WWE's The Rock Stars in 2nd 'The Smashing Machine' Trailer About UFC Legend Mark Kerr

Fresh off the film's world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, A24 has released a new trailer for The Smashing Machine starring The Rock as UFC legend Mark Kerr.

The trailer primarily spotlights the relationship between Kerr and Dawn Staples, the character played by Emily Blunt, as well as his addiction to narcotics and preparations for the PRIDE Grand Prix in 2000.

Kerr was an NCAA champion at Syracuse, then moved into mixed martial arts in the late-90s. He was unbeaten in his first 13 career fights, including winning back-to-back heavyweight tournaments at UFC 14 and UFC 15 in 1997.

In a 2015 interview with Josh Gross of SI.com, Kerr said he started using performance-enhancing drugs between the Olympic wrestling trials in 1996 and the start of his MMA career:

"My first fights down in Brazil I was on a very small dose of anabolic steroids. When I went into the UFC, I thought it was stepping it up a whole other gear. I was probably 275 pounds with 5 percent body fat. I could bench press a small car. I could squat a small house. It was totally overkill."

In another connection to WWE beyond having The Rock in the movie, Kerr actually lost to Kurt Angle at the 1996 Olympic trials for a spot on the U.S. team at the Atlanta Games.

Adapted from the 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr, The Rock is the star and credited as a producer on the feature film project.

Benny Safdie, who previously co-directed Uncut Gems with his brother, is the director of The Smashing Machine.

A24 is positioning the film for an awards run, particularly for The Rock. Early reviews out of Venice, where the film premiered on Sept. 1, were largely positive with a lot of praise for The Great One's performance.

Ryan Lattanzio of IndieWire called it the "most layered work" of The Rock's acting career. Variety's Owen Gleiberman described The Brahma Bull as a "revelation" in the movie.

The Smashing Machine drops in theaters on Oct. 3.