Review Fix chats with Dwayne “The Rock†Johnson: The People’s Champion – From WWE to Hollywood author James Romero, who discusses his new book and why it’s a must-own for every wrestling fan.
Review Fix: What inspired the creation of the book?
James Romero: A gap in the market. There are some bad books on The Rock out there that give the impression of being biographies but are either copy and pastes off of his Instagram or essays on him with practically no research. Originally, I had a load of different ideas, including an Ultimate Warrior biography that was not feasible because his face paint and the name are trademarked, making it nigh on impossible to market. I picked The Rock because he never followed through with his promise to write a follow up to 2000 autobiography The Rock Says… and he’s one of the most famous people in the world, so there should be a sizeable market that wants to read about his life.
Review Fix: What did you learn from your last book that helped this one?
Romero: If I learned anything from writing the Owen Hart book is that the more you write, the easier it gets. King of Pranks took me a year whereas The People’s Champion has taken me seven-eight months. It’s still a long time but it’s nice to have the confidence that you’re improving and the clarity of treading on familiar ground.
Review Fix: What was the research process like?
Romero: A little more frustrating than with Owen Hart. Despite some admissions in interviews/social media about having a difficult upbringing, etc, Dwayne really is very guarded about his private life and it’s tougher to get information. It’s also impossible to get any real behind the scenes stories about his movies, which is why the book focuses more on the wrestling side. The people within the wrestling industry that I have spoken to couldn’t give me much more than I already knew or understood to be true. Dwayne is so polished and professional when giving interviews that he never particularly lets his guard down. He also has a habit of exaggerating or giving stories an unrealistic positive spin as the years have gone by, so I’ve done my level best to weed out the fact from the fiction.
Review Fix: Any interaction with The Rock for this?
Romero: Absolutely none. I’ll be sending his management a copy of the book, but I’m very much the type to ask for forgiveness rather than permission!
Review Fix: What did you learn that surprised you?
Romero: A lot, quite frankly. Why Dwayne stopped making one-off appearances beyond 2004 was interesting. How much special treatment (despite his opinion to the contrary) Dwayne received from the WWF before his main roster debut was rather eye-opening as well. How much Shawn Michaels comes up in the story of Dwayne’s wrestling career was probably one of the bigger surprises. I originally thought he may have been a dissenting voice during the Rocky Maivia days and it ended there but no, there was a backstage fistfight and a real attempt to get Rock thrown out of a WrestleMania main event. I was also surprised with how much Dwayne’s presentation changed from 1999-2001. As unpopular an opinion as it might be, The Rock character scripted under Vince Russo in 1998-99 was far better than under Brian Gewirtz. I’ve now seen every single Rock promo in the WWF/WWE and there’s no comparison – The Rock character really starts to grate in 2001-2002. That, overexposure and venturing into acting is why the fans started to turn on him. All are detailed in the book of course but I could go on.
Review Fix: Do you think differently about him than you did before?
Romero: I found that I was far more sympathetic toward Dwayne for making the decision to leave the WWE and just how much he was sacrificing when he kept coming back in 2002 and 2003. It’s also surprising to look back at how many people Rock volunteered to lose to in televised matches, from Rhyno to X-Pac to Steve Blackman. Dwayne really did what was best for the company and his opponents.
Review Fix: Bottom line, what makes this book a must-buy?
Romero: It is the first of its kind; a true chronicle of Dwayne’s life from Peter Maivia and Rocky Johnson to trials and tribulations wrestling as The Rock to Hollywood megastar. The book is absolutely chock full of quotes, facts and figures to paint a vivid picture of his professional career and personal life and how he achieved so much in a comparatively short space of time. I also go into deep dives of how and where most of his catchphrases originated with some surprising answers, including who first came up with The People’s Elbow and its name to where Dwayne lifted “roody poo†and “candy ass†from. The book is a really enjoyable read for everyone. From non-wrestling fans to lifelong fanatics, I guaran-damn-tee everybody will learn something new about The Most Electrifying Man in Sports and Entertainment.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Romero: That I don’t know. I promised I wouldn’t write another book after the Owen Hart one and then I did. I guess me writing a third biography depends on how well The People’s Champion sells. I’ve had some experience in podcasting and a lot with YouTube, so I’m sure I could make a go of something wrestling related in that arena.
Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?
Romero: Dwayne “The Rock†Johnson: The People’s Champion – From WWE to Hollywood will be available on the 29th of November in Kindle/eBook and paperback formats! It’s exclusive to Amazon and I promise it’ll make a great present for Christmas for any wrestling/Dwayne Johnson fan!
US Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MB5ZV7D
UK Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08MB5ZV7D
Canada Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08MB5ZV7D
I can be reached at [email protected] or on the Twitter I never use @romerosuperstar
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