“If you smeeelllllllllllllllll…..”
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has responded to a brilliant impression of him from a fan.
The clip – which originated on TikTok but has now be shared on Twitter – features creator Cole Anderson-James lip-syncing to a classic promo from The Rock.
Anderson-James has the same iconic sunglasses as Dwayne used to wear at the height of his wrestling powers.
He also has the mannerisms down perfectly. And of course, he pulls off a textbook People’s Eyebrow at the end of it.
Do you smell what @TheRock is cooking? 👀
Join @WWEUK for #SummerSlam This Sunday: https://t.co/q43tkiDSOe pic.twitter.com/2KB0ABnHVX— Cole Anderson-James (@coleandersonJ) August 19, 2020
It was so good, it caught the attention of The Rock himself.
Dwayne Johnson shared the tweet on his Twitter account, praising Anderson-James’ mimicking ability.
“Damn, this is really good my man,” said Johnson in the tweet. “These were great times in WWE. Me + a live microphone in front of 20,000 RABID fans.”
Damn 🔥🔥this is really good my man 👍🏾👏🏾
these were great times in @wwe!
Me + a live 🎤 in front of 20,000 RABID fans. #summerslam https://t.co/cXbIaTD1e6— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 19, 2020
If you have forgotten what a classic Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson wrestling promo is like, here are some edited highlights:
Every classic @TheRock interview edited into 100 seconds… pic.twitter.com/04ojkezYRF
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) May 4, 2017
Cole Anderson-James has previously got online attention for his multiple lip-syncs to Ricky Gervais shows, including The Office, Derek and After Life.
Oh for f… @rickygervais #theoffice pic.twitter.com/qm9iihtz8M
— Cole Anderson-James (@coleandersonJ) August 6, 2020
The promo Anderson-James is miming to appears to come from The Rock’s golden age in WWE, the so-called ‘Attitude Era’ of the late 1990s and early 2000s when wrestling was massive.
Johnson traded full-time wrestling for Hollywood in the early 2000s, but has made periodic appearances in WWE in the years since. His most recent appearance was in October 2019, when he interacted with Becky Lynch and Baron Corbin on SmackDown.
His final match was at Wrestlemania 32 in 2016, when he beat Erick Rowan in just six seconds.
In August 2019, Johnson officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling.
He made his film debut in 2001’s The Mummy Returns, and took the lead role in the spin-off The Scorpion King. He has since gone on to become the highest-paid actor in the world.