The Rock Says He “Quietly Retired” From Wrestling

The Rock talks wrestling.

Being the biggest movie star in the world means that The Rock doesn’t have as much time to appear in front of a WWE camera. But that doesn’t mean The Rock isn’t pining to return. Appearing on “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” The Rock discussed his love for pro wrestling and how he still misses being in front of a live audience.

“I miss wrestling. I love wrestling. I quietly retired from wrestling because I was lucky enough to have a wonderful career and accomplish what I wanted to accomplish. But there’s nothing like a live crowd, live audience, live microphone.”

The Rock then discussed his debut match in WWF, which took place at Survivor Series 1997 inside Madison Square Garden. The Rock — then going by Rocky Maivia — teamed with Jake Roberts, Marc Mero, & The Stalker to defeat Crush, Goldust, Jerry Lawler & Hunter Hearst Helmsley.

“I had my very first match ever in the WWE in Madison Square Garden. It was a big pay-per-view and, it’s funny because I credit my journey in pro wrestling to getting me to where I am today — especially that particular night,” said The Rock. “Generally, your first match, you have it in a small town, small crowd, non-televised. This is Madison Square Garden, sold out, one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year, Survivor Series. I was in one of the main events. No one knew who I was. There is the saying, ‘If you can make it New York, you can make it anywhere’ because it’s the toughest crowd and they really test you, especially in the world of wrestling. At the 15-minute mark of my match, 22,000 people are chanting ‘Rocky, Rocky, Rocky.’ It just set me on a path in my career that I’ll never forget.”

When it comes to current pro wrestling, The Rock recently stated that he’s a fan of Drew McIntyre. You can read his comments by clicking here.

You can listen to the entire clip with The Rock in the video above