Former WWE Champion The Rock raised a few eyebrows during his appearance on a special NFL playoff edition of ESPN’s Manningcast.
During the Rams-Cardinals game on Monday, Peyton and Eli Manning noticed a dinosaur skull behind the man known as Dwayne Johnson. The boss named “Stan” had an interesting story behind it.
“In fact, Stan was the most complete T-Rex skull ever found by a paleontologist, a young paleontologist, and his name was Stan. So this T. Rex head was named after him,” said The Rock, via The New York Post.
Fans were mesmerized by the skull, which looked like something Vince McMahon has in his office. Suddenly, questions arose overnight about the history of that T-Rex skull. It was found almost complete in 1992 and named after the amateur paleontologist who discovered it: Stan Sacrison. According to CNN via National GeographicIn October 2020, a 39-foot tyrannosaurus rex fossil named Stan was sold to an anonymous buyer for about $31.8 million. Was The Rock one of the buyers?
After multiple inquiries, The Rock decided to set the record straight. He shared an Instagram post saying that he is not the mystery shopper. As a point of reference, Black Hills Institute sells skull replicas for the low price of $11,500. The Rock also went into detail about Stan’s origins.
“After my LIVE interview on #ManningCast last night on @NFL’s Monday Night Football, there has been tons of speculation around the world in the science world ~ that I am the ‘mystery buyer’ of the original T-REX skull, known as Stan. I am not the mystery shopper. In my home office, this is my STAN REPLICA I made and bought from my friends at the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research and Paleontological Excavations.
“My love, respect, fascination, and curiosity for paleontological and archaeological science run deep, and if I were the proud owner of the actual STAN, I’m sure I wouldn’t keep it in my office.”
The Rock also compared himself to Stan, discussing the brutal battle the two went through while poking fun at his age.