Dwayne Johnson on Buying His Mom a House, Friendship with Kevin Hart & Punching a Shark

Our guest tonight is one of the biggest movie stars in the world. I mean that literally. He's a gigantic human being. And now he gives voice to Superman's dog in DC League of Super Pets. It opens in theaters July 29th. Please say hello to Dwayne Johnson. Thank you for being here. Thank you. Good to see you. So I was doing all my research. Good to see you guys too. Yes. So we have a lot in common. We have an older daughter and two littler ones, little people. We both like to work out. Yes. We both like cheat days. Yes. Although I like them more than you do, I think. I have more cheat days than you do. We both get high. Oh, wow. No, sorry. That kind of class. Okay. Your oldest daughter is now a wrestler. She is. She's making history. Yes. So yeah, thank you guys. I'm very proud of her. Very proud of her. So Simone Johnson, my oldest daughter, daughter I have with Danny, she made her debut in WWE. They're smaller federation, NXT. So she did so good. She went out there on the microphone. You got to be poised when you go out there and she has a cool wrestling name. What is it? It's Ava Rain. Oh, wow. How did they come up with their wrestling name? Do you get to pick it yourself? Does somebody sort of bless you with your wrestling name? Well, it comes from all different areas. Usually, it's probably a mix of what she wanted to do, what she wanted to be called. Ultimately, what the powers that be want her to be called to as well. Wow. So proud. And she's the fourth generation of wrestlers. She is. She's the first fourth generation of pro wrestlers in WWE. And I always like to say that name Ava Rain can mean a lot of things. But to me, in my mind, it means she's going to lay the smack down on candy asses. I like to wrestle with my kids. And I need help picking a wrestling name. So how should I do it? Do I go to the council of four generations and say, what do I do? You do, yes. And now that I am here, me, you, and the universe and the world watching this amazing crowd, I think for one Kerry Washington, with the grit and the mana that you have, the toughness that you have, sweet cakes or scary Kerry works. Oh, right. What do we think? I'll do a vote. Do your younger girls have interest in wrestling? They love seeing me because it's almost like it's just a different lifetime. It's another era. Yeah. For them. So they're fascinated when they see me in matches, old matches, but they love like jumping off couches. For my little daughters, I have a six-year-old and a four-year-old, and their favorite thing is putting makeup on me. Their favorite thing is just, you know, like we do this game where she comes in, she's like, close your eyes, daddy. And I got to close my eyes. And all I hear, you know, when you have these little babies, you start to hear like, wait, is that foil that I hear? Is that something sticky? Is that fire? Was that a match? Here it comes. And it's like just a face full of peanut butter. Oh my gosh. And you let them. That's so beautiful. Bring it on. I love that. Did you only get us to write? Bring it on. That's so good. You know. Yes. You had a similar sentiment recently with Kevin Hart when you let him bring on the tortilla on your Smackdown on TikTok. Yeah. So we did this tortilla challenge, which is a challenge that, you know, is pretty popular out there. Yes. And he, we played the TikTok challenge and he slapped the out of me with these tortillas. But again, like I do with my little girls, I do it with my little son, Kevin. It's like, go ahead and you can hit me. You can do whatever you want. I saw that you just bought your mom a house, which is so sweet. But hold on, Harvard house, you've bought her, right? Well, you're making the rest of us look bad. What's happening? I had to. Well, well, um, well, years ago, well, when I, I, my goal was to always play pro football like your husband. So I know football is big in your family. So that was my goal. I never made it, but that was my ticket out to buy my parents their first home. We never lived in a home growing up. It was always apartments and trailer parks. So when we were evicted off the island in Honolulu, Hawaii, out of our apartment, I told myself then when I was 14, like, I need to buy my mom a house. So I bought them a house, and then I bought my parents a house, their first house, when I made a little bit of money. A little bit. Because even though you didn't make the NFL, you turned out okay. I turned out all right. Bought them their first house. They got a divorce. Then I bought my mom her second house after the divorce. And then we moved to the West Coast. And so this is the West Coast. You had to buy another house. Yes. By the way, the other ones are sold. It's not like. Okay. You're not just like racking up houses. No, no, no, no, no, no. But my mom is just so. She's literally my biggest fan. And she's the best, you know, Grammy to our daughters. All three. Now, wait. I've heard that actually she has a room dedicated to you in every house that she's had. She has a Smackdown room. Smackdown room. She has a Smackdown room. I love that this has an official name. What's in the Smackdown? Like, do you get Smackdown if you walk into the room? I get Smackdown every time I go in there because she wants to bring every, all the guests have to go to the Smackdown room. But she insists that I go with her. Oh, God. So there's nothing more horrifying than just standing there while she's like. And this is Dewey was my nickname. She goes, this is Dewey when he, you know, this is this movie. And it's every poster and every award. Every poster award, any little thing and any kind of proclamation. But that's what our parents do. Yes. Your parents do anything like that. Yeah, but they just have like a JPEG file. They don't have like a whole room. Not a whole room. But maybe it's because I haven't bought them a house. I've bought her like earrings. So maybe I need to buy more. It's time. Yeah. So I also want to congratulate you because in addition to the ESPYs, you have also been named Master of Ceremonies for Shark Week. I did. Yes. What an honor. At this job. Okay. So, so Discovery called and they were interested in me hosting Shark Week and it was all part of the promotion for Super Pets. Because it's Warner Brothers, it's Discovery. And I kept saying no because I couldn't figure out what the reason, I just didn't want to do it. You didn't want to intimidate the sharks. I get it. I didn't want to intimidate the sharks, number one. I know. So I figured, oh, well, here's a good way to do it. What if we went to Hawaii and sharks are honored and revered in our, I'm half black and half Samoan. And on my Polynesian side, they're respected and honored. We call them Amakua, which is our gods. So I said, what if we connected culture to Shark Week? And they said yes. And I said yes. And we brought everybody to Hawaii and it was beautiful. I can't wait. It starts this Sunday. Oh, I love that. Yes. Wow. That's beautiful. Very cool. Have you ever had a shark encounter? I did. I had an encounter one time. I was swimming off the coast in Australia and I had a run in with a great white. Yeah, it was crazy. What did you do? Well, they say you either stay still or if they start to attack, you should, like, you hear that crazy story about punching sharks, right, in the nose or wherever you can or in the eye. And that's what I started to do. Like that was the only thing I knew how to do was just, you know, just try and punch and punch. That's what you do. I don't know. You do everything you can to get away, you know, when you feel like they're going to. It's incredible. Attack you. Yes. Well, then the second part is I woke up from that dream and I was like, oh, wait a second. Oh. I know these powers are new to you, but when one has an abundance of power, they have a certain duty to use that power to. Sorry, you were saying something. I was making an inspiring hero speech. How much did you have to drink? I had two toilet bowls and a bidet, bidet too, which is crazy. I didn't even know that was a thing, but it's like a dog water fountain. You disgusting animal. That was Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart as the voices in DC League of Super Pets. So people think of you as a big action hero, but in this you're playing a superhero's dog. Superman's dog. Right. So that's a conceit of super pets. It's the idea of your favorite superheroes from the Justice League and their pets and the superpowers that they are given and them trying to control and understand their superpowers and at the same time having to save the day, which is really cool. So like Superman's dog, Batman's dog, Wonder Woman's pig, Flash's squirrel, Green Lantern's squirrel, Flash's turtle. Yes. That's a good matching, Flash and the turtle. So this is your fifth film with Kevin Hart. Yes. Are you obsessed with Kevin? You love Kevin? You want to be besties with Kevin? Let's talk, Keri. Okay. I want to know. I want to know what the deal is. This will be my last with Kevin Hart. Does he know? No, I'm only kidding. Breaking news. This is it. No, I love Kevin. We just, from our very first movie, we got such a great chemistry and a bond. Thank you. There's a lot of trust with Kevin and I, so I just, and just, yeah, I love that guy. But who gets more attention when you're out in public together? Yeah. Be honest. I am very honest, for sure. It would be Kevin because, well, because he's so loud and obnoxious. Every room he comes into. You know Kevin, right? I do, I do. Hey, hey, I'm here. Hey, guys, look at me. I hear that you just adopted a dog, right? I did. Does your family just do that? Isn't that so sweet? Look at that. Tell me about this. Okay, so we went to this local place called Wagmore, which I highly recommend you guys go to. So I have to tell you the story about little Turbo here. So I'm at work, I'm in my office, and I get the FaceTime call from my wife, Lauren. So you got to pick it up. I pick it up and it's little Jazzy. She's six and she's so happy. And first thing out of her mouth was, and this is unexpected, by the way, this is not planned. She goes, Daddy, can we keep him? You're like, keep who? And I went, oh, God. And I look and she's showing me, of course, little Turbo. And then Lauren set it up nicely, my wife. She said, well, Daddy's got to meet Turbo. So later on that afternoon, I went to go meet Turbo. Turbo, beautiful little dog, beautiful little puppy. So this is how amazing I think the universe and God works in these amazing ways. He was going to get euthanized. And so my wife took my daughters to this arts and crafts place. They left the arts and crafts place. This is a true story. They smelled what they thought was donuts. And this was over the weekend. So my little daughters were like, let's follow our noses. So they started walking down the sidewalk to where they thought it was, strip mall, no donut place, no sweets, nothing. And they're like, wow, this is really weird. And they look and there is this adoption agency, Wagmore, right in front of them. So they walk in and Lauren says, well, we're here. Do you guys have any puppies? They bring out Turbo. I go meet Turbo a few hours later. I'm speaking to the woman, all wonderful staff, by the way. And they were telling us that not only was he was going to get euthanized, not there, at another place, but then they rescued him. But then a family came the day before to get Turbo. They fell in love. They said, we're going to take him. They went to the back to get the papers. They came out. The family left without Turbo. Oh, no. Like, what happened? And so he was just left alone again. He was meant to be. So we have Turbo now. So we've seen you in so many films play this incredible action hero. But you are going to play a superhero, like a real superhero, for the first time. Can you tell us about that? I would love to. He is the anti-hero known as Black Adam. Black Adam. Thank you. Black Adam. Oh. I am so excited about that. And there are a lot of excited people for this movie. Yes. DC Universe. And he's a bit of an anti-hero. He is. He's an anti-hero. And what I always like about Black Adam, for those who don't know, he was blessed with the powers of Superman across the board. The difference is Superman's biggest weakness is magic. It's one of his greatest strengths. And with superheroes and Superman, there's a code of honor and ethics, as you guys know, if you follow, that they won't kill the bad guys. Black Adam. He don't care. Cancel Christmas. Yes! I'm assuming that Kevin Hart will be in this one, too? Yes. There's a running joke. I'm Black Adam in the movie, and I'm bringing Kevin Hart on as Honky Pete. Any sneak peek, any tidbit, secret about the film that you could share with us? Let's see. I can tell you that we are working on something that, we're working on something I think that the world will really respond to. Oh my god. I'll just say that. I know. I mean, it's teeing it up. It's so good. I know. I put you in a bad position. I've been in that position, but I'm so excited about this film. Thank you. Yeah. All right, more with Dwayne when we come back. Well, Dwayne, earlier tonight, you and your business partner, Danny Garcia, were at the ESPYs because you are both co-owners of the XFL. Yes. You've partnered with the NFL League, and that league obviously means a lot to me and my family. Of course. Tell me a little bit about what you've got cooking with the XFL and the NFL. Sure. Well, the XFL is our spring league, which we acquired a few years ago. We wanted to take our time, do it right. This is the third iteration of XFL. So we started a collaboration with the NFL. The NFL Alumni Academy is great, by the way. So basically, it goes like this. The NFL has Alumni Academy that if you don't roster throughout the NFL season, you automatically get a contract to go to the XFL to play them. Yeah, to see them play. Wow. So those players who didn't roster in the NFL will come to us. XFL will have a full spring season with a championship game at the end. The NFL coaches will be able to evaluate, watch game play, and then if they're ready, then they'll go on to the NFL in the fall. So yeah, it was very, very special. Yes, very cool. Very cool. It must mean so much to you as somebody who was in that same exact position. It does. My goal and my dream was to play pro football. I went to University of Miami, played with some great players, great teams. Thank you very much. But my goal was to make it in the NFL. And I like to say that there are 53 men on an NFL roster. As you know, I was always number 54. I was that guy that the coaches said, DJ, you're good, but you're not good enough. And unfortunately, this is where the dream ends. So that, being told you're not good enough. For something I've worked so hard for, like your husband, right? For years, decades, a decade, and being told you're not good enough, this is where it ends. The chip that put on my shoulder and the fire and the drive has led me to here today. So I like to tell people who, when they ask about the XFL and what the culture of the XFL is, they're all number 54. They're all that player who said, you're good, but you're not good enough. And the player's response is one of two things happens. Either they go, OK, well, I'll move on. Or, actually, you're wrong. Watch me. So Dani, who you mentioned, you guys were at the ESPYs. She's made history as the first woman to own a league. Not a team, a league. Yes, yes, yes. So Dani, I've known Dani since I was 18. We met at University of Miami. She was an amazing athlete, too, at Miami. And we have worked together since. And we also have a daughter, Simone, together. So she became the first woman to own a majority share of a professional football league in the United States. That is history making. It is just so amazing. Your family likes to make history. What's that? Your family likes to make history. They like to make history. They like to break records. But you know what? I got an idea. Would you guys like to meet her? Yes! Ladies and gentlemen. Gorgeous. Thank you so much. Congratulations. Thank you. It's so impressive. You are making history. How does it feel? You must be so proud and excited. I don't want to tell you how to feel. Tell me how you feel. OK. First of all, I'm on Jimmy Kimmel with Kerry Washington. Thank you. So can I tell you, it was amazing. But it wasn't something I set out to do. We set out to buy the XFL. I mean, it was a phone call to DJ that said... Was it your idea? It was my idea. I love it. He said... Love it. Didn't you know it was the woman's idea? Didn't you know? Didn't you just know? You already know. The pandemic happened. I was watching the XFL. I was like, this league, I can do something with this league. It was like in my soul. And I called him up and I said, I have a big, crazy, beautiful idea. But it's crazy. Yeah, and she says, I have a crazy idea. And I was like, well, I love crazy. So don't threaten me with a good time. What do you think? And I said, I want us to buy the XFL. And then it was a drive. It was a drive. There was a bid. There was months and months of work. And all of a sudden, I got this call. It says, you have the XFL. Wow. And a month later, press recognized that I had made history. You didn't even know you were making history. You were just following your heart. Look at God. It's so wonderful to have you both here. Thank you so much. So DC League of Super Pets opens in theaters July 29th. We will be right back with music from Wiz Khalifa.