A meeting area was set up for them at a WrestleMania party in 2005.
Mickie James, Lisa Marie Varon and SoCal Val welcomed Tommy Dreamer onto the newest episode of GAW TV. As their conversation rolled on, Dreamer told a story from his time working for WWE in the Talent Relations department.
Dreamer stated that at the time, Vince McMahon and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson were not on speaking terms. That was due to WWE taking ownership of ‘The Rock’ name. In 2005 while WrestleMania was in Los Angeles, California, there was a party that both McMahon and Johnson were at.
A secure and private meeting area had to be set up so they could talk for the first time since their situation arose. Dreamer added that while McMahon was waiting on Johnson, Tough Enough contestant Hawk Younkins and GAW TV’s own SoCal Val walked into the private meeting area.
Dreamer: I’m working in WWE Talent Relations. It’s WrestleMania L.A. so 2005, 2006. Don’t know exactly which one it was. Rock and Vince McMahon are not talking. They haven’t spoken because remember, the WWE, it took ownership of the name ‘The Rock’ and he had to go to Dwayne Johnson. It was a big deal and there was animosity and they haven’t spoken. We get word, Johnny (Laurinaitis) pulls us aside, that one, Dwayne The Rock Johnson is showing up at the WrestleMania party and we have to set up this secure area for Vince and The Rock to have their first conversation in a while. It’s like secret service, it’s outside. There’s people positioned everywhere. The Rock’s limo pulls up, Vince is sitting there with — John’s gonna be the first then I’m going to meet and we have security everywhere but it’s on an outdoor patio and there’s these planters and as The Rock gets out of the limo, it’s almost like a movie of an assassination and everything’s happening in slow motion and all of a sudden, the wrestler from Tough Enough, Hawk (Younkins) and one, SoCal Val, walk into the area where Vince is getting ready to meet, to try to squash the beef and I look and I’m like, ‘No!’ And Johnny’s giving me the look and I don’t know what that conversation — but again, he’s in Tough Enough and Val’s just (a) clueless young lady, right? So I have to quickly go, ‘Hey guys! Can we go over here?’ But in Hawk’s mind and I don’t know about Val because she’ll tell her version of the story, this is my chance, Vince is alone and we have to secret service these two — they don’t even work in the company — and John’s like, ‘Who are they?’ I’m like, ‘Ah, that’s Hawk. I don’t even know who this girl is’ but I kind of remembered from the indies. You were just coming up. So we scoot them in and as I’m escorting them out, here comes The Rock and Vince is like, ‘Dwayne.’ He’s like, ‘Vince’ and it’s all this tension. I’m like, who the hell? If I have to murder these two people, I will and that was one, SoCal Val.
SoCal Val: It’s a funny story because especially when you mention the planters, I thought, yeah! Because we were outside so I was there to meet Hawk. I was the girl that was one of the ring girls for TNA. We had both just started. We knew Frankie (Kazarian), we knew Hawk. We just said, ‘Oh, we’re gonna hang out in the lobby.’ Not into the party so we sat in the lobby or whatever and meet our friends and Hawk, as sweet as he was… was just, let’s call it eccentric. Just all over the place, just whatever and yeah, I remember him, he’s just a very loud personality. Yeah, that was the weirdest and I remember seeing The Rock and being like, oh, that’s so cool. That’s The Rock, interesting and I later, with Frankie and Hawk and someone else, went into the party which now I kind of go, I probably should’ve been like, no, it’s a party but I was like, eh, maybe it’s we’re all friends, that’s fine. We got the little wristbands, thank you, went in. I think Alicia Fox was there, maybe that was later. Anyway, at the party, I remember seeing The Rock down the table, down the buffet table and being like, holy sh*t, that’s The Rock. That’s very cool. But yeah, probably not the best time…
This year’s WrestleMania emanated from SoFi Stadium in California and POST Wrestling’s reviews of nights one and two can be watched by clicking on the highlighted night numbers.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit GAW TV with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
