Bully Ray Outlines Significance Of WWE Giving Dwayne Johnson Control Of The Rock Name

WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray has explained the importance of The Rock getting the trademark for his name.

TKO, WWE's parent company, announced this week that The Rock will be on their board of directors and also get the trademark of "The Rock" name. Bully Ray, during his recent appearance on "Busted Open Radio," discussed why a wrestler getting the trademark of his WWE name is a big deal.

"Here's some perspective on ownership of the name. Back in the day when you went through WWE, come up in WWE, no matter what, the minute you put your signature on a WWE contract, they own every last thing about you for the length of that contract," said Ray. "Being able to obtain ownership of The Rock is on par with any band out there being able to do gain control and ownership of their own music, and their own publishing."

Tommy Dreamer gave the example of Cody Rhodes, who couldn't use his full name and had to use just "Cody" after his time in WWE. He later secured the trademark after WWE canceled their trademark filing.

Dreamer then touched upon The Rock's potential match against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40 and discussed what the possible storyline could be between the two Anoaʻi family members. The Rock had stated in his interview with "ESPN" that he and Reigns could put on one of the greatest WrestleManias of all-time. 

"He [The Rock] will be taking on Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40," said Dreamer when asked about what The Rock meant by his comment on a potential match with Reigns. "He already started with [the comment] 'Do I eat at the Head of the Table?' That's just dropping the one bomb right there. I also don't think The Rock winning the WWE title is 'best for business,' but that match is [best for business]."

The ECW original added that two months is ample time for The Rock and Reigns to tell a compelling story, citing how WrestleMania I had under a month to set up the story.