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Featured Image Credit: Pablo Cuadra/Getty/WWE/Getty
Topics: WWE, Dwayne Johnson
Jess Battison
When you think of WWE, there’s those key stars who always stand out.
Of course, there’s Hulk Hogan to John Cena and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin to Andre the Giant but obviously, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has to be up there.
'The People's Champion' has been with the wrestling promotion since 1996, back when it was WWF (World Wrestling Federation), and currently sits on the board of directors for TKO Group Holdings. Maintaining his huge status in the wrestling world, Johnson's gone on to have a hugely successful acting career and even launch his popular small batch tequila brand, Teremana - which is now available for us UK lot to sip on too.
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And sure, he had some time away from wrestling, but it feels like ‘The Great One’ has never left and he tells LADbible he’ll always ‘happily’ go back to WWE.
“I feel like it’s in my blood,” the Johnson says. And in a way, that’s kind of true.
The Teremana founder is the first third-generation Superstar in WWE history, something ‘a lot of people know, and a lot don’t' is that the 52-year-old’s grandad, Peter Maivia ‘used to wrestle for WWE, for Vince McMahon’s dad’.
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And then, in the 70’s, his dad, Rocky Johnson, ‘came along and wrestled for’ McMahon.
“I came along in the 90s and wrestled for Vince into the 2000s, so there's some real connective tissue that goes back generations,” he explains.
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The Rock really does have love for wrestling and WWE: “And for that I will forever be grateful, because it provided me a platform and a way to express myself in ways that nothing else would allow, other than acting.
“So the opportunity for me to become a director, sit on the board, take that position, is just another way that I could help the company grow.”
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Having returned to the ring earlier this year to become The Final Boss, Johnson adds: “Any opportunity I can to go back and not only make appearances, but help to expand the company, whether domestically or globally, I always go back.
“And it's also part of my obligation that I happily do.”
This commitment to legacy is something the dad-of-three has quite literally embossed into his tequila company, Teremana which launched in the UK earlier this year.
Johnson says when he created the brand, his interest wasn’t ‘hey, let me create a brand, and maybe in 10, 15 years from now, I can turn it around and sell it to a large company, and then I ride off into the sunset’.
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Centred on the idea of 'sharing the mana', which means 'bringing good energy, bringing people together and doing the right thing', the Hollywood star says it holds a special place in his heart and has a deep meaning for him and his family.
“I really wanted to create a legacy brand that was around well after I'm gone, but it was around for my family," he tells us.
So, on the bottom of every bottle of Teremana there’s the embossed word ‘TIJASI’
“This is the first two letters of my daughter’s first names, Tiana, Jasmine and Simone,” he says. “So, at the bottom of every bottle, this will give you an idea of how this is a legacy brand.”
And for people who don't think they're fans of tequila, Johnson has a very simple message: give Teremana a try.
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“I run into a lot of people who go, ‘Oh God, I hate tequila. I had an awful experience with it.’ I coaxed them back in. I said, just give this a try. And I turn them around, and they become fans of Teremana," he recalls.
Tequila on The Rock(s) anyone?
Dwayne Johnson’s Teremana tequila is available in three expressions, Blanco, Reposado and Añejo, in Tesco, Selfridges and Amazon.