Did The Rock copy traits from a 59-year-old WWE legend? Exploring 2-time WWE Hall of Famer's bold claims

The Rock completely shook the WWE Universe with his thunderous heel turn leading up to WrestleMania XL. Stepping up and breathing new life into WWE shows has made Johnson incredibly successful and popular throughout his career. However, not everyone shares this view.

Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash recently made a statement on Kliq This, pointing out that The Rock rose to where he is today via imitation. Nash noted that Johnson made his claim to success after ripping off several traits of his biggest rival, Stone Cold Steve Austin.

"If Steve doesn’t get hurt, I don’t think Rock hits the f*cking heights that he does. Like everything happens for a reason, because, basically, I mean, not to be a d*ck, but Rock has came out and said that when he sees something that gets over, he takes it. When Steve went down with the neck injury, f****ng Dwayne took a lot of f*****g Steve’s sh*t and incorporated it into what he did. And lo and behold, Steve comes back."

Although Kevin Nash’s statement that The Rock took Stone Cold Steve Austin's spot holds some weight, Johnson didn’t get over with the fans via imitation. The Brahma Bull and Steve Austin have several big differentiators, from their clothing, to their fighting style as well as their psychology in the ring.

Stone Cold was known to be very protective over his character and often didn’t like to lose his matches. On the other hand, The People’s Champ regularly put over other stars, both in his original run and the more recent stages of his career.

The Rock also had his own unique style of promos where he talked about himself in the third person and used several catchphrases. He recently got all those catchphrases copyrighted, as part of the deal in which The Final Boss has risen to the rank of a TKO Board Member.

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The Rock gracing the table his forefathers helped create

TKO Holdings made a big announcement at the beginning of 2024 when they appointed The Rock as the latest member of its executive board. This was a big honor for Dwayne Johnson, whose lineage of Samoan pro wrestlers has a big contribution to building the very core of pro wrestling.

The comparisons between the legendary Steve Austin and The Final Boss have many different avenues. However, it takes a lot more merit than just copying another WWE great to secure the prestigious seat Dwayne Johnson presides over today.