Dwayne Johnson has a sprawling film career and wealth that’s eye-dazzling. As per Celebrity Net Worth, he is worth about $800 million. He has built his wealth thanks to primarily starring in and producing tentpole Hollywood films. However, as everyone knows by now, Johnson didn’t get his start in Hollywood.
He actually began his career as a WWE wrestler and over time transitioned to Hollywood. Nowadays, the films he makes and his various businesses keep him occupied. But apparently, he still has to pay a little money to his WWE boss Vince McMahon because that man owns ‘The Rock.’
Why Does Vince McMahon Own ‘The Rock’?
Dwayne Johnson in The Scorpion King
Dwayne Johnson is a free man and no one owns him. But it can’t be denied that a lot of his popularity is because of his ‘The Rock’ persona from his WWE era. In fact, some would say that the reason why he has a sprawling empire today is because fans loved his WWE persona and supported his ventures in Hollywood. However, Johnson doesn’t own ‘The Rock’ moniker.
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Dwayne Johnson and Vince McMahon
It is Vince McMahon who own ‘The Rock’, and to keep using this name, he has to give him credit. Once on The Howard Stern Show, the actor explained how it all works. He was there to promote The Scorpion King (2002) and during the conversation, the star said that McMahon did nothing to actually receive the title of Executive Producer in the film.
But he had to give it to him because he was the one who came up with the brand of ‘The Rock.’ Stern said that Johnson will probably never be able to escape from the shadow of Vince McMahon. The host said,
“In order to put up your name as ‘The Rock’, you have to make Vincent McMahon the Executive Producer of your film. Man, this son of a gun’s got every angle tied up. You know what? You’re gonna die and Vincent McMahon’s name is going to be on your gravestone.”
But the Black Adam star isn’t the only one who is under this kind of contract. His Hollywood brethren, John Cena is as well.
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Vince McMahon Owns ‘John Cena’ As Well
Dwayne Johnson and John Cena
If there’s any other wrestler who has made it in Hollywood apart from Dwayne Johnson, it’s undoubtedly John Cena. Both of them have starred in the DC franchise even though only one of them will reprise his role in the future. But Johnson and Cena share another thing in common- the title credit contract with Vince McMahon.
McMahon also owns the rights to ‘John Cena,’ the stage name. Johnson and Cena aren’t exceptions, but the norm. Apparently, when a new talent enters WWE, it is McMahon who gives her or him a ring name. If the person uses their real name in the ring (like John Cena) then the company tries to own that name too, so that the talent becomes WWE’s sole property.
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John Cena
McMahon still owns the right to John Cena’s name, even though the actor isn’t bound to the WWE anymore. Also, a little of whatever the wrestler-actor makes is given to the title owner. So how does the Peacemaker star feel about this? He actually doesn’t have a problem. Cena said,
“I don’t mind kicking a percentage of my earnings to the person [Mr. McMahon] who gave me a chance… If anything, that’s a sign of respect and I owe that guy a lot.”
It looks like Johnson and Cena are willing to give away executive producer credits and fees to Vince McMahon because they owe their careers to him. Fans of the stars are conflicted about this WWE policy, but for now, no changes have been made to this.
The Scorpion King is available on Netflix.
Source: IMDb and YouTube
