It’s been a really, really good week for WWE’s efforts to brand itself as an entertainment company and least when it comes to some of the top stars on their roster.
Sure, two of them are part-timers and one of those doesn’t even wrestle any more, but three guys with well-established ties to Vince McMahon’s company have made the news this week for non-WWE achievements.
Brock Lesnar, who will likely be on SmackDown next week and work SummerSlam, is a ranked heavyweight title contender in UFC, a legitimate combat sports promotion. John Cena crushed a performance as host of The ESPYs on ABC - two days after he was on Raw. And now Dwayne Johnson, who will probably show up to pop the crowd in Orlando next Spring at WrestleMania 33 whether internet fans like it or not, was just named the highest-paid actor in the world by Forbes.
The magazine released their annual “Celebrity 100”, covering the earnings of entertainers and athletes from June 2015 to last month, placed the guy we know as The Rock at number 19. Johnson pulled in a reported $64.5 million over the past twelve months, more than any other actor on the list (his Central Intelligence co-star, Kevin Hart, is sixth, but a big chunk of his $87.5 million came from stand-up comedy performances).
WWE is making sure everyone knows about the connection, too:
Congrats to @TheRock on being named the highest paid actor on @Forbes' #Celebrity100 list! https://t.co/8fTOB5Tzkp pic.twitter.com/T9deTDAuvP
— WWE (@WWE) July 13, 2016
No small feat for a dude who was struggling with life in his teens, and whose transition from the squared circle to the silver screen was far from assured when he took the leap at the peak of his wrestling popularity.
But we’ll let Rocky explain:
Congrats, Great One!