I have a confession to make: growing up, I was a HUGE wrestling fan. From the moment I first saw "Macho Man" Randy Savage drop a flying elbow on WCW Saturday Night, I was hooked. Eventually, the Attitude Era of the WWF captivated me until about 2002 when I grew a little older, and the newly christened World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) lost its luster. I occasionally watch today out of the corner of my eye just to keep tabs on who's headlining, and watch the occasional big returns (known among Internet wrestling fans as "mark out moments") of Superstars from years gone by. Guys like Hulk Hogan, the reformation of DeGeneration-X and of course, the return of Bret "The Hitman" Hart were all epic memories for those of us nostalgic for days of Sports Entertainment Past.
However, nothing compared to the return of The Great One, The Most Electrifying Man in All Of Entertainment, The People's Champ, none other than The Rock. I felt like I jumped into a time machine and went back in time about 10-12 years. It was an incredible return that many thought would never happen. And to top it all off: he did it while launching his social media initiatives, which gives me a nice segue into this becoming a professional column for this digital marketing professional.
Here's the truth: The Rock had the greatest launch of a Twitter account in the history of Twitter. Many will disagree because Dwayne Johnson doesn't have the mainstream cache of Tiger Woods or LeBron James, despite starring in many successful feature films. Yes, I remember the hoopla around the launch of LeBron's Twitter account and how rapidly his followers grew. There's are major reasons why The Rock's Twitter launch was the most electrifying launch in the history of Twitter. Dwayne Johnson, World Wrestling Entertainment and the company behind The Rock's Twitter launch, Digital Royalty (the company behind the social media efforts of Shaq, The Cleveland Indians, UFC and many more sports and celebrity social media initiatives) could not have executed this plan better.
The Rock's Twitter launch marked a return to his roots. There is a very small, but important reason why the launch of Dwayne Johnson's Twitter account is so fascinating: The chose the Twitter handle @TheRock. Those who have followed The Rock's career know that he has tried to shed the image of a "pro wrestler acting in movies." When Hulk Hogan was trying to become a movie star, people still thought of him as a "wrestling actor" rather than a true Hollywood star. The Rock successfully made this switch and then tried to shed his nickname. Gone was name "The Rock" or Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson from movie credits, he was simply "Dwayne Johnson." People thought he was embarrassed of his wrestling past, when in reality that was what made him the movie star he is today.
The Rock's Twitter name @TheRock is proof that Dwyane Johnson has not forgotten about where he came from. He can try all he wants to shed his nickname, but he will always be The Rock. He essentially re-branded himself in one fell swoop, realizing that fans everywhere still think of him as The People's Champ even though he also shines on the silver screen. He could have just as easily been @DwayneJohnson, but he chose @TheRock. From a branding perspective, that is a very bold move considering his efforts to shed the nickname in recent years.
The Rock's Twitter launch coincided with an Earth shattering announcement of his return to WWE. I do realize that LeBron's social media efforts coincided with a certain "decision" that caused a metric ton of buzz (I'm still extremely bitter about it, I might add). However, LeBron's social media efforts combined with his "decision" sparked extreme negative sentiment in the social media community that many say destroyed his brand. The Rock, however, successfully created extremely positive buzz among a fan base that was starving for the return of The Great One, and got many past wrestling fans who don't watch anymore (such as myself) extremely interested in present-day WWE, at least until WrestleMania, which The Rock is scheduled to guest host. The hashtag "#therock" was the #1 trending topic on Twitter and "Dwayne Johnson" was the #1 trend among Google Trends. In one fell swoop, The Rock owned the social media landscape, and the sentiment was all positive.
Not only is Dwayne Johnson in the spotlight, but so is World Wrestling Entertainment. The company which runs an amazing social media department has come upon some tough times in the development of new stars. WrestleMania looked to be a snoozer. Instantly, WWE has the attention of current fans, past fans dying for nostalgia and casual observers who remember the golden era of the World Wrestling Federation known as the "Attitude Era." WrestleMania XXVII may break the milestone of one million pay-per-view buys, which would be incredible considering how WWE has fallen among mainstream interest since its peak in 1998-2001.
So bravo to Dwayne Johnson, World Wrestling Entertainment and Digital Royalty. You have successfully electrified both the Sports Entertainment AND social media landscape.
(For those of you who want to rain on this post and say "Wrestling is fake" I say this: it may be scripted, but you try to play a football game 4 or more nights a week with no offseason for a 20-30 year career. Your body gets beaten to hell in sports entertainment and there are the scars, surgeries, mental issues and deaths to prove it.)
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