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This Young Rock Sneak Peek Shows Just How Intense Dwayne Johnson's Wrestling Training Was

Get a look at the early stages of Dwayne Johnson's wrestling career in E! News' exclusive sneak peek of April 12's Young Rock.

By Allison Crist Apr 12, 2022 10:00 PMTags

Dwayne Johnson is making his way into the ring on Young Rock.

In E! News' exclusive sneak peek of April 12's all-new episode, college-age Dewey, a.k.a Rock (Uli Latukefu), has accepted his NFL fate and is now focused on pursuing a career in wrestling.

With help from his father, Rocky Johnson (Joseph Lee Anderson), Dewey begins an intense training regimen while trying to learn the fundamentals of the sport. To aid in the latter, Rocky presents his son with his first opponent: a piece of string.

"Punch as close as you can without moving the string," Rocky instructs him. "If you break this string's nose, you get fired and you get your ass whooped in the back."

With Dewey's mom, Ata Johnson (Stacey Leilua), nervously watching from the sidelines, he begins—but it's not long before Ata's telling him to shape up. "Dewey, you're squaring up too much on your punches!" she yells. "Angle your stance."

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Young Rock Season 2 Photos

Another exercise sees Dewey repeatedly falling backward into his father's arms. "Wrestling is all about trust," Rocky says. "You don't trust your opponent, neither of you will put on a good show."

Mark Taylor/NBC

The seemingly heartwarming moment then turns into a hilarious one, as Rocky fails to catch Dewey and he falls hard in the ring. "There's another lesson for you," Rocky tells him. "Can't trust everyone! Now get up."

See more of the father-son training techniques by watching the full Young Rock sneak peek in the above clip. 

Young Rock airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC. 

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.) 

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