During a recent interview with Esquire magazine, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson talked about the accuracy of the movie “The Wrestler”, Vince McMahon telling him not to perform a blade-job, the famous word “Jabroni” & more. Below are the highlights:
On the accuracy of the movie “The Wrestler”:
“It’s very accurate. I would do blade jobs. I get a call once from the WWE, saying, “Vince McMahon would like to see you in Stamford.” I went to his office and he says, ‘I really think you have a lot of potential, but you’re not ready for the WWE. You should go to Memphis, Tennessee. That’s where I want you to learn the business.” And as I was leaving, he said, “You keep working hard, but don’t go down there and cut your f–king forehead with razor blades, you understand me?’
“In the ’60s and ’70s and early ’80s, the trainers would grind you and eventually they would break something—they would break an ankle in ways that it would heal. It was just the way of the business, to ensure that you learned respect for wrestling. It was crazy. My dad (Rocky Johnson, a WWE Hall of Famer) didn’t break anything on me, but he grinded me out every day for months.”
On his famous word “Jabroni”:
“When I was a kid, it was an inside term that guys would use. When wrestlers wanted to have a private conversation when fans were present, they would start talking carny because they used to wrestle in carnivals. I thought it was so cool. Jabroni was a word that was always used in the derogatory sense. Oh, this jabroni, that jabroni. But the Iron Sheik was famous for saying the word constantly backstage.Jabroni, jabroni, jabroni. Around 1998, I thought, Why can’t I say it on TV? So I started saying it publicly, but the Iron Sheik was known for it.”
