Backstage Heat on the Rock For His Behavior at the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

by Jack Windham
March 31, 2008

The Rock has received some heat from several WWE wrestlers and executives over his behavior at the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Bad Behavior

Those that were at the event were upset with the Rock over several things.

Some were upset that he acted like he was above everyone else (including showing up late and not socializing with everyone).

Others were upset with how he made the speech more about himself than about his family members who were being honored.

Ego Trip

Surprisingly, it's being said that the Rock was acting as if he was above everyone else because his acting career has started to take off.

Sources state that he barely appeared just in time for his speech. After his speech, he simply left the event without even waiting to see Ric Flair's induction.

In the Rock's defense, he did state that he had to move things around in his schedule to even attend the WWE Hall of Fame.

The reports state that the Rock had to rush to the airport to catch a flight back to Las Vegas to continue filming a movie.

Stone Cold Steve Austin, who happens to be a close friend, is also said to be a bit upset by how the Rock was behaving.

Inappropriate

The Rock's speech was entertaining. That's one of the few things that all wresting fans can agree on.

The wrestlers, though, felt otherwise.

"This wasn't a roast. This was supposed to be a tribute to his dad and grandfather. Instead, he did an hour plus of comedy, running way long, then did a short tribute to his dad and grandfather, then left. It was rude of him."

There were also a lot of people who were upset with the Rock for taking up more time that he was allotted for his speech.

WWE might not have been happy with how long his speech was, but they sure didn't seem to have much of a problem with highlighting his speech during the televised portion of the show.

Also, don't be surprised to see WWE using the Rock's appearance as a way to market the Hall of Fame DVD when it comes out in a few weeks.

Closing Thoughts

After to listening to the stories, I'm going to have to side with the Rock on this one. It sounded like he basically just wanted to entertain the audience before rushing off to finish his work.