According to Variety, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has joined the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings, the company is the result of a merger between UFC and WWE last year. Also part of the deal is Johnson gaining ownership of the intellectual property surrounding the name “The Rock”, previously trademarked by WWE.
“I am thrilled to partner with Dwayne and welcome his immense talent to TKO’s Board,” said Ariel Emanuel, CEO of TKO. “Dwayne brings an incredible track record of creating content and building globally recognized consumer brands, and he will play a key role in realizing our ambitions for TKO.”
The Rock said the following in a statement regarding the news:
My grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, and my dad, Rocky ‘Soulman’ Johnson, would’ve never thought this day would come. Which is why I’m very humbled to have a seat at the table that has decades of history and family legacy for me. A table that my family helped to build. Being on the TKO Board of Directors, and taking full ownership of my name, ‘The Rock’, is not only unprecedented, but incredibly inspiring as my crazy life is coming full circle. At my core, I’m a builder who builds for and serves the people, and Ari is building something truly game changing. I’m very motivated to help continue to globally expand our TKO, WWE, and UFC businesses as the worldwide leaders in sports and entertainment — while proudly representing so many phenomenal athletes and performers who show up every day putting in the hard work with their own two hands to make their dreams come true and deliver for our audiences. I’ve been there, I’m still there and this is for them.”
Executive chairman Vince McMahon, a man as responsible for The Rock’s stardom as anybody, said the following: “Very few people on the planet understand the convergence of sports, entertainment, media, and business like Rock. We are proud to have him join the TKO board to help take our company to new heights.”
The Rock has been a busy man of late – in addition to this news, his XFL recently merged with the USFL to form the Unified Football League (UFL), and he is rumored to have a marquee match coming up at this year’s WrestleMania XL. He returned at Raw Day 1 earlier this month and implied he was going after his cousin, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
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