WWE is a world where larger-than-life characters become superstars but 27 years ago the biggest star wrestling has ever seen was born.
In 1996, The Rock waltzed his way into a traditional five-on-five Survivor Series match and the legendary Jim Ross proclaimed ‘That’s a blue chipper right there!’
The Rock wasn’t too ripped when he debuted in WWEWWE
The Great One would go on to be the last man standing in the Survivor Series match inside Madison Square Garden and within two years he’d be WWE champion.
The Brahma Bull was only 26 years old when he reached the top in WWE and he’d go on to be a 10-time World champion, five-time Tag Team champion and two-time Intercontinental champion before departing in 2003, or 2004 if you include his WrestleMania 20 return.
He also claimed glory at the 2000 Royal Rumble, coming in 24th to eliminate four rivals before winning.
The Rock was billed as 275lbs in his prime around the turn of the millennium. He was billed as the same weight when he returned to the company in 2011 and he was considerably bulkier at that point.
It’s widely believed The Rock’s weight was actually closer to, if not 275lbs, upon his return.
His initial run with the company saw him tip the scales around 250-260 lbs.
Rock’s ‘Iron Paradise’ is his mobile gym that he takes with him everywhere to ensure he can always get a workout in no matter how busy he gets.
He’s often working out at 4am in the morning to make sure he can lift before a day of filming begins.
In 2017 he revealed he rises at 3:30am, telling Variety: “I often sacrifice two hours of sleep just so I can have the quiet two hours that I need before the whole house wakes up, including the animals.”
The WWE icon, who has a reputation for being the hardest-working person in sports entertainment, only doubled his efforts in 2024.
Rock was still concentrating on being an athlete
As Rock’s WWE career moved along, he was leaner and built to work rather than look a certain way
The Great One, who remains wrestling’s most successful export ever, returned to the company where he made his name this year.
The 52-year-old headlined night one of WrestleMania alongside Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns against Cody Rhodes and Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins.
It was the Rock’s first event where he’ll need to take bumps since his programme with John Cena through WrestleMania‘s 28 and 29.
Dwayne Johnson, The Rock’s real name, has always been addicted to working out thanks to his father, Rocky Johnson, applying a similar mentality.
He got into incredible shape for his return to WrestleManiaGetty
However, he only really started to beef up in 2010 as he prepared for the fifth instalment of The Fast and The Furious.
He would return to WWE one year later to guest host WrestleMania and would wrestle Cena a full year after that.
One more year after that, Rock was cast as Hercules and once again, his body was important.
Speaking of the Hercules role, Rock was said to have eaten up to seven protein-rich meals a day in preparation.
The Rock working out in his iron paradise
His portable gym is made up of 45,000 pounds of equipmentInstagram@therock
That amounted to a whopping total of 4,131 calories, which is basically twice the recommended average for men. His legendary cheat meals even cross the 6,000 mark.
When not in training, he normally eats about five meals a day.
Before returning to WWE, the Rock took a turn at superhero Black Adam, which involved being in pristine shape as well.
His strength work and resistance training are usually anywhere from three to four hours and sometimes up to six, daily, alongside an hour of cardio.
“Been working extremely hard dieting, training and conditioning unlike any other role of my entire career,” he once wrote on Instagram. “Manipulating water, sodium, cardio but also having to push and pull real iron to have dense, dry, detailed muscle.
He typically wakes up at 3:30am to get after itInstagram@therock
“It’s a real science that takes months and months to dial it all in with my strength and conditioning coach @daverienzi who keeps a very watchful eye, constantly fine-tuning our strategy daily.”
Meal #1
10 oz cod
2 whole eggs
2 cups of oatmeal
Meal #2
8 oz cod
12 oz sweet potato
1 cup veggies
Meal #3
8 oz chicken
2 cups white rice
1 cup veggies
The Rock eats some legendary cheat mealsInstagram@therock
Meal #4
8 oz cod
2 cups rice
1 cup veggies
1 tbsp fish oil
Meal #5
8 oz steak
12 oz baked potato
spinach salad
Meal #6
10 oz cod
2 cups rice
salad
Meal #7
30 grams casein protein
10 egg-white omelet
1 cup veggies (onions, peppers, mushrooms)
1 tbsp omega-3 fish oil
The Rock in shape for Black Adam@therock – Instagram
As you can see, The Rock takes in enough food to feed a regular family of four over the course of three days, but he needs the fuel with the amount he works out.
The Hollywood A-Lister needs protein to make sure his muscles get the nutrients they need and after doing this for a decade, the man has already passed 50 and is in better shape now than when he was top of the WWE mountain in his mid-to-late 20s.
