The Rock felt it necessary to break kayfabe to respond to a troll who is trying to use the heel heat he had this week for their own political motivations.
The Brahma Bull’s return to WWE during last week’s SmackDown was met with heavy criticism by fans who believe Cody Rhodes is more deserving of a shot at Roman Reigns at WrestleMania instead. Videos of The Rock have been booed at WWE live events and chants of “Rocky sucks” were acknowledged during this week’s Raw.
Fake Claim Made Against The Rock
WWE, to their credit, has leaned into the negative reaction to The Rock’s return. The Brahma Bull cut a heel promo on “Cody crybabies” during a recent appearance on the Pat McAfee show. The Rock also played up his heel persona during the recent WrestleMania 40 kick-off press conference.
At the event, The Rock once again faced a hostile response from the fans, as well as more pro-Cody Rhodes chants. One troll on Twitter, Nick Sortor, tried to claim that the fans were booing The Rock due to reasons outside of wrestling. Sortor claims that the fans were chanting “Maui” in response to the backlash to The Rock and Oprah setting up a fund where people could donate to help victims of the Maui wildfires. At the time, many took issue with the two multi-millionaires asking for donations to the fund.
The Rock Responds
Of course, Sortor is being completely inaccurate, and the fans were not chanting “Maui” but instead chanting for Cody. Sortor’s fake claim was ‘Community Noted’ by Twitter which made clear he was being dishonest.
The Rock also felt the need to respond. In a tweet of his own, the Great One pointed out that over $50,000,000 has been raised to help those affected by the fires. In a character-breaking move, The Rock also made clear that he was playing a heel and was trying to elicit boos from the fans.
The Rock also spoke about his love for Hawaii and the Maui area. He encouraged Nick to post something positive about Hawaii “instead of posting bullsh*t.”
I typically refrain from responding to toxic, false clickbait garbage like this because I hate dignifying bullshit with a response, but when you use Hawaii’s tragic events to draw attention to yourself I won’t stay quiet.
This moment you’re referring to is from our @WWE press conference this past Thursday where I turned “heel” – wrestling parlance for bad guy. I’m playing it up with our crowd as they boo. It’s what we do in our WWE universe, and we all love every second of it.
For the record: Our People’s Fund of Maui has already DELIVERED over $50 MILLION DOLLARS to over 8,000 survivors who were affected by the fires, and I’m grateful to the bone that we’ve been the primary funders.
Hawaii is where I grew up, where I raise my children throughout the year and where my ancestors are buried. These are my Polynesian people and these are OUR American people. You can’t imagine how much they are still struggling daily to put their lives back together and take care of each other. Our Poly American people are as resilient as people come, and they will raise and get back on their feet.
Nick, instead of posting bullshit like this that you know is false – I encourage you to post something positive for Hawaii, for our Polynesian American people. Or actually take positive action and come to Hawaii to help out in an uplifting way. I’m in Hawaii now, and I guarantee you, you’ll get great content that can actually make a difference in people’s lives. Genuinely.
Let’s put our energy and our online platforms into lifting people up. Acknowledging the good things that people do. Raising awareness for the suffering in ways that can effectively help. It takes so much effort to be negative, and create and spread bullshit – but when you spread positivity, kindness, and lead by example you can really impact lives.
I’m sorry to all our Poly/Hawaiian ohana of Maui, for shining light on this toxicity as you struggle through tough times – I always try to be Na’au Pono. Love U. Aloha, DJ
I typically refrain from responding to toxic, false clickbait garbage like this because I hate dignifying bullshit with a response, but when you use Hawaii’s tragic events to draw attention to yourself I won’t stay quiet.
This moment you’re referring to is from our @WWE press… https://t.co/z76m1Q7w1N
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) February 11, 2024
Who Is Nick Sortor?
This is far from Sortor’s only example of dishonesty. In his tweet immediately before his lies about The Rock, he claims that a pro-Donald Trump song was being played on the radio. After several people questioned this claim, he admitted that he was “kidding” about it being on the radio. Sortor is vocally pro-Trump. The Rock endorsed Joe Biden for President in the run-up to the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election.
Sortor has appeared for Tucker Carlson Tonight, FOX News, and Newsmax among other right-wing leaning media sources. Each of these would spread the false claim that Donald Trump won the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. A defamation lawsuit by voting machine producer Dominion against FOX would result in FOX paying $787 million in a settlement. Carlson would be cut from FOX shortly after. Newsmax and other right-wing leaning channels have since admitted they have found no evidence backing up the claims of mass voter fraud they had previously reported.
