Here’s Why WWE Fans Are Talking About “Chad Frost”

January 15, 2023, 1:11pm

You may have noticed the name “Chad Frost” repeatedly popping up on Twitter this weekend. No, he’s not some long-lost forgotten wrestler from the territory days or the rejected alternative name for a popular current star. It’s actually because of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s NBC series Young Rock.

The latest episode, set in 1998 while building up to that year’s SummerSlam, sees a young Johnson (Uli Latukefu) finding success in the WWF as the breakout star of the Nation of Domination. But behind the scenes, Johnson is the victim of backstage politics as Frost is shown feeding lies about his attitude to Vince McMahon. Frost, a black man dressed in all denim with a long ponytail, is described in the episode as one of WWF’s top stars at the time. It’s then pointed out via narration that Frost wasn’t actually real and that the character was just a pseudonym for the actual wrestler who wanted to sabotage Johnson’s push. Johnson never says his name outright, noting, “That guy never turned out to be a friend. And I’ll just leave it there.”

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Fans quickly figured out Johnson was talking about Shawn Michaels, who was one of WWE’s top draws in the late 90s before injuries forced him to temporarily retire. Wrestlers like Bret Hart have since called out Michaels for his treatment of The Rock behind-the-scenes and fans have been reacting to the show snubbing Michaels ever since.