Busted Open Host Dave LaGreca Responds To Comment From WWE's The Rock

While many thought they'd be talking about The Rock coming out of WrestleMania 41, no one could've pictured the talk would revolve around him and Dave LaGreca. But that's what happened after the "Busted Open Radio" host's rant about Rock's lack of involvement at WrestleMania garnered headlines on Monday morning. It garnered even more on Thursday, when Rock responded to another LaGreca rant on Instagram, telling LaGreca that wrestling was a work, while encouraging him to "stop ranting and enjoy the show."

Not long after, LaGreca responded to Rock on "Busted Open," in a statement that the radio show felt compelled to also post on X.

"I love professional wrestling," LaGreca said. "I love professional wrestling, because it's unlike any form of entertainment or sport. I'm passionate about it, because I dive into it. And it's not about 'Oh, it's real to me dammit.' But it is. It is. You guys put your bodies on the line any time you step into a wrestling ring, you're putting your health and your body on the line. It's no more real than that. That's as real as it can possibly be. So when you say it's a work...I don't need to be reminded. I know that. I'm trying to fight that off from everybody outside of our circle. I don't need somebody inside the circle who sits at the highest mountain in this business, which is the WWE, to tell me it's not real. I already know that. I know that it's not real."

LaGreca explained that his rants about WrestleMania didn't come from a place of hate, but from his passion for wrestling, comparing it to reactions he has when his favorite sports teams, the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees, lose. He further questioned what the point was of someone in the business, like Rock, pointing out that wrestling was fake, insinuating that doing so took away some of the magic that pro wrestling offers.

In the end, LaGreca seemed to reach a similar conclusion over Rock's statement that he had over Rock's WrestleMania absence, and the conclusion to Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena; disappointment.

"All due respect Rock, all due respect Mr. Dwayne Johnson, I appreciate what you've done for me and for this business," LaGreca said. "But what you put in that response I thought was wrong, and it hurt me. It actually...I'm not angry about it, I'm actually hurt and disappointed with the response."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription