10 Untouchable WWE Stars Who Got Special Treatment
2. The Rock
"At present, it appears to be one rule for Dwayne and one frustrating rule for everyone else". That line is taken from a news write up on rumoured backstage frustrations amongst WWE talent stemming from The Rock's curse word-laden promos during the build towards WrestleMania 40 last year. Johnson's role on the TKO Board of Directors gave him freedom to act how he deemed fit, and he apparently figured aggro-filled rants directed at Cody Rhodes needed plenty of swearing.
Blood was a key part of the hype too, but it was the cursing that caught most flak behind the curtain. A memo had been sent out to everyone in the company reminding them of their responsibilities towards creating a PG-13 product. Alarmingly, someone in upper management directly ignored that to sell his 'Mania storyline as pulsating (which definitely worked), and that was viewed as an unnecessary double standard.
Internally, some likely wondered why they were expected to follow rules when others weren't. This "one rule for Dwayne and one frustrating rule for everyone else" surely caused some tension for a spell. It reeked of special treatment just because The Rock is...well, he's The Rock. Still, that shouldn't have mattered when the memo explicitly stated that WWE was a publicly traded company which should follow a certain path.
Members of management should've been setting the example.
Rocky ripped up that path and built a big building right in the middle of it with a sign that said, ' F U ALL' on the front. It's never a great look when companies expose a 'one rule for you and one rule for those in charge' policy, whether intentional or otherwise. That's what happened during a controversial 'Mania 40 season, and it grabbed the headlines.