By James Caldwell, PWTorch.com assistant editor

Former WWE champion "The Rock" Dwayne Johnson distanced himself from pro wrestling to show Hollywood that he's a committed actor. Johnson has become an action star and entertainment giant Disney has endorsed him as a lead actor in their movie releases.

Wrestling fans question whether Johnson "sold out" after WWE gave him the platform to become a major star in the entertainment industry. Jim Ross, who signed Johnson when he was VP of Talent Relations in the mid-1990s, says Johnson paid his dues to the wrestling business.

"Dwayne Johnson is no sellout," Jim Ross said on jrsbarbq.com. "Those that say that come off sounding ignorant in my view. Dwayne's work ethic while he was in WWE was beyond approach as was his character."

Ross says Johnson should be remembered for the contributions he made while part of the wrestling business. He shouldn't be remembered for leaving pro wrestling to pursue Hollywood movies.

"I am proud of Dwayne's WWE accomplishments and I am a big fan of his movie work," Ross said. "Dwayne Johnson will always have the wrestling business in his blood but he simply went into another line of work."

Ross argues that Johnson earned the right to pursue a new occupation because he put in the effort while in WWE and not many wrestlers worked harder to elevate their status as stars.

"He was never a problem and no one ever put forth more effort in the ring," Ross said. "There may be some who say they would not have done what Dwayne did which was simply change vocations/jobs but the vast majority of wrestlers that I have ever known would have done the same thing if given the opportunity."

Link: Jim Ross blog on jrsbarbq.com.

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