History YMMV / DwayneJohnson

* LoveToHate: The Rock is great as a babyface. He's ''superb'' as a heel. He's been particularly delightfully hateable during his 2024 "Final Boss" run, aligning himself with Wrestling/TheBloodline to stop Wrestling/CodyRhodes from finally achieving his dream of becoming WWE Champion. Despite his despicable behaviour, such as threatening to whip Cody bloody and then hand his blood-stained belt to Cody's mother and threatening to have a referee fired if he didn't allow the Rock to cheat outrageously at ''Wrestlemania XL'', the run has been one of the most popular of his career. He even managed to make one of his iconic lines from ''Film/{{Moana}}'' genuinely chilling.

* LoveToHate: The Rock is great as a babyface. He's ''superb'' as a heel.

** [[RedBaron "The People's Champion"]] was also a title that was originally used by a much different sports entertainer: UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli. Johnson initially borrowed the title of a beloved athlete to piss people off (he first coined it while turning heel), but after a chance encounter with Ali's family, they encouraged him to keep using the name.

* NightmareFuel: The Rock's NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on Wrestling/CodyRhodes during the 3/25/24 episode of ''RAW'', which turned the entire IWC's heads for just how sudden and ''violent'' it was. After smashing various objects on [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown an already-exhausted Cody]] (having spent a bunch of the episode brawling with Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa), he dragged Cody out of the arena [[BattleInTheRain and into the rain]] to deliver [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence a frightening smackdown that caused Cody to become visibly bloodied]], a display that had frankly been unheard of in WWE since the company went PG decades ago. While mitigated a bit by some of the Rock's usual quick wit and [[BlackComedy sense of humor]], it's easily one of the darkest segments he's ever been involved in, not helped by the fact [[{{Sadist}} he's very visibly enjoying making Cody suffer]].

* NightmareFuel: The Rock's NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on Wrestling/CodyRhodes during the 3/25/24 episode of ''RAW'', which turned the entire IWC's heads for just how sudden and ''violent'' it was. After smashing various objects on [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown an already-exhausted Cody]] (having spent a bunch of the episode brawling with Jey Uso and Solo Sikoa), he dragged Cody out of the arena [[BattleInTheRain and into the rain]] to deliver [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence a frightening smackdown that caused Cody to become visibly bloodied]], a display that had frankly been unheard of in WWE since the company went PG decades ago. While mitigated a bit by some of the Rock's usual quick wit and [[BlackComedy sense of humor]], it's easily one of the darkest segments he's ever been involved in, not helped by the fact [[{{Sadist}} he's very visibly enjoying making Cody suffer]].

-->'''The Rock''': ''(while drawing blood from Cody's face)'' [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Get in close, cameraman]]! Look at your boy, Mama Rhodes! ''Look at the blood.'' At [=WrestleMania=], ''this'' is what's gonna happen to your son! Your son's blood ''on Johnson's hands''.

* NightmareFuel: The Rock's NoHoldsBarredBeatdown on Wrestling/CodyRhodes during the 3/25/24 episode of ''RAW'', which turned the entire IWC's heads for just how sudden and ''violent'' it was. After smashing various objects on [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown an already-exhausted Cody]] (having spent a bunch of the episode brawling with Jey Uso and Solo Sikoa), he dragged Cody out of the arena [[BattleInTheRain and into the rain]] to deliver [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence a frightening smackdown that caused Cody to become visibly bloodied]], a display that had frankly been unheard of since WWE went PG decades ago. While mitigated a bit by some of the Rock's usual quick wit and [[BlackComedy sense of humor]], it's easily one of the darkest segments he's ever been involved in, not helped by the fact [[{{Sadist}} he's very visibly enjoying making Cody suffer]].

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: He went from a generic babyface who got booed by the crowd for being so bland to "The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment".

** This briefly reignited something fierce in early 2024. Amidst the chaos of mass rebooking following injuries in WWE talent and a heaping dose of scrutiny towards the company following the latest lawsuit against Wrestling/VinceMcMahon, The Rock returned to challenge Wrestling/RomanReigns at the main event of ''[=WrestleMania=] XL''. The fanbase went nuclear with rage because Wrestling/CodyRhodes had ''just'' won the 2024 ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble'' and was seeking to finish ''his'' personal rivalry with Reigns once and for all (something that especially developed high expectations following his ''[=WrestleMania=]'' loss against Reigns in the previous year), with many critics feeling that a 51-year-old Legend forcing himself into the main event scene out of nowhere was a blatant burial for Cody and a clear case of WWE hitting the panic button [[WolverinePublicity for any remotely positive mainstream publicity]] (not helped by how around the time, Johnson became rather controversial in for his backstage politicking in Hollywood[[note]], perhaps best exemplified by his role as Film/{{Black Adam|2022}} in the Film/DCExtendedUniverse, where he made his character, a CListFodder best known for being a villain of Shazam, into having little relation with said character's DCEU incarnation, and instead being built up into having a future fight with Creator/HenryCavill's Superman, only for Black Adam's solo film to be a critical and commercial disappointment and one of the factors in the DCEU being rebooted and thus the proposed fight with Superman never happening[[/note]]), resulting in chants of [=#WeWantCody=] and massive opposition towards Rocky so severe that he ''[[MisplacedRetribution and his daughter, Ava]],'' began receiving regular death threats. Fortunately, WWE was able to make lemonade out of the situation in the ''[=WrestleMania=] XL'' kickoff by Cody forcefully reasserting his challenge to Reigns in main-eventing the show, with The Rock [[FaceHeelTurn turning heel]] for the first time in over two decades and siding with Reigns, pivoting back to the original plans and providing a much-anticipated new development for The People's Champ who went back to his more arrogant ways.

* TearJerker: His reaction to Wrestling/OwenHart's accident, namely trying to hijack an ambulance that was at the arena for a later match and drive Owen to the hospital himself. Little bits of moments of awesome and heartwarming in there, due to The Rock's sheer determination to save him.
** A Kayfabe example would be his reaction to learning Rikishi ran over Steve Austin so that Rock's main competition for the WWF Championship would go away, citing how the company always pushed "the great white hope" and never let the Samoans on the roster get to the top of the card. The look of utter confusion and pain in Rock's face is palpable through the whole promo.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: On the night The Rock was revealed as the host of [[Wrestling/{{Wrestlemania}} Wrestlemania 27]], the last thing we saw before commercial break preceding The Rock's appearance was a limo pulling up outside of the arena. The limo door opens and the camera panning low so that all we could see coming out is what appears to be the feet of a woman wearing high heels, assumed by the commentators to be the host. Of course, it wasn't the host, and she was never seen again. Of course, this is The Rock we're talking about; it's not impossible to assume that he had a very leggy lady friend with him in the limo.

** This briefly reignited something fierce in early 2024. Amidst the chaos of mass rebooking following injuries in WWE talent and a heaping dose of scrutiny towards the company following the latest lawsuit against Wrestling/VinceMcMahon, The Rock returned to challenge Wrestling/RomanReigns at the main event of ''[=WrestleMania=] XL''. The fanbase went nuclear with rage because Wrestling/CodyRhodes had ''just'' won the 2024 ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble'' and was seeking to finish ''his'' personal rivalry with Reigns once and for all (something that especially developed high expectations following his ''[=WrestleMania=]'' loss against Reigns in the previous year), with many critics feeling that a 51-year-old Legend forcing himself into the main event scene out of nowhere was a blatant burial for Cody and a clear case of WWE hitting the panic button [[WolverinePublicity for any remotely positive mainstream publicity]] (not helped by how around the time, Johnson became rather controversial in for his backstage politicking in Hollywood), resulting in chants of [=#WeWantCody=] and massive opposition towards Rocky so severe that he ''[[MisplacedRetribution and his daughter, Ava]],'' began receiving regular death threats. Fortunately, WWE was able to make lemonade out of the situation in the ''[=WrestleMania=] XL'' kickoff by Cody forcefully reasserting his challenge to Reigns in main-eventing the show, with The Rock [[FaceHeelTurn turning heel]] for the first time in over two decades and siding with Reigns, pivoting back to the original plans and providing a much-anticipated new development for The People's Champ who went back to his more arrogant ways.

* EvilIsCool: The Rock became the most villainous he's ever been with his "Final Boss" persona in 2024, fusing his expected [[AffablyEvil wit and charisma]] with [[KnightOfCerebus a genuinely unsettling level of ruthlessness and visceral threat factor that he had never displayed before]]. True to his self-applied moniker, this is a Rock you ''really'' don't want to fuck with, and it's easily become some of The Rock's most acclaimed work.

** This briefly reignited something fierce in early 2024. Amidst the chaos of mass rebooking following injuries in WWE talent and a heaping dose of scrutiny towards the company following the latest lawsuit against Wrestling/VinceMcMahon, The Rock returned to challenge Wrestling/RomanReigns at the main event of ''[=WrestleMania=] XL''. The fanbase went nuclear with rage because Wrestling/CodyRhodes had ''just'' won the 2024 ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble'' and was seeking to finish ''his'' personal rivalry with Reigns once and for all (something that especially developed high expectations following his ''[=WrestleMania=]'' loss against Reigns in the previous year), with many critics feeling that a 51-year-old Legend forcing himself into the main event scene out of nowhere was a blatant burial for Cody and a clear case of WWE hitting the panic button [[WolverinePublicity for any remotely positive mainstream publicity]] (not helped by how around the time, Johnson became rather controversial in for his backstage politicking in Hollywood), resulting in chants of [=#JusticeForCodyRhodes=] and massive opposition towards Rocky so severe that he ''[[MisplacedRetribution and his daughter, Ava]],'' began receiving regular death threats. Fortunately, WWE was able to make lemonade out of the situation in the ''[=WrestleMania=] XL'' kickoff by Cody forcefully reasserting his challenge to Reigns in main-eventing the show, with The Rock [[FaceHeelTurn turning heel]] for the first time in over two decades and siding with Reigns, pivoting back to the original plans and providing a much-anticipated new development for The People's Champ.

* OlderThanTheyThink: He had a completely different gimmick, but "The Rock" was the ring name of Wrestling/DonMuraco in Hawaii first. He gave his blessing to this newer (and completely different) Rock, and Johnson didn't try to keep it a secret (but WWE seemed to).

* XPacHeat: He's one of the most famous cases of attaining and then escaping this. At the very beginning of his career his gimmick was "Rocky Maivia", a squeaky-clean third-generation superstar who was [[CreatorsPet so pushed and overexposed as the Next Big Thing]] that fans were sick of him from the moment he set foot in the ring. He was RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap when, [[ThenLetMeBeEvil in response to the fans' hatred]], he undertook a FaceHeelTurn and joined Wrestling/TheNationOfDomination as just "The Rock", which added some much-needed edge to his character and allowed him to cut loose with his formidable mic skills, letting him explode as a true star.

* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: He's shed the image of pro wrestling acting hack many times over. First in ''Film/BeCool'', and again in 2013 with ''Film/{{Snitch}}'' and ''Film/PainAndGain'', where many reviewers said he was the best part about the movies, and later still in ''WesternAnimation/{{Moana}}'' as the voice of Maui.