The reasons Dwayne Johnson missed the Pain & Gain premiere has been revealed by Michael Bay, who told the crowds in Los Angeles that the wrestler-turned-actor had to go have emergency surgery, after suffering an injury wrestling as The Rock at this year’s Wrestlemania in New Jersey.

"Dwayne's hurt tonight," Bay told E! Online on the red carpet. "He was pushing it too hard. [ He] needs to grow up and stop wrestling 300-pound men." The 40 year-old wrestled in the former World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) between 1996 and 2004 before leaving the business to concentrate fully on his movie career. However he has been back with the WWE part-time since 2011 and most recently fought John Cena at Wrestlemania 29 – a match he lost. The subsequent injury meant he had to duck out of the company’s Raw program the night after, and the severity of the situation became clear as he also missed the Pain & Gain premiere.

"Saw my Dr who had to push my intestines back thru the tear in my abdomen. Kinda romantic," Johnson had tweeted recently. "Surgery is next week. #BringItOn." However he ended up needing the operation to take place somewhat sooner. Given that Pain & Gain focuses on a group of bodybuilders, the star’s been really pushing at the gym of late, perhaps this is his body’s way of telling him to slow down.

Dwayne Johnson
Is Dwayne Johnson taking on too much?