- Junkyard Dog: I worked a match in Detroit with Playboy Bobby Riggs. Ton of talent, man. Terrible body.
- André the Giant: He looked like a loaf of bread, huh?
- The Iron Sheik: Bobby Riggs is funny guy. Like the Burt Reynolds.
- Lia Maivia: No, he's gotta work the gimmick. Wild Samoans, Andre the Giant, "Soul Man" Rocky Johnson.
- Afa Anoa'i: You can have all the skill in the world, right? But if the audience don't buy your look...
- Rocky Johnson: You'll never get over.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 10): His beige trunks aren't doing him any favors.
- Waffle: Five-finger boost, huh? You know, you remind me of me.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): No offense, Waffle, but me and you are not the same.
- Waffle: I was once a poor kid trying to impress people that don't matter.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): You gotta see this girl. Trust me, she matters.
- Waffle: I promise you, in ten years, she won't. The only things that really matter are your family, your integrity, and freezing your eggs if you're a lady.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): That's real bleak, Waffle.
- Waffle: It's not bleak. It's about priorities. If I could do it all over again, I would have cared more about the people who, you know, cared about me.
- Jessie Armstead: Yo, what's up, man? Jessie Armstead, best linebacker in the country.
- Russell Maryland: Russell Maryland, young D-line legend.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 18-20): Dwayne Johnson, Beast of Bethlehem. Also known as Hitzilla, Edward Blitzerhands, and the Chairman of Goldman "Sacks".
- Jessie Armstead: Yeah, we know. Your dad was here an hour ago bragging on you.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 18-20): My dad was here?
- Russell Maryland: Yeah, Rocky Johnson. I used to watch him when I was a kid. I even got his autograph.
- [displaying his elbow brace with Rocky's signature]
- Russell Maryland: Check it out. Congrats, man. He said you was gonna be on the Wheaties box.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 18-20): What?
- Jessie Armstead: Some next-generation athlete-type thing. When's it hit the shelves?
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 18-20): Uh, you know, we did that for Wheaties Asia, so it's not coming out in the States.
- Russell Maryland: Even better. I've got some family out in Singapore. Maybe they can peep it.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 18-20): Oh, no. See, that's the thing. That's South Asia, and it's coming out in North Asia.
- Jessie Armstead: You're lying to the wrong geography buffs.
- Dwayne Johnson: So, I'm gonna get real. And the real is, working the gimmick led to me doing some pretty bad shit.
- [the curse word is bleeped]
- Dwayne Johnson: I'm sorry, Randall, can I say that?
- Randall Park: It's not very presidential, but fuck it.
- [the profanity is bleeped]
- Dwayne Johnson: That's my guy. You know, back then, I wanted people to see me in a certain way, and I did whatever I had to to make that happen.
- [flashback to him stealing from a clothing store in 1987]
- Dwayne Johnson: Was it wrong? Yeah, it was wrong. But, honestly, who among us hasn't done a little five-finger boost, huh?
- Randall Park: Right. Or a little credit card fraud.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 18-20): [unaware that his dad had visited the University of Miami] Dad, you were here this morning?
- Rocky Johnson: Drove all the way from Tampa to be there when the gym opened. I go out of my way to set my son up for success.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 18-20): Yeah, but you didn't even come see me.
- Rocky Johnson: Yeah, that would have spoiled the surprise.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 18-20): What surprise?
- Rocky Johnson: I put you over with the guys. It was your first day in the program, and I wanted to make you look good.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 18-20): What, by telling them I was gonna be on a Wheaties box?
- Rocky Johnson: Surprise! You're surprised, ain't you?
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 18-20): No, I'm not surprised. I had to cover and tell 'em it was for Wheaties Asia.
- Rocky Johnson: Wheaties Asia? No. No, son, you're messing it up. Look, all you gotta do is work the gimmick.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 18-20): There is no gimmick to work. I'm not gonna be on a Wheaties box!
- Rocky Johnson: But they don't know that.
- [Dwayne hangs up]
- Rocky Johnson: Hello?
- Randall Park: Gosh, I wasn't expecting to care about Waffle so much.
- Dwayne Johnson: I know, right? Every time I pass a Waffle House, I always kiss my fingers and point to the sky.
- [doing so]
- Dwayne Johnson: That's for you, Waffle.
- Randall Park: And you kept the promise you made to your mom. I, uh, believe we have a picture of one of the cars you gave her.
- Dwayne Johnson: [chuckling as the pictures are shown] Mama Rock. She just loves her red Caddies.
- Randall Park: I need to call my mom. Last time I talked to her was... 30 years ago.
- Dwayne Johnson: Oh, wow.
- Randall Park: Yeah.
- [awkward silence]
- Randall Park: Now, was it at this point in your life when you decided to stop working the gimmick?
- Dwayne Johnson: The truth is, I've never stopped working the gimmick. I've just learned to make the gimmick work for me. I started figuring it out when I got to the University of Miami.
- Randall Park: Oh, you were there on a football scholarship, a five-star recruit coming out of high school.
- Dwayne Johnson: And I was fired up, because in 1990, the U wasn't just a football team. We were a movement. Three national titles under three different head coaches in the '80s. An incubator for future stars. You know, the 'Canes became legends for the joy they played with and, of course, that swagger, baby. When I got to Miami, I just wanted to fit in. I had no intention of working the gimmick. I was just gonna keep my head down and grind.
- Randall Park: Good evening, I'm Randall Park. The primaries are over and the nominees for the 2032 presidential race are set. And one name... you may have heard before. Candidate Dwayne Johnson has wasted no time hitting the campaign trail with his No Muss, No Fuss bus tour, traveling cross-country to talk to American voters. And show that he's one of them. But that level of fame also has its downside. Dwayne Johnson's success is being used against him by his critics. They say he's lived the cushy Hollywood life for so long, he can't relate to the struggles of the average American.
- Dwayne Johnson: [in a sit-down interview] Randall, that couldn't be further from the truth. I have had one hell of a life, but I wasn't born into it. I've had to work very hard for everything that's come my way. There's still so much that I have to share with the world.
- Randall Park: Hmm, I'm surprised to hear you say that because you're such an open person.
- Dwayne Johnson: Well, I try to be as open and as real as I can. For example, people don't know that every time I open the fridge, I still gotta... you know.
- Randall Park: Can you do it?
- Dwayne Johnson: You want me to do it?
- Randall Park: I'm begging you to do it.
- Dwayne Johnson: Are the people ready?
- Randall Park: They are not ready, but they need to see it.
- Dwayne Johnson: Well, every time I open the fridge, I gotta say, "Can you telllll... ."
- [cut to him opening his fridge]
- Dwayne Johnson: ..."llll that the Rock is hungry?"
- [finding something to eat]
- Dwayne Johnson: Oh, yeah.
- Randall Park: I do that, too.
- Dwayne Johnson: You're a wild man. So, as you can see, Randall, there's still so much that I haven't told anyone. Stories about my life that I haven't been ready to share until now.
- Randall Park: You can't tell because I used to be an actor, so I'm skilled at hiding my emotions, but I'm on the edge of my seat.
- Dwayne Johnson: I can tell. You're a hell of an actor.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 10): Dad, how come our car is nicer than where we're staying?
- Rocky Johnson: 'Cause the fans don't drive home with us, Dewey. They need to see me leave the arena in style. That's called working the gimmick.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 10): Hmm, interesting.
- Rocky Johnson: Cars, the clothes, the jewelry; they need to think who I am inside the ring is who I am outside the ring.
- Ata Johnson: That's why we can't hang out in public with Uncle Iron Sheik.
- Rocky Johnson: That's right. And get this: one day, you work the gimmick hard enough, it'll become real.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 10): It will?
- Rocky Johnson: Sure will. Soon, our house will be as nice as our car. Then I gotta buy a better car.
- Dwayne Johnson: [recounting a story from college] That's when I found my version of working the gimmick. Be me, but with the dial turned up to 11. So that's who I was every time I flashed the People's Eyebrow. That's who I was when I threw Ludacris off a bridge in "Jumanji 5", and that's who I was when I played Gene Simmons in that Kiss biopic.
- Randall Park: But, Dwayne, I have to ask. Wouldn't it have been easier to just tell your teammates that your dad made that whole Wheaties thing up?
- Dwayne Johnson: Yeah, of course it would have been easier, but I couldn't do that, Randall. That's my dad. The truth is, in his way, he pushed me to do things I never would have done.
- Randall Park: Well, can you give us some more details? Like, how did you get from Hawaii to Pennsylvania? Did you ever know Waffle's last name? When did you start playing football?
- Dwayne Johnson: I'm gonna tell you all of that, Randall, and much more. And, look, once people hear these stories about my life and my family, they're gonna see how much we actually all have in common.
- Randall Park: I can't wait.
- Dwayne Johnson: That's right. Oh, and I've got some pretty cool stories about Andre the Giant.
- Gabe: Why'd you say your name was Tomas?
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): 'Cause it sounds way cooler than Dwayne. Look, new school, new name. And now that I look rich, I'm finally getting attention from girls, like Karen from algebra.
- Gabe: Big hair Karen?
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): Fine-ass Karen. The one who front-knots her PE shirt.
- Gabe: Oh!
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): [taking his jacket off, Gabe sees a big blue stain on his shirt] I couldn't get the security tag thing off, so I banged it with a rock, and all this ink exploded out.
- Gabe: Just tell people you spilled your blueberry wine.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): Hmm. Anyway, the best part is, Karen invited me to a party tonight.
- Gabe: So life is good, huh?
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): It is.
- Gabe: Well, it's not gonna last. Fine-ass Karen aside, the reason why these girls haven't been giving you the time of day isn't 'cause you look poor. It's 'cause you look like an undercover cop. Like Johnny Depp from "21 Jump Street."
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): No one thinks that.
- Gabe: Dwayne, everyone thinks that.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): [seeing all the students in the cafeteria staring at him] I'm 15!
- Gabe: You have a full mustache, and you're bigger than a dad. You look like you work at an auto-parts store.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): Whatever, man. None of that matters now that I got a girl into me.
- Gabe: Yeah, but that girl thinks you're rich, and you're not. And you ain't fooling anybody riding the bus.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): When is Dad getting back with the car?
- Ata Johnson: When the wrestling convention is over. He's getting paid to sign autographs. We could use the money.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): We could also use the car. I'm boxing pizzas after school. You're cleaning houses, like, five towns away, and we both have to take the bus.
- Ata Johnson: What's wrong with taking the bus? There was a man sitting across from me playing the flute yesterday. It was beautiful.
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): Karen will think I'm poor if she sees me riding the bus.
- Ata Johnson: Who's Karen?
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): Can't we just get another car? Look, I got some money saved. I can get us one.
- Ata Johnson: How much money?
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): $103.
- Ata Johnson: Dewey, you won't be able to get a car for that. But, you know what you could do?
- Dwayne Johnson (Age 15): Borrow the other 16,000 from you?
- Dwayne Johnson: You know, Randall, to understand me, you gotta understand where I came from. I was born into a wrestling family.
- Randall Park: Your dad was wrestling superstar Rocky Johnson.
- Dwayne Johnson: The "Soul Man" Rocky Johnson. That was him. My mother's father was the legendary Samoan wrestler, "High Chief" Peter Maivia. Wrestling is in my blood. You know, being a kid growing up in the world of professional wrestling, I learned a lot of stuff very early on in life. But at the same time, I was also just a regular little boy. And I idolized my dad.