The Rock Wanted to Leave WWE at One Point for Only $12 To His Name

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson remains one of the most popular pro wrestlers to have ever stepped foot inside the squared circle. He was a true icon in WWE and his stock only rose after The Rock made his way to Hollywood, where he is now the highest-paid actor in the industry.

However, it took a long time for The Rock to truly establish himself as one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all time. Before that, The Rock was still very poor and an unknown name.

While speaking to JBL and Gerry Brisco, J.J. Dillon revealed that The Rock came up to him and asked to help him leave WWE as his financial condition was quite poor. This was around the time The Rock was set to receive a massive push.

“Rock, he was going to get the push of his life, but he couldn’t see at that point how really big that opportunity was going to be for him. He had everything. He was multiracial. He had the size, he had athletic ability. He had everything. And I came up there and he said, ‘Can I talk to you privately?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘You have connections everywhere. I’m asking you to help me get out of here and find a place for me to go.’ So I listened to him and I said, ‘There’s more to this story than what you’re telling me. You need to kind of trust me and open up to me and tell me what’s going on in your head, what’s really, really troubling you?

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After talking about it a little bit, he reached into his pocket and he had a $10 bill and a couple of singles. ”And he said, ‘This is all the money I have to my name. I’ve never been in a situation where everybody talks about this great potential that I have. But for me, I have 12 bucks in my pocket and that’s eating away at me.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m glad that you opened up to me and told me because that’s something that can be an easy fix.”

Thankfully, J.J. Dillion would provide some monetary assistance for The Rock and he didn’t have to leave the company. The Rock went on to achieve great heights in both WWE and Hollywood and he will always be grateful to Dillion for the help.

h/t to Fightful for the quotes.