This week The Rock was a guest on the “Alone With Rome” segment on ESPN’s “Jim Rome is Burning” TV show. Rome annd Johnson touched on a variety of subjects:
– When asked if he’s now officially “Dwayne Johnson, actor”, Johnson said he became “Dwayne Johnson, actor” when he quietly retired. It’s been four years since he last wrestled.
– Johnson said he loved wrestling, grew up around wrestling, his grandfather wrestled. His first love was football. When he didn’t make it in the NFL, he knew he’d have to close that chapter, which turned him to wrestling. He loved the showmanship of wrestling.
– Johnson was asked about Chris Benoit. He said Benoit was a “great guy.” He said the Benoit he knew, the guy he worked with, was a great guy. He didn’t know the guy who committed “those heinous crimes.” Johnson stopped trying to figure out why it happened said people like them didn’t have the wiring inside and would never be able to understand why. “Great guy, hated to see it, my heart still goes out to the family.”
– He was asked about his reaction when he heard about the Benoit family tragedy. “I got upset. I cried like a lot of guys did. I knew him, I knew his wife. I met his children. It was difficult.”
– Does he miss wrestling? He misses interacting with the crowd. A live crowd “keeps you on your toes.” Rome followed up with the point that you didn’t get that same immediate reaction from movies. Johnson agreed but noted that when a scene is happening and things are clicking, you get into a zone where you feel you can’t do anything wrong, like athletes have.
