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 Monday, Peyton and Eli Manning noticed a dinosaur skull behind the man otherwise known as Dwayne Johnson. The head named “Stan” had an interesting story behind it.
“As a matter of fact, so 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,” The Rock said, via The New York Post.
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Fans were mesmerized by the skull, which resembled something Vince McMahon has in his office. All of a sudden, there were questions overnight regarding the history of that T-Rex skull. It was found mostly complete in 1992 and was named after the amateur paleontologist who discovered it: Stan Sacrison. According to CNN via National Geographic, in October 2020 a 39-foot T-Rex fossil named Stan was sold to an anonymous buyer for about $31.8 million. Was The Rock one of the buyers?
Following multiple inquiries, The Rock decided to set the record straight. He shared Instagram post stating he is not the mysterious buyer. As a point of reference, The Black Hills Institute sells replicas of the skull for the low price of $11,500. The Rock also went into detail on the origins of Stan.
“After my LIVE interview on last night’s #ManningCast on @NFL’s Monday Night Football, there’s been tons of worldwide speculation in the world of science ~ that I am the “mystery buyer” of the original T-REX skull, known as STAN. I am not the mystery buyer. In my home office, this is my REPLICA CAST of STAN that I had made and purchased from my friends at The Black Hills Institute of Geological Research and Paleontological Excavations.
“My love, respect, fascination and curiosity for paleontological & archeological science runs deep - and if I was the proud owner of the real STAN, I sure as hell wouldn’t keep him in my office.”
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The Rock also compared himself to Stan, discussing brutal battle they both went through while also making fun of his age.