“The Fans Made Him Their Villain”: 70 Years Old WWE Legend Reveals Why the Crowd Booed Dwayne Johnson Prior to Leaving Pro Wrestling for Hollywood

With his action-packed films, Dwayne Johnson has grown to become one of the greatest Hollywood stars. However, first, he was a legendary WWE superstar before embarking on his majestic Hollywood career, which rocketed him to worldwide fame. He experienced popularity in WWE, just as he has in Hollywood.

He carried on the legacy of his WWE Hall of Fame-inducted father, Rocky Johnson, to become the most adored and admired superstar. However, in some of these instances, the People’s Champion encountered jeers from his own people. Additionally, the WWE legend recently remembered such incidents.

WWE fans will indeed remember SummerSlam 2002 as the night when Brock Lesnar, then on the rise after his professional debut, defeated The Great One to win his first WWE Championship. Additionally, The Rock and The Beast Incarnate participated in their epic confrontation simultaneously, the fans began booing Brahma Bull during the bout.

Well, given that he was the WWE’s most charismatic performer, it was surprising. However, the reason for the boos was clear since fans already knew that Johnson would depart the company following the match in order to pursue his Hollywood career.

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Being a favorite of the crowd, The Rock’s departure from the business infuriated them to no end. Recently, Jim Ross just shed light on the entire situation.

Jim Ross discusses the occasion when Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock’s fans, deserted him

On the most recent episode of Grilling JR, Jim Ross discussed the contest between The Rock and Lesnar at WWE SummerSlam 2002. Additionally, they discussed how the fans felt when they realized their beloved Rock was departing and began to jeer at him.

He stated, “It’s not that the first time it happened. The fans are very sensitive to the standpoint that, we supported you, we bought your shirts and pay-per-views, and done everything we could do. Now, you’re bolting on us. It’s like getting deserted.”

“It was a tough scenario. And you just have to go with what you’re hearing and seeing. You can’t make something there that isn’t there. So, on that night, Rock the babyface wasn’t there. The fans made him their villain because you’re leaving us, and you hurt my feelings. [1:54:57-1:55:43]”

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Not because they hate The Rock or anything of the kind, but since he was leaving them at the height of his stardom, the WWE fans were upset to see him go. Nevertheless, he later made a comeback and competed in the historic WrestleMania 19 bout against Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Subsequently, The Great One quit the company after that and occasionally came back. And once more, following a lengthy absence, he is slated to make a return at WrestleMania 39.