Although Dwayne Johnson has never been considered an expert in MMA, the narrative might change soon. The American actor is seemingly venturing into a new role that will have him step into the shoes of Mark Kerr, an American former professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. The movie is called, “The Smashing Machine,” and The Rock has already started preparing for it.
In a recent tweet, The Rock revealed that he has started training in Mixed Martial Arts to properly play Kerr in the movie. However, this might be an arduous ask for him because he has not yet recovered from Wrestlemania which took place a couple of weeks ago. Regardless, Johnson is already looking forward to the work. He said,
“From the wrestling ring to the MMA cage. With WrestleMania behind me – my second training camp of 2024 begins tomorrow for my next role, in a film titled – The Smashing Machine. My body’s banged up from Mania, but no injuries and feeling great – ready to go. Starting my MMA workouts tomorrow. I’m coming into this in pretty good conditioning and cardio shape, but MMA is a different animal. And Mark Kerr was a ‘one of one’ monster.”
If there is one thing we know about Johnson, he is an extremely hardworking individual. In addition, he has a fondness for the sport of MMA and even contemplated transitioning to MMA from WWE because of this reason.
Dwayne Johnson wanted to compete in MMA back in 1997
Intriguingly, it was Mark Kerr who introduced the Hollywood actor to MMA, and Johnson was fascinated by it. The fascination rose to such an extent that he had an itch to compete in the sport despite knowing that he wouldn’t fare well against professional fighters. Moreover, The Rock was disillusioned by wrestling at that time, which acted as an added incentive. According to Bleacher Report, he said,
“I run into Mark Kerr, I start talking to him. ‘Tell me a little bit about Pride.’ And I had this idea in my head, maybe I should train in MMA and go to Pride and make money, real money. Then I don’t have to smile.”
This dream did not come to fruition at the time. However, The Rock now has the opportunity to fulfill this endeavor by playing Kerr in this upcoming movie. Besides, considering his enthusiasm, the film is shaping up to be a great watch.