Dwayne Johnson talking about playing heel Rock on late night talk shows is a trip

Dwayne Johnson was a guest on the Mon., Mar. 11 edition of The Jimmy Kimmel Show.

During his time at the desk with Kimmel, the two discussed their Sunday night at the Academy Awards, and past Oscar ceremonies they’ve both been a part of (particularly this one). Johnson plugged his new line of skin care products — Papatui, available at Target! — both in conversation with the host and in a pre-taped sketch with Kimmel’s doorman/sidekick Guillermo.

They also talked Johnson’s return to WWE, where he’s playing the villainous version of The. Rock for the first time in more than 20 years. Kimmel and Johnson watch clips of The Rock’s Mar. 1 promo in Phoenix, and broke it down like they would a Luke Hobbs scene from a Fast & Furious film.

For someone who’s been watching pro wrestling for decades… to steal a phrase from a late night great*, it’s wild stuff.

Kimmel: I think this is really interesting because, and you know this, you’re one of the most well loved people in the world. And yet, in the wrestling world you have gone back to being a heel, to being a villain in the thing — to the point where you are actually antagonizing people in the local cities that you visit. This is your visit to Phoenix, Arizona and how you greeted…

Johnson: Phoenix, Arizona by the way… did a little research and what I’m saying is the truth.

Kimmel: I looked it up to, it is true.

[Clip of The Rock talking about Phoenix’s cocaine & meth use and calling the crowd “cactus-loving crackheads” from the Mar. 1 SmackDown plays]

Johnson: It is the best to go back to WWE in this ‘Rock 10.0’ version where I can become a heel and say the things that people want to say…

Kimmel: And they still love you after you say them.

Johnson: And I went in, it’s the number one city and you cactus-loving crackheads, and then what I also said was, ‘And every woman in here wants to go one-on-one with The Rock’, and all the women go crazy, and I said, ‘Now settle down you crackhead Karens’ [laughs] and then they all cheered again. They were like ‘Yay’.

Heel Rock getting cheers from the fans he’s insulting isn’t new. But a wrestler detaching themself from their character in the middle of an angle on a nationally televised talk show feels like new ground.

Now before anyone claims I’m complaining about this, I am not. Kayfabe’s been dead a long time. While I do still love a line-blurring worked shoot as much as the next mark (something Johnson’s currently giving us by using his role on the TKO Board of Directors in his WrestleMania angle with Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, and Seth Rollins), I can also be reminded that Mike Mizanin isn’t The Miz 24/7 and still completely enjoy a Miz feud.

And maybe there are other examples of a wrestler discussing a current angle in the mainstream media like this, but I can’t think of any. And even if John Cena or Dave Bautista have done it, I still think what Johnson is on another level if only because of his profile.

Which makes the real question here not, “does this hurt the business?” or whatever. Of course it doesn’t. It certainly hasn’t hurt the box office, ratings or internet stats for any of Johnson’s WWE appearances. It may not have been the way they initially imagined it, but he’s making WrestleMania XL bigger than it would have been otherwise with both his presence and his ability to get time to talk about it on shows like Kimmel’s.

The real question is, “Could anyone other than Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson pull this off?” Cena probably could, but his character’s also famously never been a heel so it wouldn’t be the same. Bautista played a heel in his WWE retirement angle and could have sold it this way, but Dave’s never been interested in becoming as ubiquitous a celebrity as Johnson is, which would make it different.

So the follow-up question is, “Will this be something we see more of in the future?” As wrestlers follow Johnson, Cena & Bautista’s lead into Hollywood, will they clearly define the line between performer and character the way DJ is now? And what effect would that have on the product and the business?

Let us know what you think in the comments below.

* Or at least to steal a phrase from a famous impersonation of that late night great, as I can hear Dana Carvey saying this in my head but can’t find any clips of Johnny Carson saying it. Also, damn I’m getting old.