The Rock turtleneck is one of the iconic looks of WWE and Hollywood star, Dwayne Johnson, a.k.a. The Rock. The superstar has donned many costumes in his wrestling and movie career but this one is, perhaps, the most talked about.
If you must know, there is a story behind The Rock Turtleneck. No, it has nothing to do with his wrestling in the WWE neither is it related to Hollywood. By the way, if you want to recreate the look, go ahead. The Black Adam actor does not mind, all you need is a black turtleneck, gold chain and fanny pack over a pair of blue jeans. You are welcome.
Meanwhile, let us take a deeper look into the iconic The Rock turtleneck.
What is The Rock turtleneck?
The Rock turtleneck refers to a photo of Dwayne Johnson in 1996 in which he was captured in a black turtleneck, with a chain on the outside, tucked into his jeans and a black fanny pack over the jeans. According to The Rock, he took the photo before a wrestling match in Canada.
“Black turtleneck, fake Tag watch, fanny pack, tissue underneath the elbow ’cause I didn’t wanna get my turtleneck dirty. Crazy sh*t and that picture went on to become iconic. I took that in Canada before a wrestling match that I had in Canada,” the Hercules star revealed on Twitter.
The Rock also gave more details about his iconic turtleneck. In an interview with People, Johnson revealed that he “got a tissue underneath my elbow because I felt like my turtleneck was expensive. The funniest thing about this picture is, this is not a joke. I walked out of the house like this. Like: Hey baby, this is it, right?”
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Asked in an appearance on an episode of The Tonight Show to promote his 2014 film, Hercules, about what was in his fanny pack, Johnson replied that there were phone numbers and other “inappropriate” stuff. The Hollywood actor explained that he was a bad boy who was getting into trouble all the time. He said he loved girls, women and was always interested.
Why are people talking about The Rock Turtleneck?
In 2014, Dwayne Johnson sent the internet buzzing when he posted a throwback photo of himself wearing the iconic turtleneck with his fanny pack over a pair of blue jeans. The post was so funny that a lot of Instagram users, including celebrities, recreated the look.
The Rock was not ashamed of his hilarious look. He was proud of it as he recreated the look in 2017 and even shared a bit of motivation with his fans.
He wrote: “When I took this iconic absurdity of a picture in 1996, I was one year removed from sleeping on a used mattress I took from a garbage dumpster in the back of an hourly sex motel. Couldn’t afford to buy a bed so we do what we gotta do to get by. You can imagine all the fun colorful bodily fluids I tried my best to clean off.
“21 years later I’m taking the same photo backstage hosting #SaturdayNightLive for the fifth time. If you’re going thru your own tough times ‘used mattress’ stage, do your best to have faith that things’ll get better and always be willing to outwork your competition because you never know where life is gonna take you.
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“And ALWAYS remember to place a soft tissue under your left elbow as to protect the fabric of the cheap ass swag turtleneck that had you out here looking like a bad ass buff lesbian.
Oh and tuck the thumb in the fanny pack. Always tuck the thumb”
The Rock Turtleneck and Kevin Hart
American comedian and Hollywood actor, Kevin Hart, recreated Dwayne Johnson’s outfit and look during Halloween in 2019. The 43-year-old actor, who starred alongside Johnson in hit movies like Central Intelligence, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: Next Level, shared a hilarious photo showing off his Halloween costume. The costume was Johnson’s iconic 90’s turtleneck outfit.
“I killed it with my Halloween costume this year…. @therock had the nerve to get an attitude with me. 😂😂😂😂😂 We are dropping a brand new trailer for Jumanji The Next Level tomorrow. Stay tuned!!!!!!” the comedian wrote in the caption for the video.
In the video, Hart showed up at Johnson’s house to trick-or-treat after a group of kids had arrived dressed up in Jumanji characters. Johnson did not look happy to see Hart recreating his turtleneck outfit.
“Why are you dressed like that?” Johnson asks Hart.
“Because it’s my costume! All you gotta do is go to the costume store and say ‘Make me look stupid,’” Hart replies, striking the same pose as Johnson’s old photo.
“Don’t stand like that, that’s not how I stand,” Johnson says while Hart mimics him.
Johnson asked Hart what he wanted and Hart replied he heard he (Johnson) was giving out candies and arrived to collect his share. But Johnson said he did not want to share the candies with his fellow Hollywood actor.
“I am giving out the good stuff,” he said, “but I’m not giving it to you!”
“I said trick or treat!” Hart says. Finally, Johnson gives in, but he refused to give the same king-sized candy bars as he gave the kids. Instead, he offers Hart a mini-sized treat, teasing, “Here’s what you get. It’s bite-sized. Tiny. Mini. Like you.”
“Put this in your fanny pack!” Johnson added.
The video ends with a tease for a trailer of Jumanji: Next Level, which the actors promoted ahead of its premiere on December 13, 2019.
Johnson and Hart are known to troll each other over the years. Johnson often refers to Hart as his “son”, which was illustrated when the WWE legend posted an image of his two-year-old daughter with Hart’s face photoshopped over hers. Hart often trolls back by mostly using Johnson’s amusing turtleneck photos. There is no bad blood between the two as they are only catching cruise. It is good to see them make fun of each other without feeling offended.
