The Rock Receives $900,000 In Royalties & $2.6 Million In Travel Reimbursements, JBL Reacts To WWE Purchasing AAA, SmackDown

In a recent SEC filing, TKO Group Holdings — parent company of WWE and the UFC — released its annual report to stock holders. The report reveals that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson received $900,000 in royalties and $2.6 million in travel reimbursements in 2024.

You can check out the SEC filing below:

On January 22, 2024 (the “Effective Date”), the Company and WWE entered into an IP Assignment Agreement with certain affiliates of Dwayne Johnson, pursuant to which WWE assigned to Mr. Johnson (via one of his affiliates) “The Rock” trademark and certain related trademarks, service marks, ring names, taglines and other intellectual property assets (the “Assigned IP”). On the Effective Date, WWE also entered into an Independent Services Contractor and Merchandising Agreement with Mr. Johnson and certain of his affiliates (the “Johnson Services Agreement”), pursuant to which Mr. Johnson agreed to provide to WWE certain promotional and other services. Under the terms of the Johnson Services Agreement, Mr. Johnson further agreed to license the Assigned IP and Mr. Johnson’s name, likeness and certain other intellectual property rights to WWE for use in connection with certain categories of licensed products related to professional wrestling for up to 10 years, subject to certain earlier termination rights. As consideration for Mr. Johnson’s services pursuant to the Johnson Services Agreement, and in respect of the intellectual property grants and licenses made by Mr. Johnson and his affiliates in connection therewith, Mr. Johnson received an award of restricted stock units in respect of Class A common stock, in an amount equal to $30.0 million (the “Johnson Equity Award”). Subject to certain forfeiture and acceleration events, 25% of the Johnson Equity Award vested on the Effective Date; 25% vested upon completion of certain services described in the 2023 Services Agreement; 25% on December 31, 2024; and the remaining 25% vests in equal monthly installments from January 31, 2025 through December 31, 2025. Mr. Johnson is also entitled to receive annual royalties from WWE, and will be entitled to receive royalties in connection with the sale of licensed products that utilize the Assigned IP and his name, likeness and other intellectual property rights in accordance with the Johnson Services Agreement. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company paid $0.9 million of royalties that were earned by Mr. Johnson. In addition, Mr. Johnson is entitled to reimbursement for certain travel expenses associated with delivering services under the Johnson Services Agreement, of which $2.6 million was incurred by the Company during the year ended December 31, 2024.

On a recent episode of the “Something to Wrestle” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer JBL offered insights on WWE’s global growth strategy, particularly through international acquisitions.

Commenting on WWE’s recent purchase of Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, JBL underscored the value of absorbing established promotions rather than building new NXT branches from scratch. He said,

“Why wouldn’t you look to integrate other companies into your system? This way, you don’t need to create more NXTs. You don’t need to launch an NXT Mexico to develop more Luchadores—you’ve now got a built-in pipeline with AAA. It’s a two-way street, too. Your talent can head there, and theirs can come up. It’s mutually beneficial. I think we’ll see more of this globally—in Europe, Australia, Japan, and probably even another in the U.S.”

JBL also weighed in on the report that Jeremy Borash will be part of AAA’s creative direction moving forward, calling him an ideal choice for the role. He said,

“He absolutely is. But it’s going to be a challenging integration. I’ve wrestled in Mexico since the early ‘90s, and their style is distinct. They take pride in it. While they’re open to incorporating elements from American wrestling—and Americans are borrowing from Japan too—what works in Mexico has to honor their cultural identity and Lucha tradition. Jeremy’s great, but balancing creative direction while staying true to that heritage won’t be easy.”

And finally, WWE has added a John Cena segment and a match to tonight’s episode of SmackDown.

SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis announced that the Undisputed WWE Champion will speak during the show, and Chelsea Green will defend her United States Title against Zelina Vega.

You can check out the updated lineup for tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown below:

* WWE Tag Team Championship TLC Match: The Street Profits vs. The Motor City Machine Guns vs. #DIY

* WWE Women’s United States Championship Match: Chelsea Green vs. Zelina Vega

* John Cena and Randy Orton appear.