Fact Check: Did the Rock Play in NFL? Take a Sneak Peek Inside Dwayne Johnson’s Football Career

The Rock is one of the biggest names in the wrestling business. Apart from being one of the highest-paid Hollywood actors, Dwayne Johnson recently made his much-anticipated return to the WWE as he played a key role in the build-up to the WrestleMania XL main event featuring Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes.

While the 51-year-old has carved out a niche for himself both in the wrestling business as well as the entertainment biz, few people know that Johnson’s original ambitions lied elsewhere. Yes, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson didn’t plan to become a WWE wrestler in his childhood days, instead, he had hoped of making it to the National Football League (NFL).

The Rock’s NFL dream

During his university days, Dwayne Johnson was hoping to get his way into the NFL somehow. He did receive scholarships from various universities during his high school days, and eventually, the Rock decided to turn out for the University of Miami.

However, owing to a shoulder injury, Johnson was never really able to make the impact that he had hoped for. While the veteran failed to make it into the NFL, he did turn out in the Canadian Football League (CFL) showing great grit and determination.

After penning a deal with the Calgary Stampeders as a linebacker, Johnson was unable to leave a lasting impact owing to injury woes, that forced the coaches to drop Dwayne just two months into the season.

In an interview with Pat McAfee on the latter’s show at the University of Colorado, the Rock opened up on his college football career.

“First of all, making it to the NFL is a hard thing to do. Like this guy (AJ Hawk) will tell you, and like I tried to, it didn’t happen. So the fact that you (McAfee) were able to do that, that’s hard,” Johnson said.

The Rock makes shock appearance at WWE WrestleMania XL teaser

Dwayne Johnson has been a key figure in the ongoing feud between WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns as well as his challenger Cody Rhodes. While the Rock slapped Rhodes at the WrestleMania press event recently, WWE have shared a WrestleMania XL teaser of 36 seconds, featuring The Rock and Roman Reigns on one side, along with Rhodes and Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.

Triple H has already confirmed that the main event of WrestleMania XL will feature Rhodes and Reigns, so it will be interesting to see if the latest teaser shared by WWE has a Tag Team angle to it.