WrestleMania's Rock star: Why Dwayne Johnson's WWE uber-heel is his greatest role ever

It might as well have been a scene from one of Dwayne Johnson’s action movies: A fight between a bunch of muscular, larger-than-life dudes ended with a pair of supervillains standing over our heroes, leaving one heck of a cliffhanger as we wait for good to triumph over evil.

What casual Johnson fans might find surprising, had they tuned in to the end of WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” show this week, is seeing the main man as one of those bad guys – a menace in a cow-print vest, mercilessly whipping downed foes with a weight belt.

But this isn’t the Dwayne Johnson most folks know – blockbuster movie star, girl dad and likable hawker of tequila, energy drinks and skin-care products – teaming with cousin Roman Reigns in a tag-team match versus Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania XL (pay per view and streaming on Peacock, 7 EDT/4 PDT Saturday and Sunday). This is “The Rock,” or at least a newly evolved and more nefarious version of the pro-wrestling character he made famous in the late 1990s. It’s also his greatest role ever.

As in Johnson’s best movies (“Fast and Furious,” “Moana"), the fearsome persona who now calls himself the “Final Boss” is a supporting player in a much larger narrative, this one about family and legacy. Since 2000, Reigns’ Bloodline faction (composed mainly of his cousins) has seen more relative drama, intrigue and betrayal than your average season of “Succession,” and Reigns has enjoyed a Universal Championship reign lasting more than 1,300 days.

Rhodes has his own familial history: His legendary father Dusty, who died in 2015, never won the WWE belt, and in a rematch Cody vies with Reigns for the title on Sunday and a chance to “finish the story.” But first Rhodes has to win the Saturday tag-team match, or else it’s “Bloodline rules,” which pretty much means shenanigans and chicanery are afoot.

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Pro wrestling has always been best when it can weave elements of the real and fictional. Fans long wanted Rock to battle Reigns to see who is the real “tribal chief” of their extended Samoan family, which has deep, long-lasting roots in the wrestling community. (It was even teased in passing on an episode of Johnson’s former NBC biographical sitcom “Young Rock.”) That looked to be finally in the cards for Wrestle Mania earlier this year, though at live events the crowds made it clear that Rhodes was their guy. Some nasty slaps, heated personal insults and one heel turn later, the Rock is now feuding with Rhodes and leaving him in a bloody mess in the rain on WWE programming, or dropping a curse-laden, 20-minute Instagram diatribe as if it were a surprise Beyoncé track.

Along with fellow grapplers-turned-actors Dave Bautista and John Cena, Johnson has occasionally returned to the WWE ring over the years. During last year's actors' strike, Cena came back for a spell to work with younger talent (including the Bloodline's Solo Sikoa). Johnson usually is brought back as the electrifying "people's champion," since he doesn't often play the heavy on the big screen. But this in-ring Rock variation is refreshing, because Johnson's committed to tweaking a character we know and brilliantly changing his own game.

He first broke bad in the '90s, after the babyface “Rocky Maivia” character failed and the Rock was born: a cocky, eyebrow-raising baddie everybody loved to hate (and eventually just plain ol’ loved). This current take on “Hollywood Rock” still has tons of charisma, but he’s dangerous and unpredictable. Johnson sang a strain from his “Moana” song “You’re Welcome” as a threatening overture toward Rhodes’ mom, and has even goofed on his dog. (So far, Rhodes’ wife and kid have been spared, but hey, it’s not showtime yet.)

More importantly, after the high-profile miss of his DC superhero movie “Black Adam,” Johnson’s showing how creative he can be. The family aspect ups the emotional stakes. Even as heels, you understand why Rock and Reigns fight for their people's honor. At 51, Johnson naturally exudes more tough-guy gravitas than he did 25 years ago. And like any good actor, he’s making everybody around him better: This Rock has lifted up the popular Rhodes as even more of a beloved folk hero than he already was, made the flamboyant Rollins much more interesting and created a spicy “who will turn on whom first?” vibe alongside Reigns. Plus he just looks like he’s having a blast, even as crowds gleefully chant “Rocky sucks” once again.

Sadly, it might not last as long as we might like. Johnson will presumably be on good behavior when inducting his grandmother Lia Maivia into the WWE Hall of Fame Friday night. And even though he now sits on the board of directors at TKO (which owns WWE and UFC), at some point Hollywood will come calling again: While promoting the Christmas movie “Red One” later this year, Johnson probably won’t be telling a reporter to know their role and shut their mouth.

But Johnson knows his role right now, and is absolutely killing it. “Professional wrestling is cool,” he told the crowd Monday. And the Rock is cooking up a reminder of how great he can be for old-school fans, while taking newbies on a deliciously dastardly ride.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WrestleMania XL: Dwayne Johnson creates gold with villainous heel role