There are surreal moments in wrestling — and then there’s getting headbutted in the gut by Die Hard’s John McClane.
Involved, of course, was Bruce Willis and his Hollywood colleague Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, the latter still transitioning from the wrestling world to the movie scene.
Relatively late in his in-ring career, Johnson had the chance to wrestle in Hawaii as WWE’s globe-trotting machine had stopped off for a 2002 live event in paradise, without the glare and distraction of TV cameras.
The main event was box office nonetheless: The Rock vs Chris Jericho, who were meeting for the final time.
But while two of wrestling’s most charismatic figures were trading insults and spinebusters under the Hawaiian sun, what the crowd didn’t realise as they packed the Blaisdell Center was that a bald-headed, smirking surprise was seated in the front row: Bruce Willis himself.
The Hollywood A-lister was in town filming Hart’s War and dropped in to support his pal Johnso and, never far away from the action wherever he went, Jericho was in the thick of it.
“We had perfect chemistry at this point,” Jericho wrote in his autobiography, recalling the match. “Everything we did elicited a tremendous response from the crowd — including Bruce Willis, who was sitting in the first row.”
Midway through the brawl, Jericho and Rock ended up scrapping near Willis’ seat. As fans buzzed at the sight, Jericho did what Jericho did best as one of WWE’s top scheming villains.
“I knocked Rocky to the ground and started yelling in Willis’s scruffy face,” he remembered. “Bruce stared at me bemusedly as Rocky recovered from my crushing blow and pinned my arms behind my back. He told Bruce to hit me while the fans cheered in anticipation.”
In imagining what was to come next, one would be forgiven for thinking of a dramatic right hook or a slow-motion movie slap. Alas, this wasn’t Die Hard or even The Whole Nine Yards, and channelling more Wills and less McClane, the movie great made his choice.
Jericho went on to detail how Bruce squared up to him “I tensed up my jaw, figuring he’d smack me in the face or at the very least take a Hollywood swing. He drew back and with all the force of John McClane… headbutted me in the stomach.
“I collapsed to the floor laughing and said, ‘Come on, Bruce! How do you expect me to sell that?’”
Hardly suffering an insurmountable wound from the offence of Willis, Jericho – bravely – battled on, his epic with The Rock lasting over 20 minutes before The Great One emerged victorious.
WWEChris Jericho was an Attitude Era arrival in WWE who was immediately at odds with The Rock[/caption] WWEAs The Rock’s career wound down, Jericho established himself as world champion[/caption]The Canadian stated his rival even told him: “Thank you so much, Chris. That was my favourite match of my career.”
The two never directly opposed each other in a match again and, given Rock’s limited schedule and Jericho’s career in AEW, a ‘one last time’ encounter in 2025 or beyond looks unlikely.
As such, with a chaotic headbutt from Willis, and a nod of respect from The Rock, one of WWE’s finest rivalries had its end – even if the fun didn’t end there.
After the match, Rock treated Jericho and his wife Jessica to dinner — joined, naturally, by Willis and his three daughters.
“Bruce was down-to-earth and easy to talk to,” Jericho noted. “We spent most of the night talking about music and our bands.” It was there, Jericho claims, Willis warned Rock he’d need to give up grappling if he was to forge ahead with his acting career, saying: “Bruce told Rocky that maybe it was time for him to stop wrestling, because Hollywood wouldn’t be happy if he continued and it might limit his opportunities.
The Rock went on to become a full-time movie sensation with Willis a Hollywood greatIG:brucewillisbw/WWEThe Rock and Chris Jericho's WWE 50
The Rock and Chris Jericho have been involved in 50 WWE matches together during their illustrious careers.
First: September 1999 – Live event, Georgia Last: February 2003 – #1 Contender’s Battle Royal on Raw, Ontario, Canada Singles matches: 16 (the last being in Hawaii) Title matches: 15 The Rock wins: 22 (Includes tag team and multi-man matches) Chris Jericho wins: 11 Matches as a team: 14Did you know? Chris Jericho made his 1999 WWE debut by confronting The Rock on Raw
“It wasn’t too long before Rock heeded his words and left the WWE for good…”
Indeed, Johnson has only made cameo returns to wrestling since, working less than 30 matches in the 23 years since, and only one of note in the last 12.
Jericho, meanwhile, has dipped in and out of wrestling over the ensuing decades and, at the age of 54, remains an active part of AEW’s roster.
Nonetheless, he enjoyed a night to remember with Rocky and Willis back in 2002, even if he might recall it for a more galling reason.
As dinner wrapped, Willis asked Jericho when he was flying out of Hawaii. Y2J explained he had an early flight to Anaheim.
“Oh, that’s too bad!” Willis is said to have replied. “I’m taking my daughters and their friends to the big water park in Waikiki tomorrow for a birthday present. If you guys weren’t leaving, I’d love to have you come along. I rented out the whole place just for us.”
Jericho missed his one shot to splash around a private Hawaiian water park with John McClane and The Rock – not something many can say.
He might’ve missed out the water slides and splash pads, but at least he got the headbutt.
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