Getty Image
Ever since The Rock left the WWE full-time in 2004 to pursue a career in acting, pro wrestling fans have questioned his commitment to the company and wrestling in general. Those questions have become even louder as he was named a board member of the TKO group, which owns WWE.
Now, a former WWE star has come out and revealed that the Hollywood superstar hardly watched the product at all when he first left the company.
Dylan Postl, who has dwarfism and wrestled for years as a leprechaun character named Hornswoggle, recently revealed that The Rock mistook him for a child who was attending a show as part of the Make-A-Wish charity program.
“He thought I was a Make-A-Wish kid,” Postl said during an interview with YouTuber Chris Van Vliet. “[This was] going into the year he hosted [WrestleMania 27]. He cut a promo announcing he was gonna be the host. I was like I’m gonna meet my buddy Dwayne, I’m gonna be his best friend. So I am in a suit, a legit suit, not my leprechaun outfit, with my gear bag, and I’m gonna meet him behind the curtain as he comes through. In my mind, best friends.
“I see my buddy Dwayne come back through, ‘Oh boy, here we go!’ I say, ‘Hey man, thank you so much for coming back. Thanks for what you’re gonna do for WrestleMania and what you’re gonna do for the company, and just glad to have you back. Good to meet you. My name is Dylan.’ He extends his arm out, goes, ‘Did you have a good time tonight, buddy?’ Taps me on the shoulder, leaves. I go, ‘Oh no, he doesn’t realize I work here.’ I was on the show before that.”
Postl then explained his reaction and how he approached The Rock about it. To his credit, The Rock did acknowledge his mistake. But Postl didn’t say whether or not he offered an apology.
I told (fellow wrestler) Kofi (Kingston), thinking he would have my back and support me. He supported me by texting 97 people immediately while driving because he couldn’t wait on it. Within 30 seconds, I had so many people message me, ‘Rock thought you were a Make-A-Wish kid, huh?’” Post continued. “Big Show called him out the next week about this, because it got to Big Show. Rock goes, ‘No. Yeah, I did. Yeah, I did. I don’t watch the show.’ I approached him about it too and he said, ‘Yeah, Big Show already got on me about this.’”
On the one hand, it’s extremely funny. Not because Postl has dwarfism, but because it just validates what several other wrestlers and actors have said about The Rock and how little he cares about the other people he works with. On the other hand, it’s kind of sad. You’d ideally hope for more from someone who is such a big part of the company. But hey, people still tune in to watch The Rock. So unless that stops happening, things won’t change anytime soon.