Mike ‘The Situation’ Says The Rock Inspired His ‘Jersey Shore’ Persona

When Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino was about to join the reality TV world on “Jersey Shore,” he prepared in a very interesting way … by smelling what The Rock was cooking.

Mike and his wife, Lauren, were guests on the Hollywood Pipeline Podcast with Dax Holt & Adam Glyn … and he made a huge reveal. He tells them “The Situation” isn’t his normal personality — it’s an amped-up version inspired by his love for wrestling … specifically, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

The Sitch says he wanted to bring something new to the hit MTV series, and while he’s obviously a character on his own … he wanted to make himself “larger than life.” Hence — the nickname, the catchphrases, the abs … and talking about himself in the third person.

Gotta say, it worked pretty well, and Mike sold it as the genuine article … though ya gotta think he really had some GTL experience.