Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is one of the biggest superstars in WWE history.
Johnson has electrified audiences with his in-ring persona for decades and become one of the highest-grossing actors in the process.
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But things could have been very different, as he recently revealed on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that he almost became an MMA fighter.
Johnson explained that during his early days as a professional wrestler, the low pay almost tempted him to train in MMA and compete in the PRIDE Fighting Championship in Japan.
"[In] 1997, I was still going to LA and working out. We were crossing all the MMA guys. PRIDE just opened up in Japan," Johnson explained.
"I started seeing all these MMA guys going over to PRIDE. At that time, I was making $150,000 dollars wrestling 235 days a year. Do the maths on that and how much you're making per match.
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"We start hearing, 'These guys in PRIDE are making $250,000, $350,000, $500,000.' I thought then, 'F***, I don't think I'm going to make it in WWE. People are booing me out of the arenas. I can't be myself. They're telling me to f***ing smile, I don't want to f***ing smile. That's not who I am.'
Johnson went on: "I start talking to Ken Shamrock, I start talking with Mark Kerr, 'tell me about PRIDE.'
"I have this idea in my head 'maybe I should train in MMA, go to PRIDE, and make real money and I don't have to smile.'
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"I'm going to get f***ed up, knock one of my lungs loose [laughs], but if I find the right coach and train….I have this whole thing in my head. I'm talking to my wife at the time, 'I think this is the way to go. I can make real money while these fans are booing me for $150 grand.'"
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Fortunately for Johnson he made the right decision to stay with WWE, where became one of its biggest icons.
'The Rock' is 10-time world champion and has headlined countless WrestleMania events against legends of the sport.
It certainly would have been interesting to see him in MMA, or even the UFC, but things probably worked out for the best anyway.
