Key Takeaways
The 52-year-old is now one of many greatest stars on the planet, however he began his wrestling profession in humble environment.
His pay for his earliest matches wouldn’t have lined his bills for getting into the ring.
The Rock now has a spot on the TKO board and holds big affect in WWE.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is likely one of the world’s most recognisable and highest-paid stars, however that was not at all times the case. The eight-time WWE Champion is a third-generation wrestler, who adopted within the footsteps of his grandfather, Peter Maivia, and his father, Rocky Johnson, to change into a star within the greatest skilled wrestling firm on the earth.
These household connections aided Johnson in getting his first break within the trade. Nevertheless, like all aspiring wrestlers there have been nonetheless dues that wanted to be paid. Whereas he now instructions $1 million merely to advertise his motion pictures on social media, per Selection, The Rock as soon as acquired paid so little for wrestling a match that he should have value himself cash by getting within the ring – as soon as all of his prices have been taken under consideration.
The Rock shared a candid picture of himself and a fan on Instagram in 2021, which he claims was taken after his first match at a flea market in Memphis, Tennessee. The charismatic star additionally revealed precisely what he was paid for his match that night time – and it places his subsequent rise to riches into perspective.
The Rock’s Pay for his Early Wrestling Matches is Ridiculous to Look Again on Now
The WWE legend would barely have lined his personal journey prices together with his purse for the matches
“TBT to me and a younger fan after my wrestling match on the flea market in Memphis.My ring title was “Flex Kavana” (hey I assumed it was a cool title on the time) and I used to be making a GUARANTEED $40 bucks per match. I used to be broke as hell, passionate and gave all of it I acquired – having NOOO IDEA the lengthy, windy, unpredictable street that lay forward.”
The street forward was certainly one of international superstardom accompanied by unimaginable riches. The wrestler-turned-actor achieved nice success in wrestling and much more success in Hollywood, the place he has been named the highest-paid actor on a number of events.
Johnson made his WWE debut on the 1996 Survivor Sequence occasion below the title Rocky Maivia. Regardless of his inexperience, he can be pushed by the corporate and received the Intercontinental Championship in 1997 by defeating Hunter Hearst Hemsley (now Triple H). Followers shortly started to activate him and rejected his push, however the younger upstart would not be denied.
By 1998, Johnson had adopted “The Rock” as his ring title and gained recognition, whilst a heel. In flip, he would change into probably the most beloved WWE Superstars ever. Earlier than the tip of the yr, he had received his first WWE Championship and would go on to dominate the corporate’s most important occasion scene for a lot of the subsequent three years.
Whereas there could be no denying that The Rock was possible paid handsomely for headlining WWE playing cards through the ‘Angle Period’, his true huge break got here when he was supplied the starring position within the 2001 film ‘The Scorpion King’. Per talkSPORT, he was paid $5.5m for his work on the mission. He would find yourself making much more in Hollywood because the years rolled on, however it’s nonetheless fairly an improve from the times of incomes $40 to wrestle a match!
Johnson would depart in-ring motion in 2004, after his WWE contract expired, and he selected to pursue appearing as his full-time profession. The Rock would make sporadic appearances for WWE through the years. In 2011, he returned because the visitor host for WrestleMania 27. On the Monday Night time RAW episode after WrestleMania 27, The Rock and John Cena agreed to wrestle one another on the following yr’s WrestleMania, WrestleMania 28. Their match had a year-long buildup. The Rock was victorious when their match lastly occurred, marking his first singles victory in virtually ten years.
In January 2013, The Rock defeated CM Punk to win the WWE Championship, recording his first championship win in eleven years. ‘The Individuals’s Champion’ had once more change into the WWE Champion for the eighth time.
Most lately, The Nice One returned to in-ring competitors, partnering with Roman Reigns to face Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes in the primary occasion of Night time 1 of WrestleMania 40. Rock and Reigns have been victorious on this battle. That match got here simply months after Johnson had joined the board of administrators at TKO (the holding firm that owns each WWE and the UFC.) For each his work as a director and an on-screen character, The Rock is believed to have banked $30m.
Though that is a massively spectacular sum for simply three months’ work, it isn’t like Johnson wanted the cash. On 4 events, the previous faculty soccer participant has been named the highest-paid actor on the earth. He first took the title in 2016 and later scooped it three years in a row, in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Johnson’s spectacular field workplace successes embody the rebooted Jumanji collection, Disney’s Moana, and the extremely profitable Quick and Livid franchise. It is not solely on the massive display that he is had profitable outcomes both, having produced a TV present primarily based on his formative years (Younger Rock), in addition to creating his personal model of tequila.
Per Cosmopolitan, The Rock has an estimated internet value of round $800m right now. To place it one other means, he is value 20 million instances what he was paid for his very first wrestling match. A really outstanding turnaround for the 52-year-old.
