Dwayne Johnson, who made WWE his own after breaking out as a superstar nearly two decades ago, has now officially gained rights to a number of nicknames, insults, and catchphrases that he used during his time in the ring in the 90s and early 2000s. These include “Candy Ass,” “Jabroni,” and “If you smell what The Rock is cooking.”
The transfer of the intellectual-property rights to Johnson comes after his deal to join the board of directors of TKO Group Holdings, the company formed by Endeavor that merged WWE and the UFC.
As of last month, Johnson has the rights to his famous ring name, “The Rock.” In its 10-K filing February 27 with the SEC, TKO revealed two dozen additional names and taglines — previously the property of WWE — that are now in Johnson’s control.
Here’s the full list: “The Rock,” “Rocky Maivia,” “Team Corporate,” “Rock Nation,” “The Nation,” “Roody Poo,” “Candy Ass,” “Jabroni,” “If you smell what The Rock is cooking,” “The Samoan Sensation,” “The Blue Chipper,” “The Brahma Bull,” “The People’s Champion,” “The Great One,” “Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth,” “Team Bring It,” “The Rock Just Bring It,” “The People’s Elbow,” “Rock Bottom,” “Finally, The Rock has come back to…,” “It doesn’t matter what…,” “Blue Hell,” “The millions… (and millions),” “Rockpocalypse,” “Project Rock” and “The most electrifying man in sports and entertainment.”
Under the TKO agreement, Johnson also has obtained ownership of related logos and service marks as well as “all other nicknames, caricatures, voice, signature, gestures, routines, costumes or parts of costumes, accessories [and] crowns” related to his time as a WWE performer.
The agreement adds, “For the avoidance of doubt, the ‘Rock IP’ does not include any photographic, audio and/or audiovisual footage of Dwayne Johnson embodied in the copyrighted works of WWE, nor does the ‘Rock IP’ include any photographs, audio and/or audiovisual footage of Dwayne Johnson created by WWE in connection Dwayne Johnson’s services under the terms of the Services Agreement.” According to the SEC filing for Johnson’s appointment to the TKO board, the former WWE superstar and actor received $30 million in TKO stock in installments through the end of 2025.
Additionally, Johnson received $491,000 in royalty payments from WWE in 2023 — and he “will continue to receive such annual royalties from WWE and will be entitled to receive royalties in connection with the sale of licensed products that utilize the Assigned IP and his name, likeness and other intellectual property rights in accordance with the Services Agreement,” per the filing.
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