How an Advice from Vince McMahon Helped Dwayne Johnson Turn His Failing Hollywood Career into a $820 Million Empire

Dwayne Johnson came into the limelight of Hollywood after the success of his The Mummy Returns (2001) movie. Two years later, he left WWE to pursue a full-time career in acting. Since then, The Great One has come a long way to become one of the most bankable names in the industry. Well, Dwayne Johnson may have left Vince McMahon long ago, but he often turned to his former boss for guidance. In fact, the latter, with his valuable piece of advice, changed the Hollywood career of The People’s Champion.

In 2014, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dwayne Johnson shed light on various aspects of his personal and professional life. He shared his early life struggles, his battles with depression, and what was the turning point of his successful acting career.

Dwayne Johnson shared how Vince McMahon rekindled his failing Hollywood career

Despite doing over half a dozen movies, The Great One wasn’t feeling his career was booming as he wanted. It was almost 5–7 years after Dwayne Johnson had stopped working for Vince McMahon.

The prime reason behind his dissatisfaction was his old agency (CAA) that him to conform to a Hollywood standard. To get better roles, they advised Johnson to stop going to the gym. In a way, The Great One was asked to reconstruct himself entirely.

For a while, he followed that tip, but soon started feeling less authentic. In 2011, Dwayne Johnson wanted to return to the ring and work for Vince McMahon again. However, CAA strongly opposed the idea, but he did it anyway. The decision, in fact, ended up being a career-changing one for him.

Upon his return, Vince McMahon suggested Dwayne Johnson speak to WME’s Ari Emanuel, the current CEO of the Endeavor Group. He took the advice which led to The Great One signing with WME, which ultimately led to a turnaround in his fortunes and he found success through movies such as Hercules and the Fast and the Furious franchise just to name a few. 

The Hollywood Reporter wrote:

“On [Vince] McMahon’s advice, [Dwayne] Johnson spoke to WME’s Ari Emanuel, who flew to Johnson’s Florida home the next day and invited him and Garcia to a meeting in L.A… Johnson was stunned by their enthusiasm and hunger, a hunger he shared…” 

The Great One recently helped WWE earn $126,000 without even returning to the ring

Dwayne Johnson was a profitable star for Vince McMahon throughout his time in WWE. In fact, even if he is not working there anymore, his name is enough to draw big money. Earlier this year, WWE earned $126,000 by just auctioning the trading card of The Great One.

The card that goes by the name, “Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Black Prizm Card”, saw The Great One delivering “The Rock Bottom” to Steve Austin. WWE sold the said card at a charity auction and made $US 126,000. So far, it is now the most expensive WWE trading card in history.

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