Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s Unscripted Vince McMahon Reference at Hall of Fame Not Well Received in Philadelphia

Published 04/06/2024, 6:53 AM EDT

Tonight at the WWE Hall of Fame, the WWE looked back on the life and career of Lia Maivia, legendary promoter and the grandmother of the Rock. The actor and wrestler claimed during the induction that his grandmother taught him feminine sensitivity, but he also remembers her as one of the first and most important promoters in the world of professional wrestling.

In fact, it was during this speech that he mentioned a certain someone. A name that the WWE has been trying to keep as far away from the promotion as possible, Vince McMahon.

The Rock namedrops McMahon while inducting the legendary Lia Maivia

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At the Hall of Fame ceremony, The Rock made his entrance on stage to do the honors of inducting his grandmother into the Hall of Fame. The Brahma Bull remembered his grandmother as a game-changer for small promoters in professional wrestling. He said that Lia did her best to continue her husband Peter Maivia’s legacy as the leader of Polynesian Pro Wrestling. In fact, the Rock revealed that other wrestling promoters used to send their talent to Polynesian Pro Wrestling to train. And one of the promoters was Vince McMahon. He said, “They would all send their talent to my grandmother.” He further added that in the early 80’s there was a lot of competition, a lot of different promotions. But from Verne Gagne to Jim Crockett to Fritz Von Erich to Vince McMahon, they would all send their talents to her. However, the mention of McMahon was enough for the fans in attendance to start booing.

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But the Rock did manage to continue and grab their attention again as he turned to Cody Rhodes. The Brahma Bull claimed that he has a lot of respect for the Rhodes family. But he also wanted to clarify that their battle is more than business, it’s personal. Then he proceeded to end his speech by honoring his mother, Ata Johnson, the real ‘Final Boss’. As the fans gave her a standing ovation, the Rock retired backstage. His exit while facing a fan in the stands being the last image of the broadcast.

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Lia Maivia was one of the early promoters in the history of wrestling and probably the biggest female promoter of all time. Her influence on the Anoa’i family is undeniable. Unfortunately, the world lost the legend in 2008 at the age of 77. But the wrestling world will forever cherish the legacy she left behind.

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Written by:

Abhishek Kumar Das is a WWE writer at EssentiallySports. Having previously worked as a researcher, journalist, and combat sports editor, Abhishek is uniquely poised to deliver wrestling news that is both straightforward and backed by facts. A die-hard Jeff Hardy fan, and a defender of heels to hell and beyond, he enjoys delving into the different storylines that both WWE and other promotions have to offer.

Edited by:

Joyita Das

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s Unscripted Vince McMahon Reference at Hall of Fame Not Well Received in Philadelphia

The Rock namedrops McMahon while inducting the legendary Lia Maivia

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