Former WWE Superstar Dwayne Johnson has had a storied rivalry with the Fast and Furious franchise. After debuting for the highly successful franchise during their fifth installment, Fast Five, as Luke Hobbs, The Rock fit into his role perfectly as fans raved about his performances. He then went on to star in three more films in the franchise’s canon, namely the sixth, seventh, and eighth editions. He also starred in the successful spinoff Hobbs and Shaw alongside Jason Statham.
However, after a public falling out with co-star and the franchise’s protagonist Vin Diesel, The Rock quit the franchise, never to return to it again. The WWE legend was not pleased with the apparent unprofessional behavior of the on-screen Dom Toretto and took him to task in an Instagram post. Since then, Dwayne Johnson sat out F9 as John Cena was brought into the franchise.
Fast Fact: Furious 7 (2015) was the last time Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson were in the same frame with each other. pic.twitter.com/EoDxMRH8LT
— T’Challa Fan (@2TChalla2Stan) May 13, 2023
Things took another turn in the saga when Vin Diesel extended an olive branch to his former co-star and asked him to return to the franchise. After initially declining the offer, it was reported by TheWrap that Johnson has indeed returned to the company in Fast X in the post-credits. As the film hits the theatres on May 19, this has quite justifiably left fans confused. Many are left wondering why the WWE legend decided to return, while others are arguing that it was Vin who “begged” him to come back.
Damn Black Adam really has Rock crawling back to Vin?
— Mike Brown (@mikebrown924) May 12, 2023
Vin was the one that was begging him to return to franchise. Even brought up his kid & Paul Walker to convince him lol.
I’ll have to see it to believe it because Rock was adamant about not returning to F&F as well as the old Justin Lin that turned down big money & left.
— It’s me Nashie. (@InJEVONweTrust) May 13, 2023
— Mo Lucas 🇲🇦 (@Mighty1Lucas) May 12, 2023
You couldn’t live with your failures and where did that bring you? Back to family. pic.twitter.com/r3iLV8Kcmx
— Sean. (@Melanism) May 12, 2023
— Younis (@younityyy) May 12, 2023
I was gonna say something about The Rock hitting Rock bottom but honestly…homie needs it lol because his Moana remake gonna take some time
— Kj Superstar (@kjcole0811) May 12, 2023
The Rock has also recently had a falling out with Disney, where he was reportedly ousted by the company. He was seemingly excluded from taking on the role of Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. This came after Dwayne was named in a $3 billion lawsuit by former WWE star Trenesha Biggers aka Rhaka Khan. This has also left fans wondering whether he returned to only boost his goodwill within Hollywood.
Dwayne Johnson’s acting career in trouble after a lawsuit from former WWE star
The Rock has had a successful wrestling career and forayed into Hollywood with much aplomb. Dwayne has starred in some mega-hits such as Jumanji, the Fast and Furious franchise, and even DC’s Black Adam. However, all that seems to be going astray for the WWE legend as he finds himself in the midst of controversy.
As mentioned above, Dwayne was recently named in a lawsuit by former WWE Star Rhaka Khan. The real-life Trenesha Biggers named The Rock, the late Chris Benoit, legendary wrestling manager Jim Cornette, Nikki Bella, and The Miz, among others, in the lawsuit. She accused the wrestling personalities of conspiring to kidnap her and her children.
If I’m reading this right… The Rock, The Miz, Chris Benoit, Mick Foley and others conspired to kidnap Rhaka Khan and her children?? That seems way far fetched @KlassicMike @ReBourneAgain @breakkerstreet @bigbird432 @kat_woman13 @DbWrasslin @JohnGarces @Jay371992 pic.twitter.com/bITfRLo0YI
— Jayson Dixon (@sonofjay_91) April 21, 2023
Biggers, who was in a relationship with Hall of Famer Kurt Angle during her wrestling days, took social media and the wrestling community by storm with the revelation. The lawsuit which was filed in October last year, was recently accepted by a court. It remains to be seen how things will pan out.