Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock, is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood and pro wrestling history. But behind all the charm and charisma, there have been plenty of rumored clashes and behind-the-scenes drama with fellow celebrities.
From co-stars on major film sets to rivals in the wrestling ring, the list of people who have reportedly butted heads with Johnson is longer than you might expect. Get ready to take a closer look at 15 celebrities who have been linked to rumored tensions with the man himself.
1. Vin Diesel
Few Hollywood feuds have been as public as the one between Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel. Back in 2016, Johnson posted on Instagram calling out unnamed male co-stars as “candy asses” on the set of Fast and Furious 8, and nearly everyone pointed to Diesel as the target.
Johnson later confirmed there were “fundamental differences in philosophies” between them. When Diesel publicly begged Johnson to return for Fast X, Johnson called the move “manipulative.” That says a lot about how deep the rift really ran.
2. Tyrese Gibson
Tyrese Gibson did not hold back in 2017 when he took aim at Dwayne Johnson on Instagram. He blamed Johnson directly for pushing back the production of Fast and Furious 9, accusing him of prioritizing the Hobbs and Shaw spinoff over the main franchise.
Johnson responded by calling the whole situation “pretty disappointing” and said the feud was entirely one-sided. The two reportedly stopped speaking after Gibson’s very public call-out, leaving fans of the franchise caught in the middle.
3. Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds and Dwayne Johnson teamed up for the Netflix blockbuster Red Notice in 2021, but filming was reportedly far from smooth sailing. Sources claimed the two “locked horns” over Johnson’s habit of showing up late to set, which became especially frustrating given the tight COVID-19 restrictions already slowing things down.
To their credit, both actors kept things professional and reportedly worked through the tension. The film still became one of Netflix’s most-watched originals, so the drama clearly did not hurt the final product.
4. Chris Evans
Punctuality became a major talking point on the set of Red One, where Chris Evans starred alongside Dwayne Johnson. Reports from The Wrap claimed Johnson was sometimes seven to eight hours late to filming, creating serious headaches for the entire production crew.
One insider suggested the delays helped push the budget up by at least 50 million dollars, though Amazon MGM pushed back on those figures. Still, the reports painted a picture of a tense working environment that nobody on set had signed up for.
5. John Cena
Long before John Cena became a Hollywood star himself, he and Dwayne Johnson had a rivalry in WWE that blurred the line between scripted drama and real feelings. Cena made pointed comments about Johnson “abandoning” wrestling for movies, and Johnson admitted those words genuinely got under his skin.
On a Hollywood Reporter podcast, Johnson said some of Cena’s remarks during their feud “ruffled my feathers.” It was one of those rare WWE moments where the storyline and reality felt uncomfortably close to each other.
6. Randy Orton
Randy Orton never shied away from speaking his mind, and he had plenty to say about Dwayne Johnson’s Hollywood transition. Orton publicly declared that John Cena was “ten times the performer in the ring that The Rock is,” which was a bold statement coming from a fellow WWE superstar.
He also took shots at Johnson for relying on writers and teleprompters during his WWE appearances. Things reportedly got heated backstage, with Orton later claiming Johnson “tattled” on him, leading to a direct exchange of words between the two.
7. Brendan Fraser
Brendan Fraser’s story is one of Hollywood’s most emotional comeback tales, and some fans and critics felt Dwayne Johnson had “stolen” Fraser’s place in the action-adventure genre during the years Fraser stepped away from the spotlight. It was less of a direct confrontation and more of a cultural observation that gained traction online.
No personal feud between the two has ever been confirmed. Still, the perception of career displacement stuck around long enough to become part of the broader conversation about how Hollywood treats its stars differently.
8. Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson and Dwayne Johnson have never publicly argued, but rumors in 2021 suggested a quiet friction brewing between them. Critics and insiders pointed to both stars “vying for similar positions” within the action genre, creating what some described as subtle competition over leadership roles and franchise clout.
Nothing was ever confirmed, and both stars remained professional in every public setting. Even so, the idea that two of Hollywood’s biggest action names might have overlapping ambitions made for compelling gossip in entertainment circles that year.
9. Triple H
The rivalry between The Rock and Triple H was one of WWE’s most intense chapters during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Their battles for the WWF Championship, including a showdown at WrestleMania 2000, were so fiercely competitive that insiders suggested the intensity sometimes spilled beyond the scripted storylines.
Both men were alpha personalities fighting for the top spot in the company, which naturally created friction. Their competitive fire reportedly made the backstage atmosphere feel just as heated as anything happening inside the squared circle.
10. Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho and Dwayne Johnson crossed paths multiple times in WWE, with Jericho famously defeating The Rock for the WCW Championship. Despite occasionally teaming up and even winning tag gold together, their on-screen dynamic was always rooted in fierce competition.
Jericho has spoken openly about the respect he earned through those battles, but also hinted at the cutthroat nature of competing against someone as dominant as Johnson. When two big personalities clash repeatedly in a high-stakes environment, a little real-life edge tends to come along for the ride.
11. CM Punk
CM Punk built his entire persona around speaking uncomfortable truths, and his feelings about part-time wrestlers like Dwayne Johnson taking main event spots were no secret. When Johnson returned to WWE and headlined WrestleMania, Punk was openly critical, arguing that full-time roster members deserved those opportunities.
His comments reflected a real sentiment simmering in the locker room. Johnson never fired back publicly, but the underlying tension between the two represented a bigger debate about loyalty, scheduling, and who truly “earned” the spotlight in professional wrestling.
12. Hulk Hogan
When The Rock met Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8 in 2002, it was billed as an “Icon vs. Icon” showdown, and the crowd made it clear they loved both men almost equally. That unexpected reaction created an interesting dynamic, since the fans seemed to root for Hogan despite the match being designed to celebrate Johnson’s rise.
Behind the scenes, two mega-egos sharing the same spotlight always carries some tension. Their different eras and fan bases made the competition for “biggest legend” status feel very real, even after the cameras stopped rolling.
13. Brock Lesnar
SummerSlam 2002 will always be remembered as the night Brock Lesnar defeated The Rock for the WWE Undisputed Championship, marking a dramatic passing of the torch. Two absolute powerhouses colliding for the top prize in wrestling naturally brought enormous competitive energy, both inside and outside the ring.
Lesnar was the unstoppable new force, and Johnson was the established king defending his throne. That kind of clash between dominant personalities rarely stays entirely contained to the script, and both men were known for bringing their real intensity to every encounter.
14. Mankind (Mick Foley)
Few rivalries in WWE history were as physically brutal as the one between The Rock and Mankind. Their “I Quit” match at the Royal Rumble in 1999 became infamous for its sheer violence, raising real backstage concerns about how far things had actually gone between the two competitors.
Mick Foley has talked openly about the physical and emotional toll of those matches. The blurry line between performance and genuine aggression made people wonder just how much of the hard-hitting action was purely for the cameras and how much was something more personal.
15. Shane Helms (The Hurricane)
Not every rumored tension with Dwayne Johnson came from a major feud or a headline-grabbing Instagram post. Shane Helms, better known as The Hurricane, had a surprising mini-rivalry with The Rock that started from a single backstage interaction that management found so entertaining they built it into an actual storyline.
Helms has shared that the dynamic between them felt genuine, rooted in real personalities clicking in an unexpected way. Sometimes the most interesting stories come from the smallest sparks, and this one proved that even a superhero gimmick could hold its own against The Great One.