As noted, The Rock will be appearing as a guest on “Oprah’s Master Class” this Sunday night at 8 p.m. EST. on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Another promotional clip from the show has been released, as seen above, and features The Rock talking about WWE.
The Rock spoke about feeling angst early into his WWE run due to the fact that he couldn’t be himself.
“I remember I had great angst every night before I went out, because I was not able to be myself,” said The Rock.
He also commented on getting booed as a babyface at his first WrestleMania event:
He continued, describing the time he appeared at his first-ever WrestleMania as a babyface and was booed by the fans, noting it was when he realized he needed to make some changes.
“It was a sobering moment,” said The Rock. “And that was the beginning of the end of my initial run in the WWE. A few weeks later, I tore a tendon in my knee, and I was out for the rest of the summer. I came to the realization before I went back that it wasn’t me, personally, that they didn’t like. It was that I wasn’t being me.”
The Rock said while he was on the sidelines recovering, he received a call from Vince McMahon suggesting that he turn heel when he returned.
“He said, ‘When you come back, we could continue to shove you down people’s throats or we could turn you heel because they want to boo you anyway,'” Rock said. “I said, ‘I think it’s a great idea.'”
“About a month later, I was the hottest heel in the company and things were on fire,” said The Rock. “And the greatest lesson about that is be you. … The most powerful thing you can be is yourself.”
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