Dwayne Johnson Was Hit So Hard on 'Smashing Machine' Set His 'Bell Rung'

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s dedication to his role in The Smashing Machine was steadfast — so much so, the actor almost got knocked out cold on set.

Johnson, 53, revealed that one scene in the biographical sports film, in which he portrays MMA fighter Mark Kerr, left him weak in the knees after he was punched incredibly hard.

“It felt like when you get rocked by a real fighter multiple times,” Johnson told CBS Sports during a combat sports media roundtable for the upcoming Benny Safdie-directed movie on Monday, September 22. “There’s a moment in the trailer where I’m on my knees in the ring and I look up dazed. That’s real. I got my bell rung. Benny said, ‘Hold on! Stay right there!’ I was seeing three heads of Benny Safdie and 15 heads of Mark Kerr.”

Since Johnson opted to do his own s