Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and we all know that to be true. From his days in professional wrestling to his transition over to the movies, he is a bonafide megastar. Famously one of the biggest stars in professional wrestling history, many MMA fans likely aren’t aware that his success wasn’t automatic.
Let's delve into his journey, exploring his wrestling career, his potential transition to MMA, and his upcoming role in a film about UFC legend Mark Kerr.
Early Wrestling Career and Transition Considerations
In 1997, Dwayne Johnson was famously on the outs with the company, as fans badly hated him. As a result, he began to look to a different sport. About a decade ago, Johnson said he had already pretty much done everything there was to do in the world of pro wresting. He was a former WWE champion and one of the biggest draws in the history of sports entertainment. Johnson left WWE in 2004 to embark on a movie career, but that wasn’t going as well as he’d hoped.
"There was a time there where I thought, man, I achieved everything I wanted to achieve in WWE, my movie career is floundering a little bit, what do I do?" Johnson said. "I was relatively still young, I think I was 34. I thought, oh well maybe UFC. Maybe I should do something like that.”
Johnson caught the first-ever UFC when he was still in college. But football was his primary focus at that point. He was a defensive lineman for the University of Miami with designs on a pro career. Pro wrestling was always a possibility for him, Johnson said, because it was the family business. His father and his grandfather were pro wrestlers.
Read also: Tiger-Rock Martial Arts in Katy
The Rock was a force of nature in WWE. But, with his competitive juices likely flowing, wanted to excel at another athletic endeavor about 10 years ago. Not unlike Brock Lesnar and his transition to MMA after a wildly successful WWE career. It just never came together for Johnson.
"In my head, I felt like it was at least a two-year process for me to even get in the [cage], let alone the UFC," Johnson said. "I wasn’t quite too sure what to do or what kind of people to put around me at the time, so the idea kind of fizzled out and I continued to stay on the path of movie making.”
Johnson remains a massive fan of the UFC. He said he just finished reading Mark Hunt's biography and was blown away by the "Super Samoan" and his tragic backstory, which included child abuse. Johnson said he's torn between Hunt and his friend Lesnar at UFC 200.
“Anybody, by the way, who is successful in one area and then commits to MMA, I just feel like it’s the toughest f*cking sport in the world,” Johnson said. “I always take my hat off to those guys.”
The serious thought did cross his mind. “Still a big fan and love the sport,” Johnson said.
Read also: Martial Arts in Tallahassee
The Smashing Machine: Dwayne Johnson as Mark Kerr
In late 2023, it was announced that Dwayne Johnson’s passion project about Mark Kerr will finally come to fruition. Some fans likely remember ‘The Rock’ announcing plans for the movie at the UFC 244 pre-fight press conference in 2019. While the film stalled in development hell for years, it finally started filming last year. Quickly, details about the cast began to leak out.
‘The Smashing Machine’ is an upcoming American biographical sports drama film based on the career of UFC veteran Mark Kerr. The film stars Dwayne Johnson as former wrestler and mixed martial artist Mark Kerr, alongside Emily Blunt, Lyndsey Gavin, Oleksandr Usyk, Ryan Bader, and Zoe Kosovic. The slated release date for the film is December 2024.
THE SMASHING MACHINE Trailer (2025) Dwayne Johnson
The man known simply as ‘The Smashing Machine’ was one of the UFC’s earliest stars. The former UFC heavyweight was once one of the biggest stars in the sport but ended his career dealing with addiction and mental issues.
First debuting in 1997, Mark Kerr quickly found success inside the cage. The following year, he signed with the UFC, to compete in a one-night heavyweight tournament. Unsurprisingly, the former collegiate wrestler dominated.
Read also: Metairie Martial Arts
In the movie-titled after Kerr's nickname in the octagon-Johnson looks almost unrecognizable, sporting short hair rather than his signature bald style, and also has his tattoos covered up. Directed by Benny Safdie, the movie will center on both Kerr's career successes and personal life and struggles, including his past addiction to painkillers, per Variety. Kerr, now 55, retired from professional fighting in 2010. The Ohio-born athlete is listed as a cowriter of The Smashing Machine along with Safdie and reshared the first look photo of Johnson as him on his Instagram, along with the caption, "So wild."
Johnson, who works on his fitness regularly, began what he called his "MMA workouts" in April to prepare to play Kerr, who he said was once the "greatest fighter on the planet."
"I'm coming into this in pretty good conditioning and cardio shape, but MMA is a different animal," the actor wrote on Instagram at the time. "And Mark Kerr was a 'one of one' monster. I run to this Smashing Machine journey with deep respect and love for all MMA fighters and the culture. Especially those who have struggled with addiction."
"I've lost so many friends (wrestlers) over the years from addiction and mental health [struggles]," he continued. "This is my love letter to them. Let's get to work."
Physical Transformations for Roles
Johnson joins a growing list of celebs have gone to great lengths to transform their bodies for roles. He said on Instagram in March 2025 that he currently weighed 205 pounds-up from the 172 pounds he weighed for Roofman (pictured, right).
