The Rock is scheduled to appear on Sunday night's Oprah's Master Class.
A preview clip reveals The Rock discussing being booed by 20,000 fans at WrestleMania 13 in Chicago.
"I had great angst every night I went out, because I wasn't able to be myself," Rock explained. He brought up about how during his first WrestleMania, the entire crowd chanted "Rocky sucks. Two weeks later, he tore his knee and was on the shelf.
"I came to the realization that it wasn't me personally that they didn't like. I wasn't being real, authentic. Who's this guy in wrestling smiling while he's getting beat?," Rock said. "I got a call from WWE and it was Vince McMahon, who said 'When you come back, we could continue to shove you down people's throats, or we could turn you heel, because they want to boo you anyway.'" Rock said that he agreed to the turn, but just wanted so say his piece to the crowd after.
This led to The Rock turning heel and joining the villainous Nation of Domination stable in 1997. The Rock addressed the crowd and cut his now historic heel promo.
"In that moment, The Rock was born. About a month later, I was the hottest heel in the company and things were on fire. The greatest lesson in that is to be you. In entertainment, whether it's in public, a celebrity, whatever. The most powerful thing you can be is yourself," Rock said.
Master Class featuring The Rock Sunday will air at 8 pm EST on OWN.
Follow us on X @WNSource
Follow us on Instagram & THREADS
LIKE us on Facebook
âš¡ News tip? Email ben@wrestlingnewssource.com