Stars Who Can't Stand Dwayne Johnson

Love him or hate him, Dwayne Johnson is a big personality. The man formerly known as the Rock is also the kind of celebrity that isn't as common as they used to be, dominating nearly everything he tries – from WWE superstar to old-fashioned movie star — and making up for any deficiencies with sheer charisma. However, few can reach that level of success or notoriety without attracting several detractors. Whether they don't like his business strategies, can't stand his acting work, or even just hate being around him, plenty of stars can't stand Johnson.

Among the cast of characters who've made an enemy of Johnson, fellow professional wrestlers fill most of the roster. This presents an interesting issue in these well-publicized feuds. Wrestlers operate under an all-important rule called kayfabe, which demands a full-time commitment to the scripted nature of the sport's ever-expanding narrative. As a result, some antipathy between WWE icons exists only within the fiction: they may appear to hate each other, only to spend their off-time hanging out as pals. Johnson's story includes plenty of those staged quarrels, but the macho personalities that gravitate toward the WWE tend to find reasons to fight behind the scenes, too. Plus, plenty of pro wrestlers are just terrible people. All the same, Johnson is a big enough star to attract haters in and out of the ring.

Born Mark Sinclair, Vin Diesel is one of the most notable action stars in the world. He's the face of the seemingly eternal "Fast & Furious" franchise, catapulting him to the forefront of action cinema with the power of a thousand V8 engines. One multi-million dollar film empire would be enough, but Diesel is also the star of the "Riddick" film series and an icon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He's one of very few people famous enough to engineer a blockbuster action film for his own "Dungeons & Dragons" character. Over the years, he's worked with a lot of fellow action stars, including Dwayne Johnson, leading to a tense clash of personalities. 

The feud between Johnson and Diesel mostly took place over social media. Some sources reported disagreements on the set of the 2016 film "The Fate of the Furious," leading Johnson to level some accusations against unnamed castmates. Diesel claimed that their negative interactions were closer to good-natured ribbing, but others claimed that Johnson was frequently late to set, angering Diesel. In 2021, Johnson walked away from the "Fast" saga. Diesel called Johnson to return to the upcoming tenth entry, which Johnson initially cited as an example of Diesel's manipulative nature. Johnson did return for a brief cameo, reportedly setting up a standalone solo film for Johnson's character. Altogether, the relationship between Diesel and Johnson seems to waver wildly between brotherly bullying and genuine antipathy.

Tyrese Gibson is a man of many talents. Most probably know him as an actor in action franchises, but he's also a musician and model of some repute. He exploded onto the scene in 1998, when his debut album spent 36 weeks on Billboard's Top 200. Since then, Gibson released four more albums that made it to that list, one of which made it to the top spot. Outside of his music, Gibson is also a successful action star. He appears in massive blockbusters like "Transformers" and "Death Race," but his most notable role was that of Roman Pearce in seven of the ten entries of the "Fast & Furious" saga. It was in that family-focused franchise that Gibson met Dwayne Johnson.

In 2017, Gibson commented on Instagram about Johnson's perceived dominance over the "Fast" franchise. He sarcastically congratulated Johnson and Johnson's producing partner for "making the fast and the furious franchise about YOU" and playfully wondered whether the next entry would earn a comparably terrible critical response to Johnson's "Baywatch." The issue that prompted Gibson's anger seems to be Johnson's spin-off project, which allegedly pushed back the date of the ninth "Fast & Furious" film. This apparent anger towards Johnson didn't last long, as in the following year, Gibson spoke to the "Red Pill" podcast (via TMZ), calling his decision to air that grievance publicly "unprofessional." He did not, however, apologize.

Phillip Jack Brooks aka CM Punk has been something of a phenom in the world of sports entertainment. Brooks took the name CM Punk in the late 1990s, several years before he would make his 2005 debut in the WWE. In a few short years, he saw his success balloon and claimed an exceptionally long reign as the WWE champion, despite his long-standing feud with the WWE. Shortly after that stellar run, Brooks took a crack at non-scripted fighting, which led to a widely mocked 0-2 record in the UFC. Instead, he returned to the WWE and found a gig commentating over MMA brawls, and even managed to pop up in a few horror films. Still, Brooks' voice remains loud in WWE circles, amplifying his harsh words toward Dwayne Johnson.

Brooks took a few shots at Johnson in promos, but those fit comfortably into the scripted nature of WWE. His more unpleasant comments tend to come out of traditional interviews, such as when he attacked Johnson's performance in an interview with Mark Madden (via Bleacher Report). He was quick to assure the interviewer that his issues with Johnson were professional rather than personal. Brooks took issue with the positive attention Johnson received for bringing eyes to WWE, claiming Johnson "didn't do anything on the show." Brooks considered Johnson's character and performance "old" and "corny." His critiques went beyond in-ring bouts, arguing against Johnson as a performer in general.

Randy Orton was almost destined for greatness in the world of wrestling. The Orton family has been a fixture of the industry for decades, but Randy quickly became the most popular representative of the surname, being only 24 years old the first time he won the WWE world championship belt. Orton and Dwayne Johnson are two of the only WWE superstars to take home the belt after two generations of their families did the same. Johnson was the first to achieve that accomplishment, but Orton was the first to do so with blood relatives. Though this coincidence — and their tremendous net worth – connects the two of them, Orton is less than friendly to Johnson outside the ring.

Orton joined the chorus of wrestlers weighing in on a potential return of the Rock to the ring. WWE pros, including Orton, took exception to Johnson going Hollywood, so his comeback ruffled some feathers. Orton also shared an iconic rivalry with John Cena, whom he considered to be one of the finest wrestlers in the WWE stable. He told The Gamer that Cena was "10 times the performer in the ring that The Rock is." He even called out Johnson for using writers and teleprompters, while Cena allegedly did his best work off the dome. Orton later told KUPD that he got into a bit of trouble for the comments, accusing Johnson of tattling, which led to an exchange of words between the duo.

WWE star Cody Rhodes is a modern legend in the ring, but he didn't get there all by himself. His father is the beloved '80s icon Dusty Rhodes, and his family has several other wrestlers. Rhodes started training with his dad when he was 12, but gained a greater body of knowledge from mentors like Al Snow, Randy Orton, and Danny Davis. Dubbed "The American Nightmare," he took his show on the road, appearing under a selection of promotions. He became a big name in the WWE's chief competitor, AEW, before eventually returning to the WWE. 

Rhodes has made several statements against Dwayne Johnson, both within the scripted world of wrestling and beyond. In early discussions, he told The MMA Hour that he "wasn't a fan of the Rock." Rhodes was always careful to specify his lack of interest in Johnson's gimmick, and wasn't particularly interested in Johnson's recent character shift. He later made a jab at Johnson's political career, telling "The Pat McAfee Show" that he would consider matching Johnson's prospective run for office with one of his own "just to make him angry." Rhodes even called Johnson out for fixating upon him, telling "Good Morning Britain" that Johnson had "a little obsession" with him.

The rules of football remain a hot topic in every league. The NFL has its fair share of secrets, but the public history of its competitors, including the UFL, is often rife with controversy and failure. Those changes between leagues often cause strife among players. Jace Sternberger was a tight end who started his NFL career with the Green Bay Packers in 2019. He played a total of 18 games and scored exactly one touchdown. Sternberger had brief flirtations with the Steelers and the Bills before he left the NFL behind. Finally, in 2024, Sternberger became one of the first members of the first All-UFL team. That's where he developed some antipathy for Dwayne Johnson.

Johnson is one of several owners of the UFL, but his tremendous fame locks him into becoming the face of the franchise. As a result, players like Sternberger call him out as the architect of their issues with the league. In March 2024, Sternberger fell prey to the UFL's no forward progress rule, which ends a play as soon as a player hits the ground. This led to a potential injury when multiple defenders struck and swept Sternberger to the ground. He expressed his frustrations toward Johnson specifically on X (formerly Twitter), tagging Johnson and stating, ".. imagine if I would've got hurt (because of) this [expletive]." Whatever involvement Johnson had with the decision, Sternberger clearly blames the famed league owner.

Dave LaGreca is only a star in the most niche corner of the hardcore wrestling fandom, but he is a figure of some note in those spaces. LaGreca is best known as the creator and host of a Sirius XM sports/wrestling talk show called "Busted Open." He's also appeared in slightly more official capacities. LaGreca popped up in a couple episodes of "TNA iMPACT Wrestling" in the 2020s and at least one entry of "AEW: All Access." His takes on the wrestling world are taken seriously enough to earn him conversations with some of the best in the business. He's also evidently big enough to spark a public back-and-forth with Dwayne Johnson.

In early 2024, Johnson made waves by joining the board of TKO Group Holdings, the company that owns WWE. Since this event came alongside Johnson's return to the WWE as The Rock, many commentators saw abuses of power in all of Johnson's actions. LaGreca voiced his distaste for Johnson's choices in an episode of "Busted Open," bemoaning what he saw as the unfair treatment of Cody Rhodes by Johnson. Johnson took to social media to fire back, coining the term "Cody Crybabies" to denigrate those who supported Rhodes. LaGreca returned to the internet to counter Johnson yet again, stating that he'd "lost a lot of respect" for his actions. While a lot of this fits comfortably into kayfabe, LaGreca's criticism of Johnson's TKO power grab suggests something deeper.

WWE storylines frequently pit wrestlers against each other, but their behind-the-scenes interactions need not necessarily follow the script. Kayfabe dictates that the WWE rivals have to act tough for the cameras, but some carry that energy through their day-to-day lives. Paul "Triple H" Levesque shared an iconic feud during the '90s and early 2000s, pitting the most notable heroic character against the most notable bad guy. While there's a lot people don't know about Levesque, several insider sources suggest that Levesque and Johnson just plain hated each other in and outside the ring.

In an interview with the 81 Podcast (via Still Real To Us), fellow WWE superstar Brett Hart stated that Levesque and others tried to engineer events against Johnson. He stated that Levesque "tried to crack (Johnson) and bust his chops." On Sportskeeda's "The Coach and Bro" show, respected sports analyst John Coachman straightforwardly stated, "Triple H and The Rock do not like each other at all." In an episode of "WWE Rivals" (via the New York Post), noted WWE producer Bruce Prichard assured the audience that the two wrestlers were not faking their antipathy, claiming: There's a reason you believed these two guys didn't like each other: They didn't." Levesque and Johnson seemed to be sworn enemies whether the cameras were on or off.

Trenesha Biggers is a former pro wrestler who used to go by the name Rhaka Khan. In 2005, Biggers tried to break into WWE through their national Diva Search campaign but was let go in the top 25. Her brief flirtation with the WWE left her with a development contract that eventually placed her in several independent leagues. Eventually, Biggers found a home in Total Non-Stop Action, or TNA, then one of the WWE's biggest competitors. The TNA brand propped Biggers up as an ally to longtime icon Scott Steiner and a teammate of Awesome Kong. She only lasted a year and a half before TNA let her go, but she made an impact.

In October 2022, Biggers filed a gargantuan lawsuit against approximately 1,000 parties, one of which was Dwayne Johnson. Biggers alleged that the FBI, NYPD, Bank of America, and hundreds of other defendants participated in some sort of nationwide conspiracy to kidnap her children. Her complaint included over 3,000 paragraphs, unpacking the absurd path of a terrorist plot that targeted Biggers and her family. If any of her statements were to be believed, Johnson is one of many faces of one of the most evil organizations ever to exist. Unshockingly, a judge dismissed her complaints, putting an end to her extreme accusations.