Charles Barkley has long been a closet WWE fan, and he took advantage of an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show to chop it up on pro wrestling with the company’s Monday Night Raw broadcaster.
Barkley offered glowing praise of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s recent run with the WWE, calling him the most entertaining man on television right now.
The Inside the NBA host seems to have taken to watching Raw a ton lately and is in awe of Johnson’s ability to draw in the audience and put on a show as the villain in the ring.
“Has The Rock got the best personality, charisma on television? I mean, obviously Roman (Reigns) and Cody (Rhodes) and all those guys are fantastic, but The Rock has the best, he’s got that thing,” Barkley said Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show. “When you see The Rock performing … his personality, when he’s talking, you’re like, ‘I’ve got to watch this.'”
The 61-year-old former NBA star surely has some respect that the 51-year-old Johnson can mix it up in pro wrestling while still delivering the goods as an entertainer, especially after so long away from the WWE.
“He’s always had it, but for him to come back and do his thing like he did for all this stuff the last couple months … he’s got the charisma bug,” Barkley added.
Barkley has met The Rock and seen up-close how charming he can be, but he also appreciates how well Johnson plays the villain.
“I was impressed. We’re not great friends, but I’ve known him for a long time,” Barkley said. “When he’s working, I want to watch. He plays the heel perfectly.”
Johnson returned to Raw on Jan. 1. In March, he gave himself the “Final Boss” nickname that followed through to a record-breaking WrestleMania when he and Reigns faced Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a tag-team match. Johnson is currently on hiatus with a feud still boiling with Rhodes.
Johnson also recently joined the Board of Directors at TKO Holdings, the parent company of the WWE.
WWE fans have been eating up Johnson’s return to the company, and we can now add Barkley to that Rock-loving crowd.
[The Pat McAfee Show on YouTube]
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.