Dwayne Johnson Suffer Injury While Filming The Smashing Machine: 'Might Be Some Soft Tissue Damage'

Dwayne Johnson suffered an elbow injury on his right arm while filming his upcoming A24 mixed martial arts movie The Smashing Machine. Directed by Benny Safdie, the film is slated to premiere sometime in 2025. On Tuesday, May 11, the professional wrestler and actor dropped a video on his social media handles sharing the news with his followers. Despite the gnarly injury, the WWE superstar did not appear too concerned. Dwayne Johnson also revealed that he might have endured soft tissue damage, causing the fluid to build up. He needed to drain it before going for an MRI scan.

In the video, Dwayne Johnson was seen elucidating to viewers about his health condition while standing inside his kitchen. Taking the matter light-heartedly, the wrestler said, “Any time your film is called The Smashing Machine, you’re going to kind of get smashed up.” Pointing at his swollen elbow he continued, “It looks like I have a cantaloupe in the bottom of my elbow. I got banged up pretty good today in our scenes, and there might be some soft tissue damage in there. That’s a lot of fluid, we’ll see. I’ve got to get it out of there first before I can get any kind of MRI.”

Dwayne Johnson’s mental strength seems to come from his late father and pro-wrestler Rocky Johnson. Recalling his father’s advice, Dwayne Johnson said, “He always used to say, ‘A day without pain is like a day without sunshine, boy”. But the Baywatch actor made sure to ask his followers for some counsel and advice on how to treat the injury. He admitted to suffering grievous injuries in the past, having torn off his pelvis and abdomen wall. He underwent four knee surgeries, tore his Achilles heel, put up with a ruptured back and his shoulders were reconstructed.

Dwayne Johnson sought some “advanced advice” from social media users on anti-inflammatories before showing different pills and medicines he was taking on the camera. But it was a Teremana Tequila bottle — an alcohol brand he launched in 2020, that Johnson confessed was his “favourite anti-inflammatory.” He poured himself a glass and consumed the drink, asserting that he was feeling “better already”. “Cheers to the melons at the bottom of your arm,” he said in high spirits like a true sport.

The Smashing Machine also stars Emily Blunt, Oleksandr Usyk, Lyndsey Gavin, and Ryan Bader in key roles.