Below are a couple of top WWE & AEW news stories of the day.
• In April, The Wrap published an article claiming that WWF / WWE Legend The Rock was sometimes up to 8 hours late on the set of Red One and that he pees in water bottles to avoid time delays. Speaking to GQ, Dwayne Johnson confirmed the reports were somewhat accurate.
“Yes, that happens,” Johnson acknowledged regarding being late, but added, “Not that amount, by the way. That was a bananas amount. That’s crazy. Ridiculous.” When asked about the water bottles, he admitted, “Yeah. That happens… I’ve said a thousand times: ‘Hey, I’m here. Come and ask me. And I’ll tell you the truth.’”
Chris Evans, Johnson’s co-star in Red One, shared his perspective: “In terms of the guy that I saw, compared to some of the things I’ve seen on other movies with other actors who are not only not conscious of other people’s time and efforts, but they’re unpredictable? I found Dwayne to be — we all know exactly what he’s going to do when he’s going to do it. But this is something that the producers, the director, and it’s all his team, so they all know this. So it’s all basic.
It’s not like he’s late unexpectedly, and I wouldn’t even call it late. He comes in slightly later on certain mornings, but it’s part of the plan. It’s worked into the schedules and everyone knows it, so he shows up when he’s scheduled to show up.”
Evans added that Johnson generously donated a combined $100,000 to various crew members.
WATCH: Former WWE Diva Xia Brookside Exposes Her Buns In A Bikini:
• Earlier this year, MVP and Bobby Lashley chose not to renew their WWE contracts, aiming instead to join AEW. They have since teamed up again with Shelton Benjamin as part of The Hurt Syndicate in Tony Khan’s promotion.
Back in 2023, there were discussions about reuniting The Hurt Business, but WWE released Benjamin in a round of cuts that September. MVP has mentioned that WWE had intended to bring the group back, but those plans were abruptly canceled. He only realized this change when he saw Lashley working with The Street Profits on WWE television.
MVP expressed that he found this handling unprofessional. During an interview on the Drop The Heat podcast, he shared his reasons for leaving WWE, pointing to the new management led by Triple H, who has overseen WWE creative since summer 2022, and his own difficulties working with him.
Here’s what the former United States Champion said:
“I left the first time to go to Japan. This time, I didn’t want to re-sign and I let it be known that I wasn’t going to re-sign because the new management in place… anytime, I don’t care where you work, when new management comes in, it’s good for some people and not for other people.
New people come in, old people go. So I just felt that it was definitely time to go because the new management just wasn’t for me, and I ain’t for him.”
