Rock for always causing a scene, plenty making the joke that he should’ve kept his promo notes close. Back in their epic 2010s rivalry, John Cena left his enemy red-faced by pointing out Rock had written words for his promo on his wrist.
“Haha absolutely brutal; The Rock clearly forgot his promo,” pointed out one jokester, before adding in the inevitable: “Should’ve put it on your wrist!”
“Bro should have used his old tactics,” quipped another, with a picture referencing the Cena promo.
Another added: “Cena was right man needs notes for his promo on his wrist.”
It seems whether for the good, the bad or the hilarious, there will never be another quite like The Rock.
