The Rock returns favor, shouts out George Kittle after 49ers’ win

49ers tight end George Kittle probably had to pinch himself Monday morning.

Kittle channeled Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson after San Francisco's nail-biting 24-20 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Levi's Stadium on Sunday, using Johnson's famed catchphrase from his time in WWE. Johnson, who was born in Hayward, returned the favor on Twitter on Monday, and "The People's Champ" dubbed Kittle "The People's Tight End."

How else are you supposed to respond to "The Rock" giving you a shout out other than how Kittle did?

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Am I dreaming https://t.co/Peh0c5iouv
— George Kittle (@gkittle46) September 23, 2019

Kittle is a big wrestling fan, and the tight end left a postgame press conference early last season in order to attend a WWE event at SAP Center. When he first got hooked on to the WWE by one of his Iowa Hawkeyes teammates in college, "The Rock" became one of Kittle's favorites.

Beyond his wrestling fandom, Kittle has as good of a claim for the crown of "People's Tight End" as any other at his position. He set the single-season record for receiving yards by a tight end (1,377) in 2018, and his slow start this season -- Kittle has 165 receiving yards through three games -- shouldn't (yet) diminish that. His tattoo of the Joker and love of wrestling only help that cause -- that is, unless you're Batman or someone who exclusively watches All Elite Wrestling.