The pro wrestling icon, 10-time world champion and blockbuster actor — who also goes by his real name Dwayne Johnson — appeared in the opening segment of the March 1 episode of “WWE SmackDown,” which was broadcast live from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
The Rock — who was alongside his cousins and fellow wrestlers Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa and WWE universal champion Roman Reigns — played up his current heel (or villainous) persona and insulted the Valley by calling Phoenix “the number 1 city in America for cocaine and meth use.”
The comment earned a mix of both boos and cheers from the sold-out crowd of 15,129 people in attendance at the WWE event, which aired live on the Fox network.
Thing is, The Rock wasn’t lying. A 2023 study by the American Addiction Center, a nationwide network of rehab facilities, found that Arizona ranked No. 1 in both cocaine and methamphetamine usage..@TheRock is UNHINGED tonight 😱#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/hmrugyFnPj
— WWE (@WWE) March 2, 2024
- According to the study, 23% of Arizona residents participating in the studies admitted to using cocaine while 15.1% admitted to using meth. Mesa came in second on both lists with 22.5% of study participants from the Valley admitting to cocaine use and 14.1% admitting to meth use.
The Rock didn’t cite the AAC’s study during the ‘WWE SmackDown,’ though. He did continue to lay down the drug-related insults at the Valley’s expense, describing the Desert Diamond Arena as a “crack den with popcorn” and called the crowd “cactus-loving crackheads [who] finally have something worth shooting into your veins.”
The Rock’s been playing the villain role since returning to the WWE in February. He’s expected to join forces with Reigns in a tag team match against current WWE heroes Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins during April’s WrestleMania XL pay-per-view in Philadelphia. The Rock and Reigns challenged their opponents on Friday during the episode of 'WWE SmackDown' broadcast from Desert Diamond Arena.
Feel free to boo The Rock if you’re watching the event here in the Valley.
