The Rock Gains Ownership of Famous WWE Catchphrases and Nicknames

Dwayne Johnson and WWE have been working together a great deal since WWE and UFC were merged as TKO Group by Endeavor, and that partnership looks to continue for the foreseeable future. That deal has also resulted in a host of intellectual property rights for famous Rock catchphrases and nicknames being transferred to Johnson (via Variety). Johnson already has the rights to The Rock ring name, but now he also owns nicknames like “The Brahma Bull” and “The People’s Champion”, as well as phrases like “Candy Ass” and “If you smell what The Rock is cooking”. You can find the full list of nicknames and phrases Johnson now owns below.

The full list includes “The Rock,” “Rocky Maivia,” “Team Corporate,” “Rock Nation,” “The Nation,” “Roody Poo,” “Candy Ass,” “Jabroni,” “If you smell what The Rock is cooking,” “The Samoan Sensation,” “The Blue Chipper,” “The Brahma Bull,” “The People’s Champion,” “The Great One,” “Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth,” “Team Bring It,” “The Rock Just Bring It,” “The People’s Elbow,” “Rock Bottom,” “Finally, The Rock has come back to…,” “It doesn’t matter what…,” “Blue Hell,” “The millions… (and millions),” “Rockpocalypse,” “Project Rock” and “The most electrifying man in sports and entertainment.”

The agreement also makes a distinction between those phrases and nicknames and any video content produced by WWE. “For the avoidance of doubt, the ‘Rock IP’ does not include any photographic, audio and/or audiovisual footage of Dwayne Johnson embodied in the copyrighted works of WWE, nor does the ‘Rock IP’ include any photographs, audio and/or audiovisual footage of Dwayne Johnson created by WWE in connection Dwayne Johnson’s services under the terms of the Services Agreement.”

Johnson recently was appointed to TKO Group Holdings’ board of directors, and he shared how thrilled he was to be a part of this new era in the initial announcement. “My grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, and my dad, Rocky ‘Soulman’ Johnson, would’ve never thought this day would come. Which is why I’m very humbled to have a seat at the table that has decades of history and family legacy for me. A table that my family helped to build,” Johnson said.

“Being on the TKO board of directors, and taking full ownership of my name, ‘The Rock,’ is not only unprecedented, but incredibly inspiring as my crazy life is coming full circle. At my core, I’m a builder who builds for and serves the people. I’m very motivated to help continue to globally expand our TKO, WWE, and UFC businesses as the worldwide leaders in sports and entertainment – while proudly representing so many phenomenal athletes and performers who show up every day putting in the hard work with their own two hands to make their dreams come true and deliver for our audiences. I’ve been there, I’m still there and this is for them,” Johnson said.

“I am thrilled to partner with Dwayne and welcome his immense talent to TKO’s board,” CEO Ari Emanuel added. “Dwayne brings an incredible track record of creating content and building globally recognized consumer brands, and he will play a key role in realizing our ambitions for TKO.”

What do you want to see from The Rock as we approach WWE’s WrestleMania 40? Let us know in the comments, and you can also talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!