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NBC announced today that a special standalong holiday episode of Young Rock starring Dwayne Johnson will air on Wednesday 12/5 at 8 PM EST.
The plot - "Christmas Eve, 1982: An unexpected guest shows Dewey that this is the first in a long line of terrible Christmases. In 1987, Rocky and Dwayne take jobs as a mall Santa and elf. In 1993, Dwayne reluctantly spends a disastrous Christmas with Coach O."
As PWInsider.com exclusively broke, casting has been underway for actors to portray the following 1980s professional wrestling characters:
*Dwayne Johnson's grandfather, WWE Hall of Famer "High Chief" Peter Maivia, described in casting calls as being in his 30s and seen in the 1970s, where he is the founder of Polynesian Pro Wrestling in Hawaii. He is described as "standing up" for another wrestler in the casting. While Maivia has been referred to often in the series, this is the first time he will be seen. In the casting, it is noted he may become a recurring or regular character. Ana Tuisila plays his wife, Lia Maivia on Young Rock.
*Jerry Lawler, Tommy Rich and a young Bam Bam Bigelow (as Crusher Yurkov) for an episode set in 1980s Memphis Wrestling. Lawler and Bigelow may become reccuring characters.
*Haystacks Calhoun.
*WWF 1980s personalities Gene Okerlund, Big John Studd, Freddie Blassie, Nikolai Volkoff and Mr. Fuji, among others.
*The Great Kabuki.
They are also seeking to re-cast several wrestlers from the first season we are told, including Roddy Piper and Ric Flair. The reason the series is recasting Flair is that Matthew Farrelly, who portrayed Flair in a sequence against Rocky Johnson in season one, is no longer available as he's now signed to WWE NXT as Grayson Waller and is residing in Orlando, Florida while the series shoots in Australia.
Production for the second season is currently expected to run through January for ten episodes. There is no word yet when it will premiere on NBC. The first season ended on a cliffhanger where the world was about to learn whether The Rock was about to become President of the United States. Chavo Guerrero Jr. is handling the wrestling coordinator role for the series.
Among the personalities who were portrayed regularly in season one were Andre the Giant (who has been bumped up to a series regular), The Iron Sheik, Afa, Sika, Rocky Johnson, Junkyard Dog and Randy Savage.
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