Dwayne Johnson and Roman Reigns on Going Up Against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in WrestleMania XL

-Welcome Welcome. Welcome back. Please, we have a lot to discuss. You brought the belt. Come on. The belt. Check this out right here. That's what I'm talking about. -That guy... he loves it. He loves him. Yes. -Oh my God. He is very heavy. -We were backstage literally 15 seconds ago and I thought, "Look at this. He's wearing his belt. He looks like a million dollars." I have a bottle of tequila in my hand back there. -He's back there brandishing it. Yes Yes. -Come on. Why not? Dwayne, are you celebrating? Because you just launched a giant new football franchise. -We did it.

We launch... Thank you very much. -I mean, it's a great success. -Thank you. -UFL. -We launch. We finally launched the UFL, the United Football League, a combination of the XFL and the USFL. And it was just... We had an amazing weekend. Thank you very much for your support. And I always like to say the best: and we are also former soccer players. I always say that the best thing about this league, about the UFL, is simply creating opportunities for players to live their dreams. So thank you very much guys. -Congratulations. I'm so excited. It was a great...

I read it somewhere... and tell me if it's true or not... but Larry David called you and had an idea to change the rules of the game? -No, friend, yes. I got a call from Larry David. -You have to say. - So, Ari Emanuel, who is my agent and long-time business partner, calls Ari. Ari says, “Okay, let me put you in touch with Dwayne.” Then Larry David calls me. First of all, Larry is crazy. So he calls me and... Larry, if you don't know, he's very kick-averse. He hates the idea that they will play a game and the players will leave everything on the field, and at the end of the game sometimes it comes down to the kicker. -Yeah. -He hates that idea.

Then he called me. He says, "You're

going

to launch the new league, right?" I make a terrible Larry David. -That's pretty good. I like that. -I said: "I am, yes." And he says, "Well, what can we do about the kickers? Do we need the kickers?" So we had this lively conversation. And by the way, we need kickers, because as we know, kickers are an incredible part and component of football. But we modified some of the rules a little bit in the UFL, which, by the way, the NFL also adopted some of our rules. -Oh really? Yes, you need the kickers.

That's the foot part of football. -That's... Yeah. I mean, you definitely need them. -Nothing but love for kickers right now. -I love that Larry David called you. -But no, friend, it was Larry David's best phone call. We had never spoken before. And he is amazing. He is brilliant. -Did you feel like you were in an episode of “Curb”? -Yes Yes Yes. Like the final episode of "Curb." It should be in that episode. -You should be. Yes Yes. I want to talk about this. What's happening at WrestleMania is a big deal. Obviously, I know, all weekend. Everyone is excited about this.

But you had to start somewhere. What's it like... Do you remember, Roman, when you started? How were those concerts? -Oh my God. Well, I mean, I could have been anywhere. We could have done it in a parking lot, a used car lot. It could have been a fairground. -Really? -Yeah. -How many people in the crowd? -The lightest show I have ever done was with two people. Yes. -Wow. -Only two, yes. Yeah, he got so bad that he was asking...he was like asking for requests. Like, "What do you want to see? Do you want a body shot?" -Yeah. "I can give you that.

I'll give you whatever you want." Yeah. -So it's been bad, but we're in a really good place right now. -I mean, from there you went to Brooklyn the other day, which was sold out, made history. -Amazing. So we did it... Wow! Yes, thanks. And we, "The Tribal Chief," our universal champion, and I, "The Final Chief," were there in Brooklyn. And in Brooklyn we did it. We broke a record. It was the highest-grossing “Raw” in American history, which says a lot. Yes. Really amazing. -That is incredible. -I mean, it was really, really special. You know, and now that I'm back and in the routine of everything, like he's been for years, running the company, things like that, you try to stay as present as possible, because it moves.

And the next night you are somewhere else, in a different city. But we had to take a moment last Monday to recognize how wonderful it is to be in this position. I mean, look, like Roman was saying, we both come from wrestling at flea markets and used car dealerships and making $40 a match to make a little more than that. And you know, this guy is a champion and times are good. -It is a very familiar business for both of you. Both have deep ties with wrestling. It spans three generations. I actually found this wrestling card here.

Do you recognize this? Watch this. -Wow. Check it out. -That's Dwayne's father, Rocky, fighting Roman's father, Sika, to become the WWE Tag Team Champion. -That is incredible. So, for you who don't know, Roman and I are family. We are cousins. Our fathers wrestled each other in the '80s. And in fact, his father and our uncle, Afa and Sika, were the first WWE Samoan Tag Team Champions. And then my dad and Tony Atlas became the first black WWE Tag Team Champions, beating our dad and my uncle. So this goes back a long time. -It's very deep, yes. -Yeah. -Yeah.

Here you are. I have a picture of you, Roman, with your dad and Hulk Hogan. Look at this kid right here. Look to you. Come on. -Okay, don't worry about the haircut. This is how we did it in the '80s, guys, okay? So yes. -Were situations like this normal for you? Did you go to the barbecue and people were just flipping people over at tables and stuff? -I'm pretty sure I thought Hulk was my uncle right now. I say, "Why does he have blonde hair?" Because everyone in our family is huge and bigger, you know, larger than life, so... -You got used to that. -You just get used to it, yes.

It's a bit of a conditioning effect, but those are always great moments to remember, yes. -Yeah. Dwayne, you made your debut, your WrestleMania debut, at WrestleMania 13. -I did. -Something very special happened in this and I want to share a clip. Watch this. -That's Rocky Johnson! That's Rocky Maivia's dad! That's Rocky Johnson! The sheikh is asking for mercy! They picked him up and beat him! -Oh no! -Get out, sheikh! -And wait a minute. Watch this. Rocky Johnson picks him up and hits The Sheik too! Father and son rocking the house here, ladies and gentlemen, at WrestleMania 13. -Wow. -That's your dad. -Wow.

That's my dad. - Do you still have it! -Yes it's correct. -That's my dad. Actually, that was amazing. And I tell you, that was very special. For my dad, who passed away unexpectedly in 2020, he always said that that was the most special moment of his entire career. It was really amazing, so that was cool. -It's great that you have to do that. It's amazing that you have to do that. -Yeah. And by the way, how about this? So, the guy we were fighting, that I was fighting, The Sultan, he's our family too, he's our cousin. That is the father of the Usos. -Yes, that is the father of the Usos.

That's Rikishi. -No way. -Yes, that's our cousin. -No way. It's not funny? -This is how we do it. We're always working together, you know? -Why not? -Or sometimes against each other, but it's all love. Really is. -Yes, we can relate to that on Thanksgiving. Yes, we can all relate to that. Roman, here's a photo of you. This is WrestleMania 29 with The Shield. Who is this knight you are fighting? -Oh, what do we call it nowadays? Clown emoji? Yeah. So, that's Seth Rollins. He was a former "chosen" member of the family, but you know how it is. -He's one of the two whose sweet ass we're

going

to beat next Saturday.

Seth Rollins. -It's Roman Reigns and Rock versus Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes. By the way, several bloody weeks have already passed. Has been. -Blood has been spilled. -Oh! -Wow. You like the blood. -We have a corner of blood up there. -Because Cody keeps trying to "finish his story." That's the thing, Cody is just trying to finish his story. Can you explain what that is and what people can expect this Saturday night? -I think Cody is reading the wrong book right now, because we don't care about his story. This... It's funny, because you told me this a long time ago.

In the wrestling business there is no call sheet. There's no like, "He's number one, he's number two." So everyone on our staff thinks they are number one. So it's just a shark tank. Everyone is trying to eliminate each other. And this guy has been chasing me for two years. I have defeated him. We have already crossed this bridge. So this is where we completely close the book on this guy, Cody Rhodes, and show what the most powerful family in professional wrestling is all about. For me, that's what this weekend is all about. -That's all. Yes. Yes.

Yes. -Do you think that's what's going to happen? -We... Well, I think that's what's going to happen? I know that's what's going to happen. -I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I apologize. -We are about to set this in stone very soon. -Look, this is what you have. You have a guy named Cody Rhodes. For those of you who may not know, Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins are both bad in their own right. They're... I compare Cody Rhodes to Luke Skywalker. TRUE? And I compare Seth Rollins to the Joker. Yeah, these guys are really unique, a little crazy, but also, at the end of the day, like my cousin said, there can only be one, and when there's only one, you have the Tribal Chief and you have The Final Boss.

And when The Final Boss... And so I have the pleasure of returning to the ring. I've been working hard for the last three... -Wow! -Thank you. Oh! -Yeah. Looks good, buddy. -I have been working hard. He's been working with me. So we'll see what we're going to do, but I can't wait. The idea, by the way, of getting everyone together like that and Roman and I was just: What can we do to create a main event for WrestleMania that we could say is the biggest WrestleMania of all time? And here we are. -That's what I'm talking about.

I'm so excited. Dwayne Johnson, Roman Reigns, everyone. WrestleMania XL will air live on Peacock this Saturday and Sunday starting at 7:00 p.m.