Dwayne Johnson may be the Rock, but he’s not indestructible.
The wrestler-turned-actor shared a gnarly video on Instagram Tuesday showing off massive swelling in his right elbow, which he says came from an injury on the set of his forthcoming MMA movie. “As you guys know, I am filming a movie called The Smashing Machine, and anytime your film is called The Smashing Machine, well, you’re gonna get smashed up,” he joked.
“Look at that sucker right there,” he said in the video, poking the injured area. “It looks like I have a cantaloupe in the bottom of my elbow. I got banged up pretty good today in our scenes. And there might be some soft tissue damage in there. That’s a lot of fluid, we’ll see. I gotta get it out of there first before I get any kind of MRI.”
Though Johnson’s injury is unfortunate, it does parallel the subject of The Smashing Machine. The biographical drama film, which marks a departure from the actor’s typical action-adventure fare, will see Johnson play mixed martial artist Mark Kerr, who once won the World Vale Tudo Championship with a fractured hand and was later barred from competing in American Championship Fighting due to a separate hand injury.
Reps for the film’s distributor A24 did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.
Johnson indicated that his pain is significant, but maintained a positive attitude in the video and invoked his late father, pro wrestler Rocky Johnson. “He always used to say, ‘A day without pain is like a day without sunshine, boy,’” the actor recalled.
Johnson also asked his followers for guidance on combating inflammation before pivoting into a plug for his personal tequila brand.
“If you guys have any advanced advice on some great anti-inflammatories, please let me know,” he said. “I’ve tried ‘em all. This might be my favorite anti-inflammatory. It’s called Teremana,” he continued as he poured himself a glass of tequila.
“I gotta tell you, even with all the advanced medicine out there that could take care of this, it feels better already,” Johnson said after downing a glass of the alcohol. “Feels better already. All right, let’s go to the gym, here we go.”
The Smashing Machine will reunite Johnson with his Jungle Cruise costar Emily Blunt, who will portray Kerr’s girlfriend Dawn Staples. Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems, Good Time) is directing the project, and it’s expected that Johnson will mount an award season campaign for the film.
Johnson’s other 2024 projects include Moana 2, which will see him voice the demigod Maui once again, and Red One, a Christmas action comedy in which he’ll go toe-to-toe with Chris Evans and J.K. Simmons’ Santa Claus.