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00:00Let's talk about the realist. Ladies and gentlemen, joining us now is the most famous person that I've ever encountered. Potentially the most famous person on earth right now. I think he is. He walks into any room in any country on planet, and let's just say another planet too. Everybody would say, what the hell is that? And then somebody would say, you know what that is? And they say, that's yes. Ladies and gentlemen, the director of the board at TKO, obviously massively successful.
00:30actor, Mount Rushmore, professional wrestler, friend of the program. Ladies and gentlemen, Dwayne, The Rock Johnson.
00:40You look jacked. You look jacked, Rock. How you doing, brother?
00:44Wow, you Papa Tui, you're an handsome son of a bitch. Listen, you, look at you. How are you feeling after last night?
00:52Well, I went to a medical facility in Las Vegas. Thank you for asking. I did not expect Gunther to try to pop my head off of my body,
00:59but he attacks Michael Cole. Obviously, you and I both. You attack one of my boys. I have to do something.
01:07I didn't know we were getting into a fight. I turn around. Massive mistake. I get it.
01:11And then he snatched me up. And I went night-night. He sent me to Dreamland last night right there in Las Vegas.
01:19And I know you've probably had to experience this a few times. The boys jumped the barricade to try to get in there.
01:24Just quick, you're the director of the board here. What's all your security doing attacking my guys
01:30and not getting Gunther off my neck? Rock, what the hell's going on?
01:34Well, first of all, you know, when your guys hop the barrier like that, you know, I text you and I said,
01:40I love that shit because if it's on for one, it's on for everybody. And that was phenomenal.
01:47So I love those boys jumping that barrier. And they had to get in it because your boys came with that heat, man.
01:52But by the way, it looks like he's got that thing on pretty snug around your head.
01:57You're turning purple.
01:57Yeah. Yeah, I was. And I obviously witnessed it back later in real time because at this moment right here, the body's there, but I'm not.
02:06Sure.
02:06You know, and whenever I come back to it, I have the hurricane. Shout out to the hurricane.
02:12And Shane Helms is right above me. He's like, you're OK, bud. He's like, doesn't feel like it.
02:18All of a sudden, I'm looking up at the lights. I don't know what's going on here.
02:21And then I see my boys. See, there's a hurricane there. Thank you for helping me, Shane.
02:24The man Petey there, creator of the Canadian Destroyer, also helping me out in that entire thing.
02:29All the boys are there. And then Gunther just kind of walks away.
02:32You need to get this guy under control, Rock. This is your company.
02:35Come on.
02:35You need to get this guy under control.
02:37Hey, listen, it may be my company, but at the end of the day, it's WWE and it's pro wrestling.
02:42So anything can happen. So you got to get your shit together.
02:48Let's talk about WrestleMania weekend.
02:50We got fed over a bunch of numbers about the success that it was.
02:56The attendance, obviously insane.
02:58The merch, absolutely outrageous.
03:01The attendance at the WWE world.
03:03Everything up into the right for the WWE right now.
03:07And obviously, the WWE is hotter than it's ever been.
03:11The world loves it.
03:12WrestleMania is its biggest weekend.
03:14Did you expect this going in?
03:15And what are your thoughts on the weekend as a whole,
03:17whenever you see stuff like this being, you know, kind of reported on two days after it ends?
03:22Well, you never like to look at the scoreboard, obviously.
03:26And you never think that, hey, the bell is rung and everything is over.
03:29So you put your best foot forward.
03:31You converge everything.
03:33It was a big build up to WrestleMania.
03:35Obviously, you were a big part of that.
03:37And the show was a big part of that.
03:39I was very happy, man, to see these numbers.
03:41And it's really reflective, I think, of WWE, the growth of WWE.
03:45I think the excitement of WWE and my goal and my job and my role is to continue to,
03:52as I always like to say, just cast the net further.
03:55Cast the net out there.
03:56Let's transcend professional wrestling and still keep it professional wrestling and the anchor of it,
04:03but reach for more.
04:04And so I love that every year we keep breaking records, knock on wood,
04:09and we keep gaining new fans, which I thought was great.
04:12And I do want to point out, number one is I want to thank you
04:15and thank the boys here on the show for the incredible build up.
04:18As you know, I'm always sitting you up on the side, man.
04:20Keep it going.
04:21Thank you, brother.
04:22Thank you for all the work.
04:23And also, you know, I want to point out that some of these matches,
04:26first of all, I was very happy with the show.
04:28A couple of things I thought could have been better,
04:30which we're going to talk about here in a second.
04:31But overall, man, everyone, the work rate of every single performer,
04:38women and men, man, was dynamic.
04:41I thought we made, I thought we discovered and created a lot of big stars with big potential.
04:48Number one, Jey Uso, yee, very happy for my family there.
04:52Uso, yes, man, that was a big, big night for him.
04:55Big night for our family, yee.
04:57Yeah.
04:57Big night for our family there with the, I don't know what he's,
05:01my B is Fitu Simonu's, Johnson's, Fafita's, Snooka's.
05:05I mean, just all of us Polynesians, very proud of him.
05:08I also want to point out Jacob Fatu.
05:10Yes.
05:11And how you think about what I love about Jacob is, you know,
05:15the last event I was there, I went backstage.
05:18I gave him the biggest hug, man.
05:20And, you know, he had tears in his eyes saying, this saved my life.
05:25And so I think when you have that kind of performer who is pulling and digging in to something
05:31and delivering his soul and passion to something that has saved his life, man, you're flying
05:36at a different level.
05:37And fans could feel that.
05:39And fans love that.
05:40This is why the guy goes out there and he's supposed to be the, quote, heel in the match.
05:44And they're cheering the hell out of him.
05:46They're chanting his name.
05:46And that told me immediately, man, there is, that's a, there's a big future there with
05:51Jacob.
05:51And I can't wait.
05:52I thought the girls, all the women, by the way, they worked their ass off.
05:55They stole a huge portion of the show.
05:58And, um, let's see, I think, um, and the first night's main event with Seth, Punk, and
06:03Roman, I thought was fantastic.
06:06We'll get into the second night main event too.
06:07I know you got some questions about that first night's main event.
06:10Yeah, I do.
06:11I do.
06:11Second night main event, definitely.
06:12We got some questions too.
06:13I got some brand new shoes.
06:14I cannot wait.
06:14You know, the bullies brought me some of these brand new shoes.
06:17So we will, we will certainly ask, uh, uh, about the, the second night main event, because
06:22obviously you are a massive piece of that entire thing.
06:24But let's talk about that first night main event.
06:27Paul Heyman is obviously somebody that you've known for your entire life.
06:30I would assume Roman, same exact way.
06:33He's known him since he was a little child.
06:35Uh, literally Paul Heyman.
06:36I asked him whenever he was wise man for Roman Reigns.
06:40I said, when did you know Roman was the guy?
06:41He goes, when Roman was six years old, he walked into the locker room.
06:44And I knew, and he gave like this full answer about like, I knew this was going to be the
06:48next one.
06:48So he's been around your guys' family literally forever.
06:52Then CM Punk's his best friend.
06:54He does the favor for CM Punk.
06:55Then he hired to CM Punk.
06:58Okay.
06:59Did not expect that.
07:00In my mind, I'm on the side.
07:02I'm like, yes, he's back with our tribal chief.
07:05Yes.
07:06The bloodline is back.
07:07And look at Roman, who was absolutely shredded.
07:10Shout out to the discipline that Roman Reigns had leading in to WrestleMania.
07:15Maybe the best he's looked ever, legitimately.
07:19So then Paul Heyman obviously says, CM Punk, my right arm's going to your nuts.
07:23You're not going to win this one.
07:25Who do you think I'm here with?
07:26My tribal chief.
07:27And then lo and behold, just a few minutes later, hi-yah.
07:31And then he dangles that thing around to make sure he gets the whole entirety of it.
07:36And then obviously Paul Heyman hands the chair to Seth freaking Rollins.
07:41Whenever you see something like this unfold as another chair shot, as if it was the end
07:46of the shield yet again.
07:48And then last night, Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman take a victory lap basically.
07:51And then they add Braun Breaker to the mix.
07:56What are your thoughts?
07:57What are your thoughts on how that goes down, how that ends, and how Paul Heyman's a snake?
08:02He's a snake.
08:03He is.
08:03Ah, well, let me get to that part in a second.
08:06Let's talk about Braun Breaker.
08:07I love what he's been doing lately.
08:09I think that he's really shown out and shown up.
08:11I feel like, you know, what happens, and I went through this too as well, there's this
08:15maturation process, what happens when you come into the world of WWE.
08:19And if you got a little bit of heat to you in a good way, good heat, and you got a little
08:23bit of potential to you, the company will see that.
08:26And they'll start putting you in positions where we see how, not only how you react to
08:30those positions, but more importantly, how the fans react to it.
08:34So Braun's been put in these positions, man, where he has really risen to the occasion.
08:38I'm not surprised.
08:39He looks like a million dollars.
08:41He's believable.
08:42He's legitimate.
08:43And he comes from a hell of a bloodline in the Steiner family, which as we know.
08:46So I was happy to see that last night, happy to see the way it went down.
08:49The first night's main event, the finish of that main event, I loved it.
08:54I loved every second of it because, you know, I watched, I was at home on my couch with the
09:01fans.
09:02And as you know, I was texting you throughout the show and texting you throughout that
09:05main event.
09:05Keep it going.
09:06This is amazing.
09:07Stay in that zone.
09:08Stay in that zone.
09:09And, but when I was watching it the first night, that main event, I know the finishes
09:13of what's going to happen.
09:15And I know all the finishes, but I don't, I want to not know how they get there.
09:21That's the thing.
09:21So, especially if I'm watching at home, so I'm watching it and I watched how they got
09:26there and I loved it.
09:27I thought it was dramatic.
09:28I thought it was exactly what it needs to be, but also Paul's been, he was in a way
09:33raised in this business, grew up in this business, love this business.
09:37I knew him back in my grandfather, my grandmother days, like way back in the day when he was just
09:42a kid.
09:43So the, you know, his passion for the business goes way, way back, but also his intellect
09:49goes way back.
09:50And he understands he's a big thinker.
09:53He's a long game thinker.
09:54Um, I have a cool fact about the final boss and Paul Heyman, which I want to share in
09:58a second, uh, after I talk about him, but I loved how it all went down and I loved that
10:03ultimately it came down to Seth and Paul and what that's going to look like.
10:07And now we'll see how it all unfolds.
10:09We have the rest of the spring.
10:10We have the rest of the summer, but I loved every moment of that.
10:13You know, and look, I, I, I thought, shout out to Roman.
10:16He came in incredible shape.
10:17I think every year he is dialing it in more and more.
10:21I think this idea of people calling him a part-timer really fuels the fire in him to
10:27show you, man, I, I'm a lot of things and you want to call me a part-timer, but the company
10:33is still on my back and now watch what I do.
10:35And he comes in incredible shape.
10:37I thought Seth is always, always delivers.
10:39He's my, he's our Superman.
10:40I love that guy connected with him after the show.
10:43He's just phenomenal.
10:44You could count on him around every corner.
10:48What I love about Seth is you can continue to see him grow and you can continue to see.
10:54It's like, you know, when I told Cody, uh, a month and a half ago or maybe longer, Hey,
10:59I don't want your title.
11:00I want your soul.
11:02And then Seth followed it up.
11:04I think the following week says, I don't want your soul.
11:06I want that, you know, and he, as simple as he made it, he still made it.
11:10powerful.
11:11And then here we are.
11:12So I love what those guys did last night.
11:14I loved it.
11:14Okay.
11:14I'm sorry.
11:15On, on Saturday night.
11:16I loved it.
11:17Now let's get to your soul talk.
11:19Okay.
11:19Let's get to the soul talk because what we saw at elimination chamber, when, you know,
11:26you ordered the, uh, to John Cena and we see John Cena's face go from, Oh, you can't
11:35see me hustle loyalty respect to the last time is now.
11:40And then he shakes Cody's hands and then he kicks them right in the dong.
11:45Okay.
11:45And then obviously all roads lead to the main event of WrestleMania, WrestleMania Sunday night
11:51two in Las Vegas.
11:52Here we go.
11:53So what were your thoughts whenever you're watching that, obviously you're pulling for
11:58John Cena.
11:59Who's your guy.
12:00Are you texting him before the match?
12:03Are you giving them heads up?
12:04Was there a thought of you coming in?
12:06Maybe having to involve yourself a little bit, just in case Cena wasn't able to get the
12:11job done because the American nightmare, Cody Rhodes in the middle of his prime right
12:15now in the middle of his run.
12:16What were your kind of thoughts going into the night?
12:19And, uh, what was your expectation of John Cena going against a very, very, very great champion
12:25in Cody Rhodes?
12:27Very great champion in Cody Rhodes.
12:28Now keep in mind for us here and all the fans speaking as DJ is rock director of the
12:33board, um, and not final boss.
12:36I got to tell you that, uh, let's start with the ending and let's start with John becoming
12:41the 17 time heavyweight champion and becoming legitimizing himself as being without question.
12:49The goat period is on Mount Rushmore.
12:53Now got to kick a guy off to put him on.
12:57I think now dusty goes in the back.
12:59He was always on my Mount Rushmore.
13:01Uh, he goes on the back there with me.
13:03I'll be raising my eyebrows back there in the back of Mount Rushmore.
13:06But, um, you know, I think that, uh, you know, the way John at the end of the night,
13:12John raising that title, that was the bottom line.
13:15That was the North star.
13:17And I loved it.
13:18And I love that moment.
13:19I think he's going to go on to have this insane run as a heel.
13:23And what I love about this, what I love about John is, you know, I like to think that
13:28I keep not only my finger on the pulse of things, you and I have talked about this.
13:32Don't keep your finger on the pulse of, put your whole hand on, on the pulse of things.
13:36And that way things meaning the fans and their sentiment.
13:39And I love that the fans are so engaged.
13:42They're so connected to John's heel run.
13:44Now I see a few fans saying that, oh, well, I really don't believe he's a bad guy.
13:49So he's playing a bad guy.
13:51But here's the thing.
13:51You don't have to believe that he's a bad guy.
13:53You know why?
13:54Because he's not a bad guy.
13:56He's a good guy.
13:57Good guy.
13:58I mean, I've known the guy for 20 years.
13:59We've gone up and down to hell and back.
14:02We talk all the time, text all the time.
14:04He's not a bad guy.
14:05He's telling the truth now.
14:07And you could feel that in his delivery, man, because he's telling the truth.
14:11This is 25 years of imagine going out every single night for 25 years, every night, regardless
14:19of where you're at, and know that you're going to get cheered and know you're going to get
14:23booed.
14:23And in some places, it's even harder.
14:25You're going to get booed out of the building.
14:27That's a hard psychological place to be.
14:31I give John so much credit.
14:32When this heel turned, we talked about this heel turn a few months ago, and then he did
14:36it in Toronto Elimination Chamber, which we're going to get to in a second.
14:40I said, brother, I give you so much credit, and I hope you are exhilarated right now, because
14:45what you are attempting to do takes guts, and you are putting it all on the line, because
14:50there's no blueprint for a heel John Cena.
14:53It's not like we could go back and look at the books and go, okay, when John turned heel
14:57back in 2015, it worked well.
15:00Here's what happened well.
15:01Here's how we're going to make it improve.
15:03We don't have that.
15:04So he was creating it as he went along.
15:09He was crossing T's and dotting I's as he moved forward, and I thought he was brilliant,
15:14and I can't wait to see this heel run for the rest of the year.
15:16Who knows what's going to happen?
15:18I love that there is a specific amount of dates that we have John for, and I love his
15:24connection to the audience.
15:25Again, he's not a bad guy.
15:26He's not trying to play bad.
15:27He's just talking the truth.
15:29And he said, hey, I'm fed up with this shit in terms of this really messed up relationship
15:34that we had.
15:35Okay.
15:35So with the fans.
15:37So I got a call about a month before Elimination Chamber.
15:45I get a call from Ari Emanuel, who we know, owns TKO.
15:49TKO owns WWE.
15:51He's been my longtime business partner and one of my best friends for over 20 years.
15:54He said, we need help at Elimination Chamber.
15:57Ticket sales are a little slow.
15:59But beyond that, he goes, what we are finding is with Elimination Chamber, it's become the
16:04pay-per-view that's been interesting.
16:05Fans have had fun.
16:06But it's also the conduit to WrestleMania.
16:10And how do we create an Elimination Chamber that people must tune in to see?
16:17How do we create that?
16:19And he goes, right now, we don't have that.
16:22And he said, well, the final boss show up.
16:24I said, well, let me give it some thought, and let me get back to you.
16:26So I gave it some thought.
16:27I got back to Ari.
16:28I got back to Triple H and Nick.
16:29We had a call.
16:30And I said, I have an idea.
16:33What's most important to the final boss?
16:35The most important thing to the final boss isn't titles.
16:37It's not money.
16:38It's not fame.
16:39Been there, done that, and grateful for that.
16:43Final boss wants your soul.
16:45And what does that mean?
16:48What that means, that doesn't mean, hey, the final boss wants you to act like this, be
16:52like this at his beck and call, and treat you like crap, and make you do all these things
16:57that are unbecoming or embarrassing.
16:58That's not what the final boss wants.
17:00That's not how the final boss lies.
17:01No, no, no, no.
17:02What that means is, whatever you could think of in your head, so Cody Rhodes, whatever
17:06dreams you have, whatever ambitions you have, even if they're dark, even if they're amazing
17:12and they're full of light, even if they're scary, whatever those are, tell the final boss
17:17he's going to make it all happen.
17:18You wave that magic wand, he'll make it all happen.
17:22So when it comes to giving me your soul, giving the final boss your soul, that is what
17:27you want, not what the final boss wants.
17:29And so what does the final boss get out of that?
17:32It gets your soul for life.
17:34That's what the final boss gets out of that.
17:36So now we go into Elimination Chamber with this idea of, will Cody Rhodes sell his soul
17:42to the final boss?
17:43And my thought at that time, and you and I might have even talked, I know we talked about
17:47this, was it was a litmus test to find out, in my opinion, how will fans respond if Cody
17:57sold his soul to the final boss?
17:59Let's get a temperature check on this.
18:02Let's establish it.
18:05Let's anchor it in.
18:06And you come to find out that there were a lot of fans who were saying, sell your soul.
18:14This is going to be crazy.
18:16Whatever it is, it's compelling.
18:17It's going to be great.
18:18Let's do it.
18:19Sell your soul.
18:20So I was an advocate of that, not turning Cody heels soon.
18:25But eventually, down the line, I like the idea of that because Cody's a smart guy.
18:30He's an intelligent guy.
18:31He's a ring general.
18:32And I think this idea of, you give him a reason to turn, way down the road, by the way, you
18:38give him a reason to turn, not based on titles, not based on this, but it's his soul and what
18:43that means that affects generations.
18:46It's transcendent beyond pro wrestling.
18:48And fans were loving it.
18:50As we got closer to Elimination Chamber, we were kicking ideas around, myself and Triple
18:56H.
18:57And that's the fun part, by the way.
18:58I've been kicking ideas around Triple H for 20 years, dude.
19:01He's always having a great time with him and Nick and my team as well.
19:06And Triple H said, you know, what about this?
19:10What about John turning?
19:14I said, I love it.
19:15I love it.
19:16The next question is, you got to talk to John, see how he feels about it.
19:19And you know, in a moment where you have this shift and click moment, and it happened to
19:23me when I was a pure baby face.
19:26I got booed out of the building around the world.
19:29And they took the title off me, my rookie year.
19:32And they sent me home the summer of 97.
19:36And I didn't know what I was going to do.
19:38I just knew this is not going to work for me.
19:40I don't even know if I have a future in pro wrestling.
19:43I get a call from Vince and said, I'm going to bring you back as a heel and be part of
19:47the nation of domination.
19:48I said, that's great.
19:49I love it.
19:49But just give me two minutes on the microphone to speak from the heart.
19:53And he did that.
19:54And things changed immediately that night.
19:56It's the same thing with John.
19:57John loved this idea of turning heel.
19:59But he's like, but you know what?
20:00There's something, there's an anchor here that I'm going to root it in, which is a real
20:04thing that I've been experiencing over the years, past 20, 25 years.
20:08So when we were moving forward with John and this idea of him getting crowned at WrestleMania
20:18and becoming 17 and turning heel, I'm sorry, and then being a heel champion, I knew then
20:26the best thing for the final boss, we've established this idea of Cody's soul.
20:31We can always come back to it.
20:32I did feel, and I made the call, I don't want to be involved in that.
20:37Step back.
20:38Let the final boss step back, back into the shadows.
20:41Let all the spotlight go to John.
20:43Let it go to Cody.
20:44Let's not make it about Cody's soul eventually or John's soul.
20:49No, let's let them do what they do.
20:52And I called John after Elimination Chamber, spoke to him, called Cody, and I said, I think
20:58the final boss's work is done.
21:00We've established it.
21:01We just pulled off the greatest angle in the history of professional wrestling, other
21:05than Hulk Hogan turning heel back in the 90s.
21:08I said, this is amazing.
21:10We have six weeks.
21:11Now, let's build.
21:13You guys go and crush it, and I'll be right there with you, and I'm always here if you
21:17need me.
21:18But I think it's best for the final boss not to be involved in that finish.
21:21match, you guys go.
21:22They had six weeks to plan for that.
21:26So, I love the finish, finish of the match.
21:32I would have finessed things a little differently on how they got there, but that's just me
21:36creatively.
21:37There are a lot of minds in the room.
21:39That's my thought.
21:40But still, ultimately, the bottom line was, I love John getting 17.
21:44Um, and I never had a concern about John pulling this off.
21:49My thoughts are always to Cody because of what we've established with him and his story
21:56and the kind of babyface that he is.
21:59So, if done right, and I think if finessed right, and if nuanced right, down the road,
22:04that guy not only has an incredible babyface run again as champion, but also just an unheard
22:10of run as a heel.
22:11Yeah.
22:11Down the road.
22:12Let's talk about you saying the final boss needs to step away to, uh, you know, kind
22:17of let the spotlight be where it should be with John and Cody, who, you know, potentially
22:20you talk about John being the goat.
22:22There's a chance Cody, when it's all said and done, is also trying to vie for a spot on
22:26that Mount Rushmore rock with his dad on the backside with you raising your eyebrow.
22:31A lot of people just assumed you were going to show up, just assumed you were going to
22:34show up.
22:34So, when Travis Scott comes out, they think there's a chance of maybe, you know, there's going
22:39to be a re-union from the Elimination Chamber.
22:42What are your thoughts on Travis Scott getting involved?
22:46And, uh, you saying, I need to stay out of that.
22:49Was there ever a moment where anybody was trying to tell you differently?
22:53Like, no, no, no, final boss.
22:54Uh, anytime you're around is a good thing, not a bad thing.
22:57No, well, they, they don't have to say anything like that to me.
23:02I, I, and they, they know when I come to them and them meaning Triple H and Nick and Ari as
23:07well.
23:07And I lay this out and I say, Hey, here's how I really feel that you go.
23:11We can insert final boss in the end of this finish, but then where do we go?
23:17Uh, there's other commitments that I have.
23:19And I want to also be careful that we're not overstepping and, uh, and leading over our skis
23:24too much here can get involved in the finish.
23:26And I said, but why get involved in that finish when the spotlight should just be on, in my
23:31opinion, John 17 heel champion.
23:35What does 2025 look like?
23:37If this man is saying he's going to ruin professional wrestling, that to me is the anchoring storyline.
23:43It's not soul right now, right now.
23:46It's not, but by the way, we'll go back to it.
23:49We'll go back to it.
23:50Still.
23:51Look, I, I can't think that the, the, the, the,
23:54texts that I got and from the guys that I got, uh, who are these top guys who are saying,
23:59you know, one in particular, who, who I love is my guy.
24:02I, you know, I call him the Superman of the company.
24:04He's like, listen, my soul's for sale when it's time.
24:08And I said, I love it.
24:09Let's do it.
24:10So look, I love Travis Scott involved.
24:12And I'll tell you why, because he loves wrestling.
24:14He's a huge fan and he respects it.
24:17He's working his ass off.
24:19I know that he has plans, uh, to train with Booker T.
24:22I don't know if it's happening already.
24:24It might be not quite too sure there on his schedule, but, uh, he loves, loves the business.
24:29Now I was, uh, I was just surprised to see Travis Scott as well.
24:35And I knew the moment I saw Travis, well, that immediately amplifies, well, here comes
24:41to find a boss.
24:41And so again, yes, I love, I love, they were waiting.
24:48Yeah.
24:48I think I texted you.
24:49I think I texted you as it was happening.
24:52Holy shit.
24:52You were like, are you coming out?
24:54And I was like, no dude, I would tell you I'm coming out.
24:57I'm not pay-faving you.
24:59But again, again, I love at the end of the day, North star, John Cena, heel champion, 17,
25:05the goat says he's going to ruin wrestling.
25:07Now we tune every week in, in every, in every week to see how it happens, how that goes
25:11down.
25:12Um, some parts of it, I would have, uh, just adjust a little bit more.
25:17I would have finessed it a little bit more.
25:19But it was a great WrestleMania.
25:20I think you all should be incredibly proud.
25:22Would have been awesome for, uh, Oh man.
25:26Just, I mean, the place would have absolutely apeshit, but the next time it does, it will
25:30go crazy.
25:30Uh, we have some other questions about the things you're talking about.
25:33Other commitments.
25:34Go ahead, Ty Schmidt.
25:35Yeah, Rock, speaking of those, I read something recently that you said, like, this is the
25:39most creative, inspiring time, uh, or creatively inspiring time of your career.
25:44I'm so jacked up for this Mark, uh, Marty Scorsese movie with you, Leo, Emily Blunt.
25:50Uh, just curious when, when do you start filming that?
25:53Is that still in pre-production?
25:55What has that process been like working with all those people?
25:58And how much did, uh, you film in the smashing machine?
26:01I know that comes out later this year.
26:03How much did that kind of help you with this?
26:05Cause I know that's kind of a step up in terms of like dramatic work compared to some of the
26:10other, you know, action blockbuster stuff that you've been doing as of late.
26:14Yeah.
26:15You know, I've been wanting some time for some time now, since about 2019, I've been listening,
26:20trying to listen to this voice, like in my gut behind your rib cage.
26:23We all have that voice where it's just gnawing at us behind our rib cage.
26:26It's up to us whether we rip our rib cage open and listen to it, or we keep that voice in there.
26:31We don't listen to it.
26:32So I had been wanting for years now to, um, chase the challenge and be inspired by the challenge.
26:40I love making the bigger blockbuster movies.
26:43They're a lot of fun.
26:44They're hard as shit to make.
26:45And a lot of people enjoy them, hopefully knock on wood around the world, but I wanted more
26:51and I wanted a challenge and I just wanted the opportunity to, um, to disappear into something
26:57and disappear into a partner role, uh, that would really challenge me in ways that I've
27:02never been challenged before.
27:03And on top of that, I know it sounds crazy.
27:05Um, but to be, um, nervous man.
27:09And, and in a way like you're, you're, you're, you're buzzy, like how am I going to do this?
27:15I don't know how to do this.
27:16And that happened on the smashing machine with, um, Benny Safdie and a 24 and of course,
27:22Emily Blunt.
27:23And, uh, and then that led to us having a conversation myself and Emily about what's next.
27:30And, you know, I was telling her, I said, you know, what's interesting about Hawaii is in
27:36Hawaii there, what I love about growing up in Hawaii is you go to Hawaii and I'm sure
27:41a lot of us have been to Hawaii.
27:43Um, you go to Hawaii, it's beautiful.
27:45It is the beautiful, most beautiful place on the planet.
27:48Pat, you were there.
27:48I saw you send me pictures when you were there, right?
27:50Got engaged here.
27:51Shout out to Hawaii.
27:52Shout out to all of us.
27:54And the water is everywhere.
27:56Yeah.
27:56Yeah.
27:56Yeah.
27:56Yeah.
27:57Yeah.
27:57Yeah.
27:57You can feel, man.
27:59I believe that's a drink.
28:00Yeah.
28:00There's a lot.
28:01Yeah.
28:02Into the natural.
28:03Yeah.
28:03Yeah.
28:03Yep.
28:03Yep.
28:03Yep.
28:04All of it.
28:04Yep.
28:04Yep.
28:04Yep.
28:05I'm down with all the youth stuff.
28:06Yeah.
28:07Tattoo.
28:07I don't have enough time to get the tats or the toughness, but I'm down with Hawaii.
28:11Love the place.
28:12Favorite place on earth.
28:14It is absolutely beautiful.
28:15And you feel that mana.
28:16And I was telling Emily, you know, what happens is when you go, you go to Hawaii and you enjoy
28:22the beaches, the sun, uh, the tourism, the events, the entertainment, you go two miles
28:29in a different direction or three miles in a different direction, it's a different world.
28:32And you better be careful where you go.
28:34You better be careful about what you say and how you say it.
28:37And, uh, and, and I mean the, the underground, the organized crime there.
28:42I mean, I, again, I grew up as a kid there.
28:44And so you grow up as a kid, you always know.
28:47So we were talking about that and, um, and then about a week later, we were on a plane
28:51going to Japan to finish the master machine.
28:53And Emily had said to me, Hey, you ever, you ever a guy named, um, named Wilford?
28:58And she didn't know his last name quite well.
29:00And I said, Wilford, I'm not quite too sure.
29:02She goes Nappy.
29:04I went Nappy Pulava.
29:07Yes.
29:07So Nappy Pulava, just so you guys know, is, he's considered the godfather of Hawaii.
29:15And he was the godfather who ran all of the islands, but he had to do it in a way, he had
29:22to do what he had to do it.
29:23And he had to do it in a way that was very ruthless.
29:25That was very strategic.
29:28That was still very smart.
29:29But also keep in mind, he had, we had the Japanese Yakuza there, the Chinese triads,
29:37the Korean gangs, outside influence, American gangsters coming in from Vegas, trying to take
29:41over Hawaii.
29:42Hawaii was a hotbed.
29:43And not only that, but then you had American corporations coming in at that time in the
29:48fifties, wanting to just take over Hawaii.
29:50So back when Hawaii was stolen in the late 1800s, what this man did, he was a reflection of how
30:01people, Hawaiians, the Polynesians felt at that time.
30:05So in the fifties and in the sixties, when everyone was coming in and just taking Hawaii
30:09and cutting it up, this gang, this gang, this gang, corporate America, he said, this
30:15ends and it all ends now.
30:17And he took it back and he became the godfather of Hawaii, incredibly influential.
30:24And this story has just, it's almost like when the universe and Kismet comes in, and there's
30:31a reason why it hasn't been told all these years.
30:34And we put this up on its feet called Scorsese and we had a meeting with him and we pitched
30:41him and he loved it and blown away that the story's never been told.
30:47And also as Scorsese said, he says, you know, when I was a kid, when Hawaii became a state
30:52in 19, uh, late 19, I think 1959 or 58.
30:56He said, I always wondered back then, wait a second, what happened to the Hawaiians?
31:00Where are they at?
31:03And so this idea of telling the story to Scorsese, no one does a gangster movie better than
31:08Martin Scorsese, he's, he's, he's the goat, he is the Mount Rushmore, right?
31:13He's on Mount Rushmore up there with the directors.
31:16No one does it better than him.
31:18But what has really, I think, energized him with this project is this idea that a man stands
31:24up.
31:24Yes, a gangster.
31:25Yes, the godfather.
31:27Yes, ruthless.
31:28But also he stands up to reclaim what was originally stolen and that was culture and that was land.
31:34And how about this?
31:37I have spent now, I've had the privilege of spending days with Nappy Pulava, Uncle Nappy
31:44and his wife Marlee's, Auntie Marlee's in Hawaii and it has been incredible.
31:52He's almost 90.
31:53He is sharp as a whip and it's been, it's been an incredible process.
32:02So when we talk about the creatively for me, just this incredible process to get to know
32:05this man, um, and spend time with him.
32:08Nick Bilton is a co, I'm also going to write a book based on this.
32:11Um, well, my, my co-writing author is going to do most of the writing.
32:19You'll be there.
32:20No, you'll be there.
32:21Anyway, this process brother has been amazing.
32:23Thank you for asking about that.
32:24And, and I, I cannot wait because again, it's just this opportunity to tell a story that's
32:28never been done.
32:29And as I've been, and as I've been talking to Nappy and I'm telling him uncle, first of
32:34all, he, he whispered something to me the other day and he, he, when he gets, when he
32:39talks, first of all, you go into a restaurant as you gave me the beautiful entrance.
32:43Thank you.
32:44I appreciate that.
32:45We went into a restaurant, um, mama's fish house over there and, um, and Maui and you
32:50walk in and I walk in sure.
32:53I might turn a head or two, but I'm walking with Nappy Pulava and this is the godfather
32:57of Hawaii.
32:59And when I introduce everybody to him, the waitstaff and everybody, it's really beautiful
33:03as they say hello to us and say, this is my uncle Nappy.
33:06They take their time and they say, it is an honor to meet you and to have you here.
33:11And after all these years and then doing everything that he's done, when he speaks, you really
33:16listen because he'll draw you in and he knows he'll talk softly, quietly.
33:22Um, and he pulled me in and he goes, look, I love you.
33:25He said, I love you with all my heart.
33:26I trust no one else, but you with this.
33:28And I said, uncle, I said, do you have any regrets?
33:33He said, no, no, no, no, no, no.
33:37He goes, I'll tell you why.
33:38Because in life there's right and there's wrong.
33:43And if you're going to live right, then you go for it and you live right.
33:46He goes right on.
33:47You go live right, live right.
33:50He said, but if you're going to live wrong, you can't ever not accept.
33:57Everything else that comes with it.
33:59I have no regrets.
34:00Beautiful.
34:01So that's going to be the Martin Scorsese project, man, with, with Emily and, uh, and
34:06DiCaprio and, and Nick built in writing.
34:08I can't wait here.
34:10We're going to start shooting next year.
34:11Let's go.
34:12So hold on.
34:12Yeah.
34:12The reason why he asked is because all of us who are fans of yours.
34:16And, uh, I think at this point we'd be able to say friends of yours, which is an
34:20honor just in of itself to see you get a chance now to do like a, uh, I don't want to
34:25say like award bait, but like, Oh yeah.
34:27You're teaming up with Scorsese to tell a Oos godfather story.
34:32That's never been told, let alone like the historical relevance that Hawaii has, not
34:36just the United States of America, but to the world, obviously Pearl Harbor happens, but
34:40then like everything that takes place just from my wife and I visiting over there and
34:44learning about those islands and how important they are like almost a, like a linchpin to the
34:50entire world.
34:52I cannot wait to watch you do your thing in there.
34:55I cannot wait to watch you win some awards.
34:57I can't wait to watch you get the respect that you've earned in this entire thing.
35:01Cause your commitment, not only to your people, but to your craft.
35:04And, uh, we can't wait to see you come back to the WWE.
35:07And I personally would like to say thank you for Papa Tui brother.
35:12I mean, I'm on a full, it's the first time in my life.
35:15I'm a white trash kid from Pittsburgh.
35:17Okay.
35:18So having a full face plan and lotion and moisturizer, never in a million years, never in a million
35:24years would I do that.
35:25So then I see you on your Instagram and be like, Hey, I created this thing, Papa Tui.
35:29And you basically said to me through your phone, you're allowed to take care of your scales.
35:33Thank you.
35:34Thank you.
35:35So every morning I'm with you and Papa Tui, I appreciate the hell out of you for everything.
35:40You're the man.
35:41We appreciate you.
35:42Hey, listen, let me just say this.
35:44Thank you for saying that I appreciate it.
35:47Um, and I appreciate the Papa Tui shout out there.
35:49I do.
35:50You know, the thing about, I'll probably get in trouble with the Papa Tui board, but it's
35:53okay.
35:53Cause I own the company, but, uh, we, um, we got, we, we have a little announcement coming
35:58up with Pat McAfee, DJ and Papa Tui coming, coming up, coming up, it's coming up.
36:04Uh, and, and, and I will, and I will tell you, and I'll tell you this, I'll tell you for
36:09everybody listening, why this is just so, uh, it's just incredibly authentic.
36:14First of all, it's our relationship and our friendship and our brotherhood.
36:16I love coming on the show.
36:18Love hanging out with the boys.
36:19We got to get together again.
36:20We'll go for another steak dinner.
36:21Next time we're all in the same town.
36:23Yeah.
36:23Hell yeah.
36:24On your table.
36:25Yeah.
36:25But so, so for those, so for everybody watching and listening right now, Pat comes in my trailers
36:31for the show.
36:31I can't remember what show it was.
36:32Oh, it was in LA at the end of it though.
36:34So, unprompted, he goes, Hey, by the way, before I leave, I really love Papa Tui, man.
36:39I've been using it.
36:40And I said, dude, I don't want to sound weird, but your skin looks great.
36:44And I said, I didn't want to say it.
36:45He goes, no, no, I appreciate it.
36:47And he goes, I just want to say, thanks, man.
36:48You made a great product and you leave.
36:51And you know this to be true.
36:52I looked at Maya, my CMO, and I was like, gee, what he just said.
36:56That was unprompted.
36:58There's something there.
36:59And then you and I talked.
37:00Anyway, so I appreciate the love.
37:02Thank you, man.
37:03Papa Tui is doing great.
37:05And we've just expanded our partnership into Walmart and Target.
37:08So anyway, dude, thank you for having me on.
37:12And to the boys, thank you guys for having me on.
37:13I appreciate it.
37:14It's always a bad.
37:15We love you, Moose.
37:16Hell yeah, Rock.
37:17Love you.
37:18We got some Caramana to drink too.
37:19Hell yeah.
37:20Too early.
37:20Okay, hold on.
37:21Let's talk about this.
37:22Just, I mean, we're blowing through the heart out here and we can move it back because
37:25you're the rock.
37:27Caramana, unbelievable.
37:29Moana, I mean, we didn't even get into live action.
37:31Moana 2 is unbelievable.
37:33This Oose Godfather movie that you're also writing a book for is going to be awesome.
37:37Just TKO, director of the board.
37:40I mean, hey, just know that as former athletes that we are watching you as former athlete kind
37:47of navigate this world, you're an incredible inspiration to us.
37:50You're an eyebrow-raising, trail-blazing, buku-money-making dog that we're all watching.
38:00We appreciate the hell out of you, Oose.
38:02Hey, I appreciate you.
38:03Love you, so thank you.
38:04And I'll see you soon.
38:07Hit you!
38:08Hit you soon, man!
38:12Still got it.
38:12All right, all right.
38:13Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
38:14Blake Johnson, we appreciate you.
38:17All right.
38:17We are going to take a break.
38:19We'll be back on the other side.
38:20We have Peter Schrager in the next hour.
38:22We have Tom Coughlin in the next hour.
38:25And we have so much sports to catch up on as we are captivated by WrestleMania that we
38:30cannot wait to chit-chat.
38:31The NBA is on fire.
38:33The NHL is rolling.
38:36MLB still happening?
38:37You bet.
38:38Every day.
38:39Every day.
38:40We'll talk about that.
38:41Different day.
38:41All right.
38:42Be a friend.
38:42Tell a friend something nice.
38:43It might change their life.
38:44We'll see you on the other side.
38:45There is a crowd of about 30 people moving through the back end of the business field
38:54here.
38:54And in the middle of it is this black Samoan man who has become the most famous human on
39:01earth.
39:02Great guy.
39:05Ladies and gentlemen, the GOAT, Dwayne O'Rourke.
39:08There's thousands and thousands of people skipping class to come see your big ass.
39:25Listen, there is thousands and thousands of you skipping class.
39:30It doesn't matter if they go to class.
39:32Moana, this is one of the best animated films of all time.
39:35Can't wait for the live action.
39:37You're welcome.
39:38We talk about Moana.
39:39What can I say except you're welcome.
39:44And we talk about Moana.
39:45Honestly, listen, kid, I could go on and on.
39:47I can't explain every natural phenomenon.
39:49The tide, the grass, the ground.
39:50Oh, that was Maui just messing around.
39:52I couldn't even lie.
39:52Buried its guts.
39:53Spattered a tree.
39:54Now you got coconuts.
39:55What's the lesson?
39:56What is the takeaway?
39:57Don't mess with Maui when he's on a breakaway.
39:58And the temperature here on my skin is a map of the victories I win.
40:01Look where I've been to make everything happen.
40:03Look at the me-me-new Maui just tickety-tappin'.
40:05That's it.
40:05Wow.
40:07Still got it.
40:13On the Samoan side, Polynesian side, we have a word called Moana.
40:16Moana is spirit.
40:17Moana is power.
40:18Moana comes from in here.
40:19It's the thing that gives you goosebumps.
40:21It's that thing you feel.
40:22It's that thing when I walked out and we felt this thing.
40:24This is Moana.
40:26Moana!
40:26Moana!
40:28Moana!
40:28Moana!
40:28It's very, very, very real.
40:31And you can feel it.
40:32Little things like, I don't get driven anywhere.
40:34I don't want to get driven anywhere.
40:35I don't like chauffeurs.
40:36Keeps me in my way, just a little grounded.
40:38Like I could drive myself everywhere and not telling some guy,
40:41Hey, take me here.
40:41Take me there.
40:42That is something I'm going to start saying like, yeah.
40:44Because when they open your door, you feel so bad.
40:45I can open my own door, dude.
40:47They're trying to be courteous.
40:48It's their job.
40:48But also, the day I stop opening my own door is the day I become big old bitch.
40:52Here we go.
40:53Take it up.
40:55Take it up.
40:57Oh!
40:59It's all right.
40:59It's all right.
41:00It's all right, Mike.
41:00Here's the iconic sound.
41:02You guys know it.
41:03Oh!
41:04This special Terramanato goes out to Passion.
41:07Congratulations on your show.
41:09Very proud of you.
41:10Very proud of all you boys.
41:11And to all of you.
41:15Love you guys.
41:16Thank you for the support.
41:16Keep kicking ass.
41:18Cheers.
41:18In my world, when I sit down and we're talking about movies and all this other shit,
41:27it's never this.
41:28It's never this, this, back with the boys, and you.
41:32So, I appreciate it.
41:34And this one's to you.
41:35Thank you, boys.
41:36Cheers.
41:37All right, we're going to take a five-minute break here.
41:39Oh, hold on.
41:40One more.
41:41If you smell what The Rock is cooking.
41:47Sorry.
41:48Oh, wait.
41:48blue.
41:48One more.
42:02One more.
42:09Five-minute break here.