Report of The Rock on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Credit: James Caldwell and pwtorch.com:

WWE champion “The Rock” Dwayne Johnson tried to make-up for his “Jay Leno” appearance last week by spending one full segment talking wrestling during an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Thursday night on ABC.

Although Rock did not bring the WWE Title belt with him, Rock talked WrestleMania, John Cena, and his start in wrestling.

The discussion started with Rock saying he is currently doing “double-duty” preparing for Mania and his next movie role, “Hercules.” Rock said he’s been preparing for Mania for 12-14 weeks, as well as Hercules, with training and diet programs.

Kimmel focused on why Rock would need to prepare for Mania if he already knows the match outcome against Cena. Rock laughed off Kimmel’s “pre-determined” question before saying, “Here’s the thing. If I lose, ‘God, it’s phony.’ (laughs) ‘If I win, then it’s real.”

Rock then talked about getting his wrestling start in 1996 when he wrestled a pre-Raw dark match against the Brooklyn Brawler. Rock said WWE management did not know that he had never wrestled before, and he showed up with “no trunks, no boots, no nothing,” prompting Kimmel to ask if he wrestled naked. Rock laughed, then recalled requesting theme music and the selection not matching his expectations. “It was horses— techno music,” Rock said.

Rock recalled being sent back to the minor-leagues and “starting at the bottom” when he moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Rock said he wrestled in flea-markets, used-car dealerships, and barns, where he was pelted with batteries and cut with exacto knives. Kimmel summed up: “I guess it worked out.”

In the second segment, Rock talked about the “G.I. Joe 2” movie out this weekend, Bruce Willis supporting him when he first started acted 12-13 years ago, and other Hollywood-related topics.

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