The Rock is Not a Sellout: The Story of How the People Turned on Dwayne Johnson

Being upset with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for leaving World Wrestling Entertainment is like holding a grudge against a hungry man who chooses to feed himself. The story of how the millions and millions of wrestling fans turned on Dwayne Johnson is a sad tale.

Not sad because we no longer have the privilege of seeing one of the all-time greats perform, but sad because so many people refuse to show their appreciation for the years The Rock did give to the wrestling business.

Most of us would never admit it. Anyone who liked The Rock would probably say they wish him the best in his new career but we all know that 99 percent of those people would be lying.

The people, those same people who at one time or another had a few insults to throw Dwayne Johnson's way. We've all heard it before.

"Why did he have to leave the business that made him?" or "He should have some appreciation for his roots!", etc.

If you are one of the many people who have said something like this before, than you are one of the countless fans who turned their backs on the people's champion.

Let me start by saying the obvious, I have and always will be a huge fan of Dwayne Johnson.

I first came to know this man when I first got into watching wrestling. Back then, I watched Smackdown and not Raw because I had no cable television when I became mesmerized by the man they called The Rock.

It was Dwayne Johnson who got me into wrestling. It was The Rock who forever connected me with this form of entertainment I hold so close to my heart. I thank The Rock for that, I really do.

No one was more devastated to see him leave than me.

I felt he was so much more entertaining than the rest of the roster combined and I could not imagine how I could continue to love the product without him.

When Dwayne Johnson left for Hollywood, it sucked.

I hated waiting month after month to see when he was going to make his grand-return. In an era before I became well-versed with the magic of the internet (I was a late-bloomer, believe me I know) and in an era when I used to actually be shocked when he'd return.

I loved those little comebacks he made too. I loved the heel-Rock.

So many of the points he made during that era rung so true in my ears. It WAS the people who booed The Rock at Wrestlemania X8. It WAS the people who turned their backs on The Rock. Yet, as he returned in a manor that refused to kiss the butts of his former fans, I loved him more than ever.

As quickly as I was memorized to see him return, I was brought back down to earth when he left.

It took a few years for it to finally settle in that he was never really coming back. Wrestlemania 21 in Hollywood where I hopped he'd be working just across town and could maybe take the night off to come lay the smackdown.

Or last year during Wrestlemania 24 when I thought just maybe he'd at least come back to introduce his father in his hometown of Miami.

But no, no Rock.

So this year I refuse to get my hopes up. We will not be seeing "The Great One" at Wrestlemania XXV and that's fine with me. Although I'd love to see him participate to any degree with the WWE, it's his right now to.

That's what people seem to forget.

Dwayne Johnson does not owe a single fan a damn thing.

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