SmackDown returned to our screens with The Final Boss, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson making his comeback. During his return, he stood in front of Cody Rhodes in the middle of the ring, making bold claims about how he is on the board of TKO, the TKO that owns WWE. Founded by Ari Emanuel and Vince McMahon, TKO is part of a merger between WWE and Zuffa, LLC – the parent company of UFC.
While boasting and trash-talking are all part of the game, Dwayne Johnson’s statements to Cody Rhodes may be seen in bad light, especially since it mentions one of the most controversial personalities right now – Ari Emanuel.
What did Dwayne Johnson say about Ari Emanuel?
When Dwayne Johnson, the Final Boss, stood in front of Cody Rhodes at SmackDown, he had a lot to say to his former WrestleMania opponent. While Johnson did praise Rhodes for being a “great champion” before launching into a rant about why he himself was important to the WWE as a whole.
Rhodes simply stood there waiting for Johnson to finish his speech which included, TKO’s ownership of WWE, his position on the TKO board, and his friendship with Ari Emanuel.
In his words,
You’ve been a great champion. But, Cody, I need you to understand something…Yes, The Rock, the Final Boss, is on the board of TKO and TKO owns WWE. The Rock is the Director of the board of TKO. As a matter of fact, The Rock’s good friend and consigliere, who you know, Ari Emanuel, who owns everything…As a matter of fact, I joked with him. I said, ‘Ari can you believe that you own the WWE?’ He goes like, ‘Listen, I don’t know WWE, Rock, you own WWE’…
Check out the moment below:
The Rock: “Cody Rhodes, eres un gran WWE Champion… pero el Final Boss está en la junta de TKO. Y The Rock está en la Junta de TKO. Amigo de Ari Emanuel, que es el que posee todo”
A DONDE VA ESTO #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/k9XxG7dmqt
— LuigiWrestling (@LuigiWrestling) February 22, 2025
While Johnson serves on the Board of Directors for TKO, the company is owned by Emanuel, who is apparently on great terms with the wrestler/actor. Now, here’s why Johnson mentioning Emanuel, loud and proud, might not have been the best idea given the current Blake Lively–Justin Baldoni legal drama.
What does Ari Emanuel have to do with Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s case?
Johnson was not kidding when he said Emanuel owns everything. Talent agency WME-ING, which represents some of Hollywood’s biggest names at the moment, also falls under Emanuel’s wing. Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, who recently attended SNL 50, are two of its clients and while Baldoni once was, too, he was dropped by the agency soon after the actress filed a lawsuit against him.
Emanuel has been fully vocal in his support of Reynolds and Lively. Talking about the battle on Freakonomics Radio Live show (via THR), he stated that Reynolds and Lively are “really incredible people” and have “never had any bad mojo out there or treated people badly.”
As for Baldoni, or in his words “Bologna…Baldoni…whatever his name is,” Emanuel called both him and producer Jamey Heath out stating that they have used social media “in an evil way” if what Lively has said is true.
Now, according to television personality and author Lady Colin Campbell, there is a “growing disquiet” in Tinseltown about how Lively, Reynolds, and Emanuel are conducting themselves amidst the lawsuit.
She has been told that “one of the world’s top actors…[is] thinking of leaving WME, he’s so disgusted by their behavior.” On top of that, reports suggest that actresses Jenny Slate and Isabela Ferrer are being blackmailed into testifying against Baldoni if they don’t want their careers “to sink like stones.”
Read the entire post below:
My Hollywood bongo bongo drums are beating out a very ominous message. According to them, there is growing disquiet in Hollywood about the way @blakelively, Ryan Reynolds @VancityReynolds, @AriEmanuel of @WME are conducting themselves. “One of the world’s top actors just told…
— Lady C (@LadyColinCampb) February 20, 2025
Amidst the negative press currently surrounding Emanuel, Johnson’s shoutout to the man may not be received well by viewers and netizens who have had a lot to say about the legal drama recently.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
