The Old SmackDown logo. (WWE)
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson reveals which WWE legend was behind coining the word SmackDown
Alongside WWE RAW, SmackDown is the most famous pro wrestling show in the world. It has come a very long way since its inception in early 1999.
The Blue brand was always going to be Vince McMahon’s second favourite child, but in the past decade or so, it has equalled RAW in terms of status and stature.
One of the men responsible for that is Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who, alongside ‘Stone Cold Steve Austin’, main-evented the first-ever SmackDown show on April 29, 1999.
The electrifying Dwayne Johnson has now found a home in Hollywood, with his WWE career long behind him. However, he still doesn’t forget his roots.
The WWEonFOX social media account shared the old logo of SmackDown! and asked fans which star it reminded them of.
While many responses mentioned The Rock, the man himself made it a point to reveal to the world who really came up with the word ‘SmackDown’ in the first place.
He said, “Well clearly the dude who coined the name Smackdown in the first place and eventually, made it so famous it’s now in the Webster’s dictionary…and his name is Downtown Bruno [wink, fist emoji]”
Downtown Bruno and Harvey Wippleman are the monikers of Bruno Lauer, who signed with the company in 1991 and went on to work as a wrestler, a referee, and a manager.
Most notably, he was the first man to win the WWF Women’s Championship in 2000 when he beat The Kat while disguised as a women named ‘Hervina’.
The Rock and Bruno remain very close friends. He revealed that it was Downtown Bruno that took him in during his teenage years when he was trying to make it as a wrestler and had no money left.
You can read The Rock’s message for Bruno on New Year’s in the Instagram post here.
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