WWE Champion Drew McIntyre has sent out a message of thanks to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Speaking with TMZ Sports, McIntyre shared how Johnson had previously pointed to him as WWE’s next breakout star. This recognition meant a lot to McIntyre who stated he was “doing nothing” of note at that time. 

McIntyre explained how when Johnson singled him out, he wasn’t showcasing his personality or on a winning streak. “It’s interesting for guys like Vince McMahon and The Rock. When they see something in somebody that maybe others don’t, or maybe you don’t see in yourself—I wanna say thank you to him for seeing that in me, too. It’s pretty cool, these people who believed in me who are so influential in the entertainment industry, and things are coming to be that they saw in me.”

He added how he wanted to inspire others to pursue their dreams and shared that one of his personal mantras is to “never surrender.” McIntyre noted how you never know how close you could be to accomplishing your dreams, and so you should never stop pursuing them because success could be just around the corner. 

Drew McIntyre defeated Brock Lesnar on Night Two of WrestleMania 36 to claim the WWE Championship. 

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The Rock’s Netflix feature Red Notice has paused production for two weeks due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The heist film has a star-studded cast of Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds who have been filming since late January. Just like many other ongoing film and TV projects, as well as wrestling events, Red Notice has halted all production to ensure the safety of cast and crew members.

The announcement of Red Notice‘s suspension was made in a video shared by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on his Instagram on Saturday. The Rock, who is also the producer of the film via his Seven Bucks Productions banner, shared the following in writing:

“We are pressing pause on our @netflix production of RED NOTICE effective this Monday for the next two weeks. It’s my privilege to speak eye to eye with our entire crew to help give a little clarity and guidance, as the most important thing right now is for us to get everyone home to their concerned families. […] We’ll continue to monitor and assess this situation closely to make the best decisions for our families first and then our businesses.

“We’re a resilient nation who ultimately, will always rise to the occasion to be accountable and work together to overcome whatever hardship lies in front of us. Our country will do its job, as the rest of the world will do theirs. Everyone please stay healthy, vigilant, safe and let’s protect one another. We’re all in this – together,” The Rock wrote.

The Hollywood Reporter says that Netflix will continue to pay the cast and crew while Red Notice‘s production is on hold.

Red Notice is about an Interpol agent who tracks the world’s most wanted art thief. The film is expected to release on the streaming platform in 2021, and it’s unclear if this halt will have a major impact on the release.

WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently commented on the company and their stance on using ‘older’ talent heading into WrestleMania.

Bully Ray on Goldberg

Bully began by referencing Goldberg winning the Universal Championship at Super Showdown last month. “If you’re angry about this you just don’t get it” stated Bully Ray. “People took that as if I was happy that Goldberg won. Or I thought it was good for the younger guys that Goldberg one.I ‘m just saying that I understand it from the business point of view, heading into WrestleMania.”

Bully Ray elaborated further, saying how he feels veteran talent should be used sparingly to help propel the newer generation. “I’m not a fan of it when it comes to constantly relying on the older talent, the veteran talent. The Hall of Fame talent. Because one day is going to come along where you cannot rely on that Hall of Fame talent anymore. I mean, when will Becky Lynch have the opportunity to get to the same level as Steve Austin did? When will Roman Reigns have the same opportunity to get to the same level The Rock did? Will anybody get the same opportunity that the nWo did? Or any of these guys. Why was the sky the limit for Austin and Rocky, ‘Taker, Cactus and Hardy? I mean so many acts, but now? Nope.”

FCW and Ruthless Aggression

Bully then referenced the FCW original documentary that aired on the WWE Network. “How come Roman is not at the same level as everybody else? Seth, Becky, Charlotte, they’re all the biggest names in the WWE, but they don’t even come close to what those other stars were able to accomplish. Last night after Elimination Chamber was over I watched the FCW special that I absolutely loved. And then I actually started watching the Brock Lesnar special from the Ruthless Aggression series. I got to the point where it was Brock vs The Rock from SummerSlam 2002. And I’m just like, holy crap. This is awesome. Look at what Rock is doing for Brock and look at how that propelled Brock into superstardom. Nobody is being given the opportunity to be propelled into superstardom now.”

You can listen to Busted Open Radio every day via SiriusXM. The podcast version of the show is also available via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and PlayerFM.

News broke that the Rock’s daughter, Simone Johnson, was recently signed to WWE and is also currently training at the Performance Center.

The Rock took to his official Instagram account to post a short documentary of his visit to the training facility down in Orlando, Florida to check it out and speak with talent. 

The visit was back in July 2019. Along with the video, the former WWE Champion wrote following in the caption:

“Thank you @wwenxt @wwe students for giving me your time & minds. Challenge yourself to greatness, listen to your gut, check your ego at the door, be kind, be grateful and always block out the noise. These were my principles I applied to my pro wrestling career.

“But I also learned to apply them to something much bigger than wrestling or Hollywood — life. I want you to do the same. Good luck, thank you for your time and always be the hardest workers in the room. And most of all, have fun. #squaredcircleDNA #nxt #peopleschamp”

The Rock is regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. He picked up his popularity in the mainstream while working in the WWE from 1996 to 2004. He was the first third-generation wrestler in the company’s history.

The Rock returned to WWE part-time from 2011–13 and continues to make sporadic appearances for the company.

Roman Reigns Reveals His Advice For Simone Johnson

Earlier this week, WWE announced WrestleMania 37 will be held at the brand new SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California. Stephanie McMahon took part in a press conference in Los Angeles Tuesday morning and spoke about what and who she hopes to see at the big event next year.

“We’re always talking to Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson and hoping he’s gonna come back,” Stephanie said when asked if WWE hopes the Rock will be part of the event. “Sometimes it pans out and sometimes it doesn’t but we’re always talking.”

“I think the Rock is the perfect example of what happens when WWE and Hollywood come together so I hope he’ll be a part of it but I can’t promise anything,” she added.

As for Ronda Rousey, McMahon is also hoping to see a return of the former RAW Women’s Champion at WrestleMania 37.

“I sincerely hope we have Ronda Rousey back for WrestleMania here at SoFi only I don’t want to be the one facing her in the ring,” McMahon joked. “It didn’t work out so well for me last time, I think I’ll let her do her own thing.”

“In all seriousness, I hope so,” McMahon later added about Rousey. “I think she’s very serious about coming back. I think she has some things in her personal life that she wants to do and when the time is right she’ll be back, I have no doubt about that.”

McMahon’s comments can be heard in the player below:

• WrestleMania 37 To Take Place At SoFi Stadium In Los Angeles

Simone Johnson, daughter of Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, has officially reported to the WWE Performance Center. WWE announced the news today on its social media platforms.

“It means the world to me,” Simone Johnson said in a statement. “To know that my family has such a personal connection to wrestling is really special to me and I feel grateful to have the opportunity, not only to wrestle, but to carry on that legacy.”

“Simone Johnson’s unbridled passion and incredible drive has earned her a coveted spot training with the elite athletes from around the world at the WWE Performance Center,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, executive vice president of Talent, Live Events & Creative. “Not only does Simone now have an opportunity to cultivate and display her passion for WWE within the Performance Center, but she’ll carry on the tradition of her incredible family lineage while creating her own impact as WWE’s first fourth generation Superstar.”

“Simone knows she has a lot to learn,” NXT coach Matt Bloom said. “She’s hungry to learn and picks the coaches’ minds, and the veteran Superstars’, as well. She’s not going to rest on her laurels. It’s been a short time, but she’s been crushing it.”

“Simone is a wonderful girl,” NXT coach Sara Amato added. “She’s like a sponge, it’s pretty amazing. She knows what it takes to succeed and all the hard work and sacrifice that goes into it. I wouldn’t have expected anything less.”

Simone Johnson Training At The WWE Performance Center

Johnson had been spotted as early as 2018 training at the PC, though she was not officially signed to the company. She spoke to the Hollywood Reporter in 2017 about wanting to pursue a career in pro-wrestling.

“It’s a sport that is unlike anything else in the world,” she said. “There’s just a certain amount of passion that every move and match requires, and that’s so admirable. It’s definitely something I’ve thought about and want to pursue.”

Johnson was named a Golden Globes ambassador but when the Hollywood Reporter pressed her about a career in film, Johnson expressed her desire to be a pro-wrestler.

“As much as I love and admire the film industry,” she continued. “I don’t see myself pursuing a career in it at the moment. I plan to study business in college — NYU, hopefully — and after graduating, I want to pursue wrestling and eventually transition into talent management.”

• The Rock Talks About His Daughter Simone Becoming A WWE Superstar

Simone has evidently been having some conversations with Indi Hartwell at the WWE PC already:

WWE had planned to do a match between The Rock and Triple H at WrestleMania 32 and the company had even teased this bout via a backstage promo long before the show.

However, for the disappointment of fans who were hoping to see these wrestling legends get in the ring to compete with each other one more time, this bout was canceled later on.

Triple H was asked about the reason behind the change in plans during his recent interview with TalkSport and the Game revealed that it was canceled due to scheduling issues:

“Scheduling. I don’t remember the details of it but it was one of those things The Rock and I had talked about doing to the point where we even did the backstage promo where we were like ‘let’s throw a scene out there and see what happens’.

And we did and it blew up, and of course, [then] we talked about it some more and then scheduling just got in the way.” revealed Triple H. “It would have been a blast to step in there with him one more time and tear it up.” (Transcription: sescoops.com)

Triple H continued by revealing that they had planned this bout way in advance but then The Rock’s schedule changed and a few months before WrestleMania he informed the officials that he can’t pull it off anymore.

Apart from this, Triple H also talked about NXT competing against AEW on Wednesday nights, his match with Batista at WrestleMania 35 and more. You can check out his full interview at this link

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would probably feature on a lot of fans’ Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling. But who would “The Great One” choose for his own personal monument?

B/R Wrestling pitched an open question to wrestling fans on Twitter, asking who might adorn their personal lists. They accompanied their initial tweet with an image featuring “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, The Rock, The Undertaker and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

Johnson would later reply with his own list, based off the performers overall impact and drawing power during their prime. For him, that included Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Gorgeous George or Bruno Sammartino and Steve Austin.

“*I made an edit after thinking about the wrestling star’s impact and drawing power during their respective runs. Thanks for the carve out and always a cool debate. I’d go with/ Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Gorgeous George/Bruno Sammartino, Steve Austin ?? #WrestlingsMtRushmore”

These lists are obviously subjective, but Johnson did take some time to respond to fan questions or comments after sharing. When one follower mentioned how Andre the Giant wasn’t getting any attention, Johnson replied, contrasting Andre with WWE Legend The Undertaker and noting that they “sit at a table for only two.”

This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite saw Cody Rhodes cutting a very passionate promo which was praised by fans and it is being considered as one of the best promos of the year.

The buzz surrounding the promo seems to have reached the People’s Champion The Rock as well and the Brahma Bull took on his Twitter recently to praise the AEW Star’s work on the latest episode of Dynamite:

The former WWE Star also responded to the praising words from the Great One and Cody replied to the tweet with a tweet of his own. Rhodes posted a photo of himself wearing a Brahma Bull vest and said thank you to the Rock:

AEW had announced that Cody Rhodes will be making a career announcement on the latest episode of Dynamite and the former ROH World Champion did so while also cutting a very good promo on this week’s episode of the weekly show.

Cody, who is set to face Chris Jericho for the AEW World Title at the upcoming Full Gear PPV announced that he won’t be challenging for the AEW Championship in future if he loses his upcoming match against Y2J.

He will now challenge the Master Of Manipulation for his title at the Full Gear PPV this Saturday. You can check out the updated match card for the event at this link.

The Rock backed up recent comments made by UFC President Dana White regarding his status for the UFC 244 pay-per-view event. 

While doing a recent Instagram Live video with White, Rock confirmed that he will present the winner of Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz with the “Baddest Mother F*****r” title belt at the show. 

The Rock also stated that he would be in attendance for the UFC press conference on Friday where he promised that he would make the announcement of “something I wanted to tell the UFC fans and MMA community first,” according to ESPN.

It should be noted that The Rock is represented by Endeavor, which is the agency that also owns the UFC.

• Dana White Confirms The Rock Will Present Special Title At UFC 244

The former WWE Champion was last seen on WWE programming back on the Friday Night SmackDown on FOX premiere where he did an in-ring promo segment with Elias and WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch. 

The UFC 244 pay-per-view event is set to take place this Saturday (November 2, 2019) at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. 

For more information on UFC 244 and the best MMA coverage around, visit our partners at MMA News.

John Cena was a recent guest on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. During their conversation, Cena spoke about his WWE feud with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. He also shared the advice he received from Johnson as he began to step away from the ring to ramp up his acting career.

“The Rock and I are most known for our tremendous WWE feud that broke WWE pay-per-view records, and we kind of talked a lot of trash about each other,” Cena confessed. “Now, we also had a follow-up match a year later. So we spent a year making fun of each other, and one night beating each other up, and then we’re like ‘Did we just become best friends? ‘Yep.’ So basically we were able to set aside our differences on that night. In the next year, I began to get more chances at opportunities.”

Sage Advice

Cena then reflected on doing a taped audition for the movie Trainwreck. Looking for advice, Cena turned to The Rock for his thoughts on how to best present himself for the audition.

“He gave me a piece of advice that still rings in my ears like he said it yesterday. I don’t even know if he knows this was such sage advice,” Cena said. “He just turned to me as smooth and casual as he does with everything he says, and in such an inspirational tone, as with everything he does, he was like, ‘Just be yourself, man. That’s why they asked you there in the first place.’ And that message of ‘always be authentically yourself’ has stuck with me, and created the opportunity I have. Thank you, The Rock.”

John Cena’s new movie, Playing with Fire, is released in theaters on November 8th.

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Even the Rock is considered just a common “nasty” to Lacey Evans. She took to Twitter recently to take a shot at the Rock and the Most Electrifying Man in all of Entertainment responded.

Evans started the Twitter spat by posting a video of her replacing a picture of the Rock with a picture of herself:

This led the Rock to respond with the following:

Evans then responded and said she has more charisma than the Rock does:

Lacey Evans’ Twitter Rivalries

Evans has been involved in several Twitter spats with legends from WWE’s past. She had previously been involved in a back-and-forth with Madusa. The former Alundra Blayze opened up about the experience on an episode of the WINCLY podcast:

• Madusa Reveals Details Regarding Twitter Feud With Lacey Evans

“Lacey and I were having fun in DMs on the backside. What’s really nice is you’re gonna get very respectful people talking on the DMs saying, ‘Hey are you good with this’ before you put it out. I’m sure there’s a lot of that on the other side with WWE because they would not let that happen,” said Madusa on the show.

On Friday, the official trailer for “Jungle Cruise” was released. 

This is film stars former WWE Champion Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramirez, Jack Whitehall, with Jesse Plemons, and Paul Giamatti.

It’s set to be released in theaters for fans to watch around the world on July 24, 2020. You can watch the trailer here: 

Jaume Collet-Serra is the director and John Davis, John Fox, Dwayne Johnson, Hiram Garcia, Dany Garcia and Beau Flynn are the producers, with Doug Merrifield serving as executive producer.

The synopsis for the film reads like, “Inspired by the famous Disneyland theme park ride, Disney’s Jungle Cruise is an adventure-filled, Amazon-jungle expedition starring Dwayne Johnson as the charismatic riverboat captain and Emily Blunt as a determined explorer on a research mission.”

Details On Vince’s Email To Employees, The Rock Delivers SmackDown Viewers

Filming started in May 2018 and wrapped up in September of that same year. The film was originally scheduled to be released on October 11, 2019 was delayed until 2020. 

The Rock’s latest appearance on WWE television came just last week when he appeared on the premiere episode of Friday Night SmackDown where he did an opening in-ring segment. 

The first episode of NWA Power aired last night on Facebook and YouTube and many people have taken to social media to offer praise for the old school approach to the show. One person who was notably impressed was the Rock who had the following to say to Jim Cornette and others involved with the show on Twitter recently:

Corey Graves also took to social media last night and had positive things to say about the show:

Watch NWA Power on YouTube

The NWA’s new weekly show airs on Facebook and YouTube Tuesday nights at the historically significant time of 6:05 p.m. The initial tapings for the show were held in Atlanta’s GPB studios on September 30th and October 1st.

The full first episode of NWA power can be viewed in the player below:

Lineup for NWA Power Episode #1

• Billy Buck & Sal Rinauro vs. The Dawsons (Dave Dawson & Zane Dawson)
• Caleb Konley vs. Eli Drake
• Danny White & Mims vs. The Wild Cards (Royce Isaacs & Thomas Latimer)
• James Storm vs. Jocephus
• NWA World Heavyweight Title Match
  Nick Aldis (w/Kamille) (c) vs. Tim Storm

The NWA is scheduled to be back inside Atlanta’s GPB Studios in mid-December for additional shows.

Vince McMahon took the time to send an internal email to his employees on Monday. 

Pwinsider.com reports that the WWE Chairman and CEO thanked everyone for the success of Friday’s SmackDown FOX premiere.

In the email, McMahon mentioned that the top-rated segment for the show was the opening in-ring segment that saw The Rock, King Baron Corbin and RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch exchange words. The segment ended with Rock and Lynch hitting their finishers to Corbin. 

This is where McMahon noted that the segment brought in 4 million viewers. The message also touted the fact that SmackDown doubled the #2 show of the night in all key demographics.

He also offered his thanks for their help in achieving success for the premiere episode. 

The Undertaker Comments On Why He Didn’t Appear On SmackDown FOX Premiere

McMahon did make a brief appearance on the episode, which also served as the 20th Anniversary special, as he was shown with his daughter, Stephanie McMahon. 

He welcomed everyone to Friday Night SmackDown. They then led the show to the new SmackDown opening video package.

The show averaged 3.888 million viewers after initially pulling in 3.87 million viewers in the fast nationals. The Kickoff show pulled in 2.329 viewers. 

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has responded to the challenge sent out by Randy Orton for a match at WrestleMania 36 in 2020. 

Although The Rock did react to the challenge, it’s not the answer that Orton was hoping to hear from the former WWE Champion. Over the weekend, The Rock was active on social media and commenting on his most recent appearance on Friday Night SmackDown. 

This is when The Rock wrote the following on his official Twitter account: 

“@RandyOrton U think Bob O Sr & Chief Maivia along with our pops’ Bob Jr & the Soulman ran up and down those roads for decades taking bumps just so we can sell out WM36 so you can RKO my ass thru the earth. My body’s still recovering from that Evolution beatdown you gave me at WM20.”

Orton saw the tweet and responded with, “My man. So I guess that’s a ‘no.’”

The Rock Kicks Off WWE Friday Night SmackDown

The chances of this match happening weren’t great due to The Rock already confirming that he’s retired from the pro wrestling business. 

Although never say never in wrestling, The Rock is a busy man these days with his acting career and would have to set time aside in order to train, make television appearances and work the match. 

WrestleMania 36 will take place Sunday, April 5th, 2020 from Tampa, FL at the Raymond James Stadium and air on the WWE Network.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made his grand return to WWE television. 

He did so during the debut episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown on FOX  from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. As seen on the show, The Rock did a segment with Baron Corbin and WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch in the ring. 

The Rock cut a promo about the history of the show and how Corbin looked like a broke wanna be king of Burger King. Corbin told him that this isn’t The Rock’s home and to know his role and shut his mouth. The segment ended with The Rock and Lynch laying out Corbin with their finishers. 

Before the announcement by the former WWE Champion about his appearance on Monday through social media, it was reported that both WWE and The Rock have explored the possibility of him appearing on the show. 

It was a big deal to get him on the show due to FOX heavily promoting the show to get a big rating. 

It marked the debut episode of SmackDown on FOX and the 20th Anniversary Show that was created with the name of one of his iconic catchphrases. 

Obviously, with this appearance, people will want to see him wrestle one more time. However, the chances of that happening are slim. 

Not only due to his busy schedule as an actor but also because he’s retired from the pro wrestling business.

He confirmed earlier this year while making an appearance on “Live with Kelly and Ryan” that “I quietly retired from wrestling because I was lucky enough to have just a really wonderful career and accomplish what I wanted to accomplish.”

WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan made an appearance on Friday’s The Herd hosted by Colin Cowherd on FOX Sports 1 to promote the premiere of WWE Friday Night SmackDown. 

During the interview, Hogan talked about how The Rock followed in his footsteps as he used pro wrestling as a stepping stone to branch out into entertainment. 

Hogan stated that he kicked the door open with the wrestling and the entertainment part as well as kicked the door open by doing kid moves.

He thinks “The Rock came along and he ripped the door off the hinges. He went bang.”

Hogan continued by reflecting that the coolest thing was being at Madison Square Garden one time where he wrestled and tossed out his headband that was caught by The Rock, who was an eight-year-old at the time, as he was sitting in the crowd. 

Hulk Hogan Recalls Vince Sr. Firing Him For ‘Rocky III’ Role

Hogan brought up how he learned about this when The Rock told the story while doing a press tour to promote the latest Jumanji movie. You can watch the interview here: 

The biggest match between Hogan and The Rock took place in 2002 at WrestleMania 18 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that served as the co-main event of the show. 

After much speculation, The Rock has confirmed that he’ll be at the debut WWE SmackDown on Fox this Friday night.

Here’s the official word from The Great One himself:

WWE Friday Night SmackDown

Here is an updated preview for the premiere of Friday Night SmackDown on Fox from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California:

• Brock Lesnar vs. WWE Champion Kofi Kingston
• RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley and Sasha Banks
• Kevin Owens vs. Shane McMahon in a Ladder Match
• Roman Reigns Erick Rowan vs. Roman Reigns

Plus, there will be special appearances from Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Sting, Ric Flair, Booker T, Lita, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle, Bill Goldberg, Trish Stratus, Mark Henry, and Jerry “The King” Lawler.

• WWE Confirms New Commentary Teams For RAW & SmackDown

Updated: The Rock has confirmed that he’ll appear on the show with this post on his official Twitter account: 

Original: Not only do the fans want to see Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson make an appearance on the debut episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown but also the company. 

It’s been reported that both WWE and The Rock have explored the possibility of him appearing on the show as it marks the debut episode of SmackDown on FOX but also the 20 Anniversary of the show that was created with the name of one of his iconic catchphrases. 

Up to this point, The Rock has yet to be announced for this episode and for good reason as no deal has been reached for him to appear.

Dave Meltzer reported on the Daily Update that the two sides are working on trying to get him on the show. It all comes down to whether he can pull it off with his busy schedule.

It was noted that it’s not a situation where WWE wants to keep him as a surprise for the show but rather no deal being made.

If he does appear then it will be announced at the last minute in order to get as much media exposure as possible for the show in hopes of increasing viewership. 

Friday’s SmackDown FOX premiere episode takes place from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

• The Rock Calls Ken Shamrock A Major Influence During The Attitude Era

The Rock will be in attendance for the big UFC 244 pay-per-view event for a special reason. 

UFC President Dana White confirmed while doing an interview with TMZ Sports that the future WWE Hall of Famer will present the winner of Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz with the “Baddest Mother F*****r” title belt. 

This is part of the promotion for this blockbuster fight that will headline the show. The title will cost around $50,000 to make.

“He’s gonna, he’s taking my job. Listen, if The Rock wants to do it, The Rock gets what The Rock wants,” White stated.

It’s been reported that WWE officials are trying to have the former WWE Champion appear on the premiere episode of SmackDown on FOX come October 4th but his status has yet to be confirmed. 

The UFC 244 pay-per-view event is set to take place on Saturday, November 2, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The promotion will be announcing more bouts for this show in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card: 

• Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz
• Kelvin Gastelum vs. Darren Till
• Stephen Thompson vs. Vicente Luque
• Derrick Lewis vs. Blagoy Ivanov
• Corey Anderson vs. Johnny Walker
• Julio Arce vs. Hakeem Dawodu
• Katlyn Chookagian vs. Jennifer Maia

For more information on UFC 244 and the best MMA coverage around, visit our partners at MMA News.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has credited former WWE Superstar Ken Shamrock with helping to develop his character during the Attitude Era.

This comes off the back of Shamrock promoting his return to Impact Wrestling. He contended that he would tear through Moose, whom he is currently feuding with, before running his way through the promotion until getting to Impact Wrestling World Champion, Brian Cage.

A Twitter user then shared his feelings on Shamrock’s run in WWE (then WWF) in the ’90s. He stated that people don’t understand how underrated “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” was as a wrestler. He claimed he was a “HUGE part of the attitude era” before listing The Rock, Vader, and Owen Hart as wresters Shamrock had great matches with.

Brian Cage would subsequently get involved after seeing the opinion, sharing that he agrees wholeheartedly:

“I agree. Shamrock all around was great. And jacked!”

This led to The Rock “co-signing” Cage’s sentiment, adding that “@ShamrockKen helped build “The Rock” character. Huge #AttitudeEra influence. We tore the houses down together. I’ll always be grateful and respectful. He’s a f machine. They don’t make em like that anymore. Thanks for the house brother Ken”

Ken Shamrock returns to Impact Wrestling on September 5th and 6th for the promotion’s Las Vegas tapings.

Much like their recent RAW Reunion show, WWE is inviting a number of former Superstars, Hall of Famers, and Legends for SmackDown’s upcoming FOX debut. The show also coincicdes with SmackDown’s 20th Anniversary.

Kurt Angle, Lita, Booker T, Hulk Hogan, Mick Foley, Trish Stratus, Jerry Lawler, Goldberg, Sting, Ric Flair, and Goldberg are just some of the names already announced. 

But they aren’t the only people WWE are hoping will be in attendance.

WWE is still attempting to secure Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for the blue brand’s FOX debut, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. 

It’s reported that whether Dwayne Johnson appears or not all comes down to his schedule. WWE apparently reached out to him a while back in order to try and book him, but nothing was confirmed at the time. Unfortunately, that still seems to be the case.

According to Meltzer, Johnson has not yet committed to appearing, despite admitting he misses the squared circle.

Given his popularity and acting career, finding time to appear on the show he named may not be as easy as he, or the WWE Universe, would like.

SmackDown will debut on FOX on October 4th from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. 

The Rock’s “Hobbs & Shaw” Movie Crushing At Box Office

The “Hobbs & Shaw” film that stars former WWE Champion Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham was released last week.

Since then, it has brought in $331 million worldwide at the box office, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.  The film held onto the top spot in the United States over the weekend by bringing in $25 million.

It’s directed by David Leitch, who presented Deadpool 2, and a script written by longtime Fast & Furious narrative architect Chris Morgan. 

Batista’s New Film Pushed Back

The latest film starring Batista, My Spy, was supposed to be released on August 23 but was pulled from the schedule in early July. 

The Hollywood Reporter notes that the film has landed on January 10, 2020 opening.

Batista and Kumail Nanjiani’s action-comedy Stuber got off to a rough start at the box office last month but has since rebounded with $22.3 million domestically against a $16 million budget.

The film was directed by Peter Segal (“Get Smart”) from a script penned by Jon and Erich Hoeber (“Red”). 

The synopsis reads like, “MY SPY follows JJ a hardened CIA operative (Dave Bautista) who has been demoted and finds himself at the mercy of a precocious 9-year-old girl, named Sophie (Chloe Coleman) where he has been sent undercover begrudgingly to surveil her family.  When Sophie discovers hidden cameras in her apartment she uses her tech savviness to locate where the surveillance operation is set. In exchange for not blowing JJ’s cover Sophie convinces him to spend time with her and teach her to be a spy. Despite his reluctance JJ finds he is no match for Sophie’s disarming charm and wit.”

You can watch the trailer here: 

Dwayne “The Rock” appeared on a recent episode of “Live with Kelly and Ryan.”

He did so to promote the Hobbs & Shaw movie that opens today where he spoke about a wide range of topics with hosts Ryan Seacrest and Maria Menounos. 

During this interview, the former WWE Champion was asked if he misses pro wrestling, which he responded with “I miss wrestling, I love wrestling.”

Menounos asked Rock if he wishes he could do acting and WWE. This is when Rock responded with “I mean, no. I quietly retired from wrestling because I was lucky enough to have just a really wonderful career and accomplish what I wanted to accomplish.”

The Rock continued by noting that there’s nothing like a live crowd and performing in front of them. 

He brought up his family being in the pro wrestling business and how he started his time in WWE in 1996 at the Survivor Series PPV event. The Rock added that he credits his time and journey in pro wrestling to get him at the point that he’s at right now with acting. 

The Rock is regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. He picked up his popularity in the mainstream while working in the WWE from 1996 to 2004. 

The Rock returned to WWE part-time from 2011–13 and continues to make sporadic appearances for the company.