“Chills”: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Reflects on Grand Marshal Speech in WWE Character at NASCAR Daytona 500

Published 02/20/2024, 8:52 AM HKT

Follow Us

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has been on a streak since his heel turn in the WWE. Taking time out, he appeared as the Grand Marshal for the Daytona 500 series. While he embraced his heel persona during an interview the day before, he took to social media to talk about his time at the show after he made his appearance. He continued his heel run on social media despite being at a different sporting event.

America’s Favorite Video Today

WWE fans are excited to see a return to heel Rock after 21 years since 2003. During the last episode of SmackDown, Johnson claimed that he would be standing in the way of Rhodes and Reigns to protect his family.

Dwayne Johnson thanks fans for Daytona 500 Grand Marshal duty honor

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

It was announced ahead of the WWE WrestleMania XL Kickoff show that The Rock would be serving as the Grand Marshal at the Daytona 500 race. He would be delivering the line for the drivers to start their engines. This was a huge honor for Johnson, who took to social media to thank them for offering him this duty. However, that post was completely written by a babyface. The next one felt kinda heelish.

On his X account, he said, “Over 100,000 fans in silence until I say the word engines, as the drivers fire up at the same time.” This felt a lot like his WWE heel Rock persona, which we saw on the last episode of SmackDown. During the interview he had the day before, he talked about embracing his heel side and how it gave him more opportunity than anything else.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest WWE stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Finally, he ended it with, “This whole thing gave me chills.” Despite trying to keep up with kayfabe and his heel run, Johnson has been breaking character on social media on some occasions now.

Dwayne Johnson on accepting his role in The Bloodline

Johnson sat down for a media interview a day before the big race. He was asked about being the bad guy in the WWE. To this, he compared himself to Denny Hamlin of NASCAR. Both have adopted the trash-talking, brash attitude demonstrating heels.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

While talking about his run he did mention that he was happy about this opportunity. After his promo during SmackDown, fans are excited to see if Johnson and Rhodes will ever square off in the ring. Fans are hoping that the WWE issues a match between the two before Rhodes faces off against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania XL.

Watch This Story: Shocking Mandy Roses’ Ring Gear Is Being Sold at an Astonishing High Price on EBay

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by:

Christopher Paul

693Articles

One take at a time

Christopher Paul is a WWE reporter at EssentiallySports. With over eight years of experience as a writer and a childhood passion for pro wrestling, Chris is now a voice for kayfabe fans. He has a penchant for covering live events and enjoys breaking the latest developments in the WWE Universe.
Show More>

Edited by:

Donna Eva

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

EDITORS' PICK

America’s Favorite Video Today