Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock is now a member of TKO’s board. This was after he was officially appointed to the board on the 23rd of January, 2024. Johnson confirmed in an interview with CNBC that this was going to be his first time taking up a role as a board member of a publicly traded company.
Besides serving as part of the Board of Directors of TKO Group Holdings, Inc., Dwayne Johnson now gets to have full control and ownership of his trademarked name, The Rock. The added benefit was part of his package for joining the TKO board.
With all the legal rights control and use of his in-ring name, Johnson can now use the name commercially. He will also keep the royalty advantages that came with the name.
The Coining of the Name The Rock
The Rock, a household name among Dwayne Johnson’s fans was coined from the name Rocky Johnson. This was Dwayne’s father.
Dwayne took up the name as a way of reserving his dad’s legacy. Rocky Johnson is among WWE’s Hall of Fame wrestlers. He was also the first African-American to hold the WWE championship title alongside his partner Tony Atlas.
During the interview with CNBC, Johnson proudly proclaimed, “I’m sitting at a board that my grandfather and dad helped build.”
TKO, under an agreement with Dwayne Johnson, owned all the rights to commercially use the name. However, under the new agreement, Dwayne takes over the name’s control and gets shares worth $30 million.
So, What Did TKO Have to Say About Their Decision?
According to TKO, Johnson’s board infusion reflects their, “commitment to delivering long-term value and strong performance for shareholders through strategic growth initiatives across both WWE and UFC.”
Ariel Emanuel, TKO’s CEO also expressed his delight in having Dwayne join their team. According to his statement, “Dwayne brings an incredible track record of creating content and building globally recognized consumer brands, and he will play a key role in realizing our ambitions for TKO.”
Moreover, to sustain its strategic growth, TKO took in Brad Keywell alongside Dwayne Johnson. Keywell has a great track record of serving renowned companies including Echo Global Logistics, Groupon, Uptake Technologies, and MediaOcean.
With the addition of two more members to its board, TKO now has 13 members. Moreover, they have seen an upward surge in their share valuation, especially after announcing their plan to have the “Raw” show air on Netflix.
How About Dwayne?
Well, Johnson was more than pleased for the opportunity to keep his name and serve on the TKO group’s board. During the same interview with CNBC, Dwayne said the name The Rock meant a lot to him. “I owe the name everything. Without that name, there’d be no wrestling career. There’d be no Hollywood career,” He said.
