The Rock and Vin Diesel’s Fast 8 Feud Rumored as WWE Publicity Stunt

Could Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Vin Diesel be headed to a WWE ring? That’s what Life & Style reports, citing an anonymous insider. While their on-set rivalry had “some truth” to it, it looks like they could be building to a WWE Wrestlemania 33 match, as the insider said, “they are playing a huge prank, and it’s all for publicity.” Johnson, who built his career as a WWE Superstar called The Rock, came up with the idea to help promote Fast 8.

The timing is perfect, and the evidence was there all along. Wrestlemania 33 will take place on April 2, 2017, just 12 days before Fast 8‘s release on April 14. The Rock has a special Legacy contract with the WWE, essentially allowing him to return to action whenever he likes – and the last three years in a row, that’s meant Wrestlemania. Aside from the timing, the proof came in the very first post that Johnson made about the alleged feud. As noted at the time, it seemed very out of character for the reserved and respectful Johnson to play things out so publicly. Not for The Rock, though, who frequently called his opponents “candy asses” in the ring during promos – a term The Rock used twice in his initial instagram and facebook post.

This all being a “work,” as wrestling fans call the storylines that play out in the ring, makes more sense than Johnson suddenly and drastically changing his personality. His behavior outside of the final week of Fast 8 filming hadn’t changed, either, as he was seen singing with Lin-Manuel Miranda at an event for Disney’s Moana, and since that initial post, he’s gone back to promoting his other work (Baywatch, Ballers, and some things that don’t start with the letter B), and posting pictures of food, workouts, and family.

We probably won’t know for sure if this is all coming to a head at Wrestlemania for awhile – WWE only just had their second biggest weekend show of the year, SummerSlam, last weekend, and they have several pay per view specials between now and April to prepare for (and promote) first.