This week, the biographical sitcom series “Young Rock” will premiere on NBC. This show, created by Nahnatchka Khan and former WWE superstar Dwayne Johnson will look both on the latter’s childhood to young adulthood, growing up to eventually become pro-wrestling icon The Rock, as well as his hypothetical near-future, running for President of the US. Johnson, who plays himself as an adult, is joined by three young actors portraying different ages of his life, plus members of his illustrious wrestling family from Samoa and several key pro superstars. It is in the last category that two new castings were announced.

The Wrap reports that as of this past weekend, NBC has added actor-comedian Adam Ray and actor-producer Kevin Makely to the cast of “Young Rock,” and they will be portraying some major figures in the pro-wrestling industry. Makely, who was in 2019’s “Badland” by director Justin Lee, will portray “Macho Man” Randy Savage while Ray, who has been in 2013’s “RED 2” and some voice-acting stints (Slimer in the 2016 “Ghostbusters” reboot and Swift Wind in Netflix’s “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power”) gets a plum role as Vince McMahon, owner of pro-wresting promotion the WWF (later renamed the WWE).

Johnson announced the casting of Ray on his official Twitter page, bringing up the actor’s own tweet about his role, including photos of him on the “Young Rock” set all in character. It must be noted that he is portraying McMahon in the early 1980s, when Johnson’s first interaction with him was shaking his hand. At the time, McMahon was on the verge of taking control of the WWF from his father, a move described in the sitcom’s character blurbs as driven by ambition. Yet Vince was also known to be a friend of Johnson’s grandmother, wresting promoter Lia Maivia.

Makely himself tooted his casting as mister “Oh Yeah!” Randy Savage, with a photo on Instagram, all kitted out as the muscular Tower of Power. He and Adam Ray are part of the wrestling/WWF cast for the show, alongside Matthew Willig as Andre the Giant, Nate Jackson as Junkyard Dog and Brett Azar as the Iron Sheik. They will take quite the prominent spot in the 11 planned episodes of “Young Rock,” with Dwayne Johnson sharing his title role with Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant and Uli Latukefu. The series premieres Tuesday, February 16 on NBC.

Image courtesy of Bleeding Cool