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Dwayne Johnson is settling into his new role as a board member and strong creative voice at the top of wrestling media powerhouse WWE, but a source exclusively tells In Touch he’s finding his role in the executive suite to be every bit as tough as his years as on-camera talent.
“To be clear, Dwayne does not regret taking on all this responsibility at WWE for one second,” the source says, “because the next decade is looking enormous for the company as it moves its content to Netflix and continues to expand around the world.”
Wrestling came full circle for The Rock, 52, after landing his career start with the same organization. He went on to become one of the highest-paid actors ever following his time in the ring and in January 2023 he was appointed to the board of directors of TKO Group, the publicly traded company that comprises the UFC and WWE, a career move that the source says has “almost unlimited potential upside.”
The Black Adam actor seems to be making all the right moves recently, considering his net worth is estimated to be $800 million from his acting and entrepreneurial endeavors – particularly his tequila brand, Teremana Tequila, which is valued in total at around $2 billion and may account for several hundred million of the actor’s assets. The terms of the TKO deal will only help him continue climbing his way to billionaire status – in addition to his board membership, he’s entitled to $30 million in stock awards over this year and next and gains full ownership of his name, The Rock.
Despite his eyes turning into huge green dollar signs as they bulge from his head, the source says that “the promise of a giant pile of money doesn’t make the harder creative and financial decisions any easier,” at the executive level. In fact, “Dwayne has just gone through his first round of wrestler talent layoffs.”
Early in November, they announced they would not resign Baron Corbin, and release Indi Hartwell and Tegan Nox, popular personalities within the organization.
“It wasn’t fun for him at all,” the insider says. “He’s a nice guy at heart and stomping on somebody’s dreams isn’t his idea of a good time. This is the part of the job that sucks, plain and simple.”
While Dwayne may want to sympathize with talent who are now in the vulnerable position he once held, the insider says he has to tow the party line with the rest of the execs now that he’s a boss, as his “focus is not on putting his own personal stamp on WWE or shaping the business into his own image,” the insider says, adding, “He’s much more rational than that. He wants to keep growing it steadily and inching it closer and closer to the mainstream of entertainment.”
“Unfortunately, that means making these cold-hearted all-business decisions and not letting emotion get in the way. For a guy with as big a heart as Dwayne, that’s no easy task.”
English (US) ·