During his time as a professional wrestler, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made one of his first forays into acting with a cameo appearance on Star Trek: Voyager. Johnson, who was born in 1972, left a career in football to pursue professional wrestling in 1996 and began working for World Wrestling Entertainment, which at the time was called the World Wrestling Federation. During his time with WWE, Johnson gained worldwide fame as "The Rock" and is still regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Today, Johnson is also an acclaimed actor who has played roles in the Fast & Furious franchise, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and its sequel, and Moana.
Johnson had already begun branching out into acting as early as 1999; his first official role was in an episode of That 70s Show, followed quickly by his appearance on Star Trek: Voyager in 2000. Johnson guest-starred in Voyager season 6 in an episode entitled "Tsunkatse", portraying an unnamed alien from a race called the Pendari. Johnson's character faced off against Seven of Nine after she was captured while on an away mission and forced to fight in broadcasted matches of the alien martial art that gave the episode its name. The scene where Johnson appeared was towards the beginning of the episode, and was brief, with Johnson's Pendari Champion easily winning his match against a reluctant Seven.
Johnson's cameo on Star Trek: Voyager would have been immensely enjoyable for both Star Trek and WWF fans at the time, and his appearance on Voyager also had an interesting reason behind it. In 2000, Voyager was airing on the United Paramount Network, having been one of UPN's flagship shows since season 1 premiered in 1995. The year before, WWF's newest show WWF Smackdown! had also joined UPN, airing on Thursday nights. Johnson's appearance on Voyager was a bit of a cross-promotional venture for both shows, made easier by the fact that they were on the same network. Indeed, getting someone as famous as The Rock in "Tsunkatse" earned Voyager its highest Neilsen rating for the whole season, clocking in at 4.1 million homes.
The scene where the Pendari and Seven of Nine fight also contained a couple of important nods to Johnson's career with WWE. When the Pendari first entered the ring, he did "The People's Eyebrow", one of The Rock's signature facial gestures, for the crowd of cheering fans. Additionally, The Pendari ended the fight with Seven by executing "The Rock Bottom" which was Johnson's often used finishing move during his pro wrestling matches. These moves would have been instantly recognizable to his fans at the time, and today are enjoyable Easter eggs for anyone who continues to appreciate Johnson's career in professional wrestling.
Johnson was the first pro wrestler to appear in a Star Trek show, but interestingly enough, would not be the last. Two other WWE stars, Tommy "Tiny" Lister, Jr. and The Big Show would both go on to cameo in separate episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise, the series that came after Voyager. It is also likely that Star Trek was one of the things that helped Johnson realize that he was interested in acting as a more full-time career since he began moving away from wrestling and on to bigger acting roles shortly after. One thing is certain: while Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's cameo in Star Trek: Voyager might not be a well-remembered part of Star Trek history, it will always be a memorable moment for diehard Voyager and WWE fans.