The Smashing Machine: Dwayne Johnson recalls painful moment where he got "bell rung" shooting 'The Smashing Machine'

Dwayne Johnson recently opened up about getting caught with real shots during the production of 'The Smashing Machine' movie. The WWE legend explained that despite getting his "bell rung" during filming, he was keen on bringing authenticity to one of the most important fight scenes in the movie.

'The Smashing Machine' explores the life and career of UFC legend Mark Kerr, with Johnson playing the MMA icon. The movie also features Emily Blunt as Kerr's partner, Dawn Staples. Fellow MMA icon Bas Rutten plays Kerr's trainer, with former Bellator champion Ryan Bader playing Kerr's close friend, Mark Coleman.

In a recent interview with MMA Junkie and other news outlets during a media roundtable, Johnson recalled getting caught with real strikes and said:

"It felt like when you get rocked by a real fighter, multiple times. Then there's a moment in the trailer where I'm on my knees and I look up and I look dazed – that's real. I got my bell rung, and Benny was like, 'Hold on, stay right there.'"

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He continued:

"Benny [Safdie] said, 'I would never love to never cut away from you in these fights. We have a great stunt double. We have two. I'd love to just use you.' And I know what that meant."

Dwayne Johnson explains seeking authenticity while filming 'The Smashing Machine'

In the same interview, Dwayne Johnson explained why he was open to getting hit while filming 'The Smashing Machine' and stepping into Mark Kerr's shoes as an MMA fighter.

Explaining how he was keen on bringing "authenticity" to the fight scenes in the movie, Johnson said:

To bring it back to authenticity, Mark is the one who experienced this loss, where he couldn't move in the ring, and he was getting rocked. What's so moving about that, and when you see it in the documentary, when you pull it up and see his fights on YouTube, is that as Mark is getting rocked in that moment, his eyes are open - he's with it."

He continued:

He's not knocked out, he's getting his bell rung, he's getting kneed in the guts and in the rib cage, but he's not quitting and he's not tapping." [H/t: Yahoo News]

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Edited by Nishant Zende.