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The Rock Shuts Down ‘Toxic’ Claim Boos At WrestleMania 40 Kickoff Were Over Lack Of Aid For Maui

Wrestling
Corey Brennan Feb 11, 2024 10:01AM

The Rock responds to a 'toxic' claim.

During the WrestleMania 40 Kickoff show, The Rock saw an unfamiliar reaction from the WWE Universe, as the fans in the T-Mobile Arena were vocal in their support of Cody Rhodes. The Rock would even turn heel during the show, slapping Cody Rhodes and abusing his power as member of the TKO Board Of Directors to pressure Triple H into fixing the situation that was caused by Cody Rhodes choosing to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.

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However, some people would have you believe that the boos for The Rock were due to outside circumstances. Nick Sortor took to social media on February 9th, claiming that the boos from the crowd were not due to the pro wrestling angle occurring on the show, but due to Sortor's claim that the population in Maui have not received any payment from The Rock and Oprah Winfrey's People Of Maui charity.

On February 10th, The Rock would take time to respond to these claims, explaining that The People Of Maui charity has distributed over 50 million dollars to over 8000 people affected by the wildfires in Maui. He also pointed out what wrestling fans already know, that he was being booed due to the pro wrestling storyline unfolding at the show.

I typically refrain from responding to toxic, false clickbait garbage like this because I hate dignifying bullshit with a response, but when you use Hawaii’s tragic events to draw attention to yourself I won’t stay quiet. This moment you’re referring to is from our

@WWE

press conference this past Thursday where I turned “heel” - wrestling parlance for bad guy. I’m playing it up with our crowd as they boo. It’s what we do in our WWE universe, and we all love every second of it. For the record: Our People’s Fund of Maui has already DELIVERED over $50 MILLION DOLLARS to over 8,000 survivors who were affected by the fires, and I’m grateful to the bone that we’ve been the primary funders. Hawaii is where I grew up, where I raise my children throughout the year and where my ancestors are buried. These are my Polynesian people and these are OUR American people. You can’t imagine how much they are still struggling daily to put their lives back together and take care of each other. Our Poly American people are as resilient as people come, and they will raise and get back on their feet. Nick, instead of posting bullshit like this that you know is false - I encourage you to post something positive for Hawaii, for our Polynesian American people. Or actually take positive action and come to Hawaii to help out in an uplifting way. I’m in Hawaii now, and I guarantee you, you’ll get great content that can actually make a difference in people’s lives. Genuinely. Let’s put our energy and our online platforms into lifting people up. Acknowledging the good things that people do. Raising awareness for the suffering in ways that can effectively help. It takes so much effort to be negative, and create and spread bullshit - but when you spread positivity, kindness, and lead by example you can really impact lives. I’m sorry to all our Poly/Hawaiian ohana of Maui, for shining light on this toxicity as you struggle through tough times - I always try to be Na’au Pono. Love U. Aloha, DJ

It was announced earlier this week that The Rock would be appearing on the February 16th edition of Friday Night SmackDown. You can read more here.

The Undertaker recently shared his take on the recent Rock and Cody Rhodes saga. You can read more here.

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