"Can I take you to lunch? Johnson asked Kerr, who obliged him at the Firehouse restaurant in Santa Monica. The conversation inevitably drifted to mixed martial arts, as Johnson peppered the 1992 NCAA champion with pointed questions about the unregulated sport. MMA was gaining popularity in Japan, where multiple promotions hired pro wrestlers for crossover fights. How's this organization to work for? How's the pay and do they pay on time?"
"Kerr defected from the UFC to Japan's Pride Fighting Championships the next year for $200,000-plus paydays, while the babyface Maivia returned to the WWE and turned heel, courtesy of Vince McMahon. The Rock emerged soon after and the eyebrow-raising Johnson's career quickly snapped into place. Between 1997 and 2000, Kerr was the No 1 MMA heavyweight in the world. His record soared to 11-0, but it was a feverish pace no athlete could keep up for long."
Mark Kerr and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson met at a Santa Monica Gold's Gym in summer 1997, and shared a lunch where Johnson asked detailed questions about mixed martial arts. Johnson inquired about pay, schedules and promotion practices as MMA gained traction in Japan. Kerr left the UFC for Pride Fighting Championships the following year for higher pay, while Johnson returned to WWE, turned heel, and became The Rock under Vince McMahon. Between 1997 and 2000 Kerr became the No. 1 MMA heavyweight with an 11-0 record. Kerr used steroids early in his career and sought relief from chronic pain to endure Pride's 10-minute rounds.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]