Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson debuted a new New Orleans-inspired entrance which featured Lil Wayne‘s ‘Tha Block Is Hot’ in his recent WWE appearance.
The wrestler-turned-entertainment polymath showed up to WWE: Smackdown last Friday (February 21), which was held in New Orleans. Before he came out, his staple catchphrase rang out (“If ya smell what The Rock is cooking…”) as he replaced his iconic Jim Johnston theme with Lil Wayne’s 1999 debut single ‘Tha Block Is Hot’ while imagery of New Orleans appeared on-screen.
In the post-show press conference, Johnson explained why he chose to remix the track.
“I’ve always been a big fan of Lil Wayne,” he said. “I’ve always been a big fan of Louisiana hip-hop from Master P, Juvenile, Birdman, 504. All of those guys. Those are my guys. I came up in Miami and South Florida. Those are my influences. I love all of those guys. I felt like, ‘We’re coming to New Orleans’.”
@wwe THE FINAL BOSS IS BACK ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️ #WWE #TheRock #SmackDown
“I wanted to give love to Lil Wayne and I love Kendrick and I love the Super Bowl. I loved his performance so it was my way of showing love to the OG.” -The Rock on dropping his Lil Wayne remix for his entrance on #SmackDown
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) February 22, 2025
He continued: “For years, before I would go out and wrestle in these matches, whether here in New Orleans or around the world throughout the United States, I was always listening to all of those guys,” Johnson explained. “I figured, now I’m going to go out, let’s take a moment. I wanted to give love and respect to the OGs.”
Referring to the controversy over Wayne not being picked to headline the Super Bowl earlier the month, he added: “This is Lil Wayne’s city. I love Kendrick [Lamar], that’s my guy. I love the NFL and I love the Super Bowl. I loved his performance. It was my way of showing love to the OG of New Orleans and that’s Lil Wayne. ‘Tha Block is Hot’, specifically, I wanted that one.”
‘Tha Block Is Hot’ was Wayne’s debut song, released in 1999 as the lead single from his debut studio album of the same name. The track featured his fellow Cash Money Records labelmates and Hot Boyz members B.G. and Juvenile. When it dropped, the song garnered significant commercial success, making it onto the Billboard Hot 100 and kicking off the illustrious career of the NOLA native.
Lil Wayne has already performed on WWE programming, rapping the fan-favourite ‘A Milli’ while escorting Jey Uso to his match at last year’s WrestleMania.
Other rappers have involved themselves with the WWE – including Sexyy Red, who recently said she was offered to wrestle in the promotion but ended up making brief appearances on NXT instead. Bad Bunny and Snoop Dogg have also fought in the squared circle – the former once held the now-defunct 24/7 championship.
As of last January, Johnson became a part of the wrestling business when he became a member of the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings – the parent company of WWE and UFC. Shortly after, he entered a program with his cousin “Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns – calling himself the “Final Boss” of the legendary Anoa’i wrestling dynasty.
In other news, The Rock is set to star in a new film directed by Martin Scorsese, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Emily Blunt. The movie will explore the Hawaiian mob scene of the 1960s and 70s, focusing on turf wars and resistance against American business interests.