Jealousy

Lots of jealousy when it comes to this man

Lots of bitter film nerds who feel he has somehow sullied the world of film. Lots of bitter nerds who think he's fake or doesn't deserve his spot

This guy did shit films for a good long while. The Scorpion King (underrated IMO), Doom, The Rundown, Walking Tall, The Toothfairy, Southland Tales, Gridiron Gang, The Game Plan, Faster, Snitch

Then he did a few shit films which happened to do well in the box office: Race to With Mountain, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Get Smart, Fast Five, GI Joe: Retaliation

And a couple of decent movies like The Other Guys (cameo) and Pain & Gain

Any which way you slice it, his ascent was completely organic. In fact, I'd say he faced more roadblocks than a typical charismatic leading man type. He had to overcome the stigma of being a WWF superstar and being a big buff dude during an era of filmmaking in which guys like him were not valued. It just so happened that the superhero craze allowed a person of his physical proportions to be in demand again as a blockbuster character. Doom is proof of this; nowadays, a Doom film with The Rock would have him FOR SURE as the lead and not as the antagonist

His charisma and work ethic carried him to the mountaintop. I'm not a big fan of his movies. Frankly, I think most of them are pretty bland. Hobbes and Shaw was ok. But that's not the point. The point is that, regardless of what narratives people want to tell with the benefit of hindsight, he spent a good amount of time being offered shit roles. He wasn't gifted his current A-list status by any means