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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Dwayne Johnson, one of the biggest superstars in the history of professional wrestling as The Rock, says that if MMA had been at the level it's at today when he was entering the WWE, he would have gone to MMA.
Asked by Ariel Helwani at MMAFighting.com about whether he would have chosen MMA, Johnson said, "There's no question about it. I love this sport and I've thought about competing, and competing in the Octagon is something I would have loved to have done."
"But I went another route. I'm too handsome (laughs), had to go to Hollywood."
Though his run in the WWF turned WWE was short lived, he remains one of more idolized and revered wrestlers from the boom period that came with the Monday Night War and the Attitude Era in the late 90s. But Johnson's done with that world, and is now a bonafide movie star, headlining multiple roles ranging from kids movies to action. Asked if he would ever return to wrestling, Johnson gave a clear answer.
"No I don't see that," he said. "I accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish in the business. Brock Lesnar was the last guy I wanted to wrestle, I had the privilege of wrestling him all around the world, and now I have the privilege of watching him kick ass and humbly dominate in the UFC."
Penick's Analysis: Johnson says that here, but I'm not sure I entirely buy it. He made himself a star in the WWF/E and turned that into a movie career. He's one of the most charismatic individuals in all of entertainment, and while I believe he'd have been athletically capable of competing in MMA, it was his charisma and his ability to talk on the mic in the WWE that put him where he's at, and I don't know that MMA would have afforded him those opportunities. Still, that's something that is going to continue to hurt the WWE's future prospects, as the young wrestling generation is coming up with the UFC as this mega entity, and a viable career path.
[Dwayne Johnson art by Grant Gould courtesy of PWTorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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