While Vince McMahon asked Dwayne Johnson to perform under the name Rocky Maivia, the wrestler-turned-actor admitted in a Wired video that he’s not a big fan of it.
“I hated that name. I hated him. I hated it because the pedigree gave me the opportunity to at least knock on the door,” he said. “I wanted to have my own identity, I wanted to have my own space. So, even though I was very proud to come from where I come from, with my dad and grandfather and my whole family in wrestling, I still wanted to have my own space. And so I said (to McMahon), “I hate this.” And he said, “Okay. Great, well, that’s your name.” And I said, “Okay.” So I accepted it and did it.”
Luckily for Johnson, the foundation of his Rocky Maivia name collapsed during his time in the ring, giving way to the nickname everyone knows him today. “Eventually, when I became the bad guy, they cut it down to ‘The Rock,’” he said. His opponents included fellow actor-turned-wrestler John Cena, who later spoke generally warmly of Johnson despite being his in-ring opponent.
Johnson said the nickname “The Rock” was suggested by his professional wrestling mentor Pat Patterson, who unfortunately died the same year as his father, Rocky Johnson, in 2020. “He said, ‘What if we call you The Rock?’ … I said, “I like it!” And he says, “Okay, you’re The Rock.” And that’s it,” he recalled.