The Rock Gets Trademark Rights to WWE Catchphrases as Part of TKO Contract Agreement

A filing from TKO Group Holdings revealed this week that WWE legend and Hollywood acting star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was granted intellectual property and trademark rights to several of his signature catchphrases and nicknames when he signed on to become a member of TKO's board of directors in January.

According to Alex Weprin of the Hollywood Reporter, TKO's IP filing shows that Johnson now owns the rights to the following:

• 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
• 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
• The Most Electrifying Man in Sports and Entertainment

Per Weprin, the agreement will allow The Rock to use the aforementioned names and phrases for certain products over 10 years, however, he can't license the IP to companies that are competitive with TKO.

In addition to the IP rights and a spot on the board of directors, TKO gave The Rock a $30 million stock reward, according to Weprin.

Before becoming one of the biggest and most successful actors in the world, The Rock built his brand in WWE, establishing himself as one of the most significant stars in pro wrestling history from the late 1990s into the early 2000s.

The Rock is perhaps best known for his ability to cut mesmerizing promos and his use of several beloved catchphrases.

Essentially all of them appear to be included in the IP agreement, including some of his favorite insults such as Roody Poo, Candy Ass and Jabroni.

"If you smell what The Rock is cooking" is arguably his most famous catchphrase and the one that helped put him on the map, and that is part of the agreement as well.

TKO, which is the name of the company formed by the merger between WWE and UFC last year, gave The Rock a significant position of power within the business.

It has also led to The Rock making his return to WWE programming, as he showed up on SmackDown last month and seemingly challenged his cousin, undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns, to a match at WrestleMania 40 in April.

Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes threw a wrench into those plans by choosing Reigns as his WrestleMania opponent, prompting The Rock to turn heel by slapping Rhodes at a WrestleMania press conference.

The Rock officially joined The Bloodline on a recent episode of SmackDown, and Rhodes subsequently challenged him to a WrestleMania match as well.

All signs point to the 51-year-old Johnson competing in some fashion at WrestleMania 40, and if that happens, it will mark his first true match since 2013.

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