WWE is reportedly not pleased with Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock after a long video post honoring AEW star PAC after his passing. PAC died last Sunday in shocking news that impacted the entire wrestling industry. Many WWE talents had tributes to PAC since they knew him before their WWE careers or even worked with him in WWE when he performed as Neville.
Rock’s comments praising AEW and Tony Khan, outside of the PAC messages, apparently confused WWE management. The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported the company’s reaction:
“Rock and Nick Khan are close. I do not believe that has changed. Were there people in WWE who were very surprised at his wording and what he said, especially with him being on the TKO board of directors? Yes, okay. They were very surprised.
(It’s) not (a problem) that he did the video, but the wording in the video, where he praised them and essentially gave the stamp of, ‘Yeah, you guys are good for business and work hard, and you’re helping make wrestling. That’s not the message I think the company wants out. No one’s going to be mad at him doing the video, but the wording- people brought it up to me.”
Meltzer cited that WWE did not have any issues with Rock posting this video, but the praise of AEW’s impact on the wrestling industry rubbed some people the wrong way. Rock’s close friendship with WWE head honcho Nick Khan led to DJ becoming part of the board of directors to have an executive role for the first time in his wrestling career.
What The Rock Said To Create Controversy
Rock’s video was generally beloved by the wrestling community. Some tribalist fans who only like WWE did criticize him on social media, but it was seen in bad faith from a fringe group. However, management feeling awkward about Rock’s comment does make it a story.
This was the quote from Rock’s Instagram to make WWE employees scratch their heads:
“And as I’ve lost a lot of friends, as we’ve known, so to my friend Tony Khan, I’m so sorry for your loss. My friend QT and the entire locker room—all the locker rooms, the men and women of AEW—I’m so sorry for your loss. As global as professional wrestling is, as global as WWE is, and as much as AEW is growing into this phenomenal wrestling company, wherever you’re wrestling around the world.”
The message classy, but Rock was a rare WWE employee to mention AEW by name and the only one to mention Tony Khan. Bad blood between the two companies have caused many instances of friction in the past.
WWE Already Under Criticism For Countering PAC Tribute Show
WWE has already been in the news for negative reasons this week due to the constant online discourse about wrestling topics. Some fans felt it was disrespectful to counter-program AEW Dynamite on Wednesday night for PAC’s tribute show.
WWE had already scheduled their taped When Worlds Collide event to air on YouTube that night to counter AEW. However, some WWE talents reportedly asked management to change it due to the optics. WWE refused and ran their show against the PAC tribute, but Dynamite still had their best viewership number in years for fans wanting to honor the beloved wrestler.
WWE Management Upset Over The Rock’s AEW PAC Tribute Post