The Rock Seriously Considered An MMA Career When Fans Turned On Him In WWE
The Rock is one of the most famous people on the planet in 2023. So famous that he admitted recently that running for president of the US is still a possibility for him in the future. As big as WWE is, it's incredible to think that's what made The Rock famous. Ascending to the top of the promotion pretty quickly, winning the WWE Title multiple times, and returning as recently as September of this year for an episode of SmackDown.
MMA Instead Of Pro Wrestling
It's even more incredible to think that a career shift right at the start of The Rock's WWE run could have changed everything. Rock wasn't all that popular when he debuted for WWE in 1996 even though he was portrayed as a squeaky clean babyface. That rubbed Rock the wrong way. So much so that he recently revealed during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience that those early fan reactions almost drove him away from wrestling and into an MMA career.
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"I started seeing all these MMA guys going over to PRIDE. At that time, I was making $150,000 dollars wrestling 235 days a year. Do the math on that and how much you're making per match," Rock explained (H/T to Fightful for the transcription). "I start talking to Ken Shamrock, I start talking with Mark Kerr, 'tell me about PRIDE.' I have this idea in my head 'maybe I should train in MMA, go to PRIDE, and make real money."
The Nation Brought Him Back
The Rock was out with an injury while thinking about this, and when mulling over trading a ring for an octagon, Vince McMahon called him with plans for his return. McMahon pitched the idea of The Rock being a part of a new faction, The Nation Of Domination. Still considering the MMA route, Rock said he'd give it a try, but only after he convinced McMahon to give him a live mic upon his return so he could tell the fans how he felt. That and making Rock a part of the Nation kickstarted one of the most legendary careers in wrestling history.
Rock was close with Shamrock so would have definitely had an in if he really wanted to give MMA a try. I'm not convinced he'd have been able to cut it though, especially back then when the sport wasn't nearly as polished a product as it is today. My guess is he would have given it a go and eventually returned to WWE. However, having altered the course of history, who knows if he'd have gone on to become the star he is today.
