Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made his WWE debut in 1996 and flopped as Rocky Maivia. After a stint on the IR with a knee injury, he embraced his personality as part of the Nation of Domination and kickstarting his floundering career. He went on to win 8 WWE Championships, 2 WCW Championships, 2 Intercontinental Championships, and 5 Tag Team Championships.
His acting career followed the same path. After The Scorpion King and a few WWE Studio flicks, he excised “The Rock” from his name and starred in duds like The Tooth Fairy. His acting career, much like his wrestling career, skyrocketed when he embraced who he was. Since, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has been one of the biggest box office draws in Hollywood. He’s currently starring in the number one movie worldwide, Hobbes and Shaw.
It doesn’t seem likely that The Rock is headed for the horror genre any time soon, but we’re dreamers here at Wicked Horror, and we’ve picked the top five horror villains we’d like to see climb into the squared circle to go one on one with The Rock.
1.) The Predator
The original Predator is a stellar film. It follows an elite special forces unit through the jungle, but everyone they’ve come to kill is already dead. And skinned, hanging from trees. The 8-foot tall, invisible hunter turns its attention on Arnold’s squad.
The sequels are, to be kind, of varying quality. They’re all missing one key ingredient from the first one: a bona-fide action star to go head to head with the titular Predator. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the draw when the first movie released. In 1987, the dude was on fire, a verifiable symbol of (sometimes toxic) masculinity. Audiences would pay to see him fight anything, much in the way they’ll pay to see the Rock in anything.
If Disney (now the rights holders after purchasing Twentieth Century Fox) won’t shell out the cash, The Rock can take them down to Know Your Role Boulevard, which is on the corner of Jabroni Drive, and check them directly into the Smackdown Hotel.
2.)The Tooth Fairy
Movie fans love a good redemption story. If there’s anything the Rock needs to atone for, it’s The Tooth Fairy. Enter, 2003’s Darkness Falls. The monster: The Tooth Fairy.
It’s not exactly the same. In the horror film, the Tooth Fairy is a ghost out for revenge after being murdered. She can only move through the darkness (thus, the film’s name). The Rock’s got a bright natural aura, but not enough to keep her away.
This would be his chance. Rock Bottom a ghost. Hit it with the People’s Elbow. Raise an eyebrow and maybe get murdered, but he’d have his chance to redeem himself and his biggest box office failure.
3.) Leatherface
Can you SMEELLLLALAL what Leatherface is cooking? I don’t know that the most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment ever has, because seriously, it’s for the best that barbequed flesh isn’t readily available.
What makes Leatherface a perfect opponent is the size factor. The Rock has put on great matches with big men — the Undertaker, Kane, and Big Show. Him going toe to toe with Leatherface is a logical next step. The Brahma Bull versus the Texas Slaughterer.
Also See: Top Leatherface Kills
Plus, who wouldn’t like to see the Rock in a chainsaw fight a la Dennis Hopper in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2?
4.) Pazuzu
There isn’t much I wouldn’t watch the Rock doing. The guy’s got charisma for days. His wrestling career really took off when he started talking s***. He’s a world class s*** talker.
With apologies to Freddy Krueger, Puzuzu is the best s*** talker in horror. In The Exorcist, he delivered (via Regan, who is not a monster but a victim) such classics as, “You’re going to die up there,” “Your mother sucks c***s in hell,” and “Stick your c*** up your a** you worthless motherf***ing c*********.”
Related: The Exorcist: Ten Things You Probably Didn’t Know
Think about it: Max Von Sydow, who played Father Merrin in the original could come back to the role he made famous fifty years ago with much less makeup. The Rock could step in for the now deceased Jason Miller to play Father Karras and cut promo after promo.
Rock: “What’s your name?”
Pazuzu: “I’m the Dev—”
Rock: “It doesn’t matter what your name is!”
5.) The Tethered (Spoilers for Us Ahead)
The problem with most of the opponents on this list is that they don’t stand a chance against the Rock. For a fight to be worth watching, there’s got to be a chance for the bad guy to win, but who could hold a candle to the Rock? Well, why not, the Kcor?
In Jordan Peele’s Us the Tethered are clones living underground, imitating the people they’re “tethered” to above. The film tells the story of these clones coming up from their tunnels to violently take the places of their doppelgangers. So if the Rock’s got a tethered down there hitting Spinebusters and getting up at 4am to hit the weights, we want to see them fight.
Related: Jordan Peele Does it Again with Us
Finally, the Rock has come back to find an opponent worthy of his talent, one that’s coming at him with scissors.
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