Dwayne Johnson ! The Rock ! A True motivational story !
Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor, producer, businessman, and retired professional wrestler. Regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) for eight years prior to pursuing an acting career. His films have grossed over $3.5 billion in North America and over $10.5 billion worldwide, making him one of the world's highest-grossing and highest-paid actors.
Dwayne Johnson
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Dwayne Johnson
In 2013
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Born
May 2, 1972 (age 49)
Hayward, California, U.S.
Citizenship
AmericanCanadian
Occupation
Actor producer professional wrestler businessman
Years active
1990–1995 (football)
1996–2004; 2011–2013; 2016 (wrestling)
1999–present (acting)
Spouse(s)
Dany Garcia
(m. 1997; div. 2008)
Lauren Hashian
(m. 2019)
Children
3
Family
Anoa'i
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)
Dwayne Johnson
Flex Kavana
Rocky Maivia
The Rock
Billed height
6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Billed weight
260 lb (118 kg)
Billed from
Miami, Florida
Trained by
Pat Patterson
Rocky Johnson
Tom Prichard
Debut
1996
Retired
2019
Signature
Johnson was a college football player at the University of Miami, with whom he won a national championship in 1991. He aspired to have a professional career in football and entered the 1995 NFL Draft, but went undrafted. He signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL), but was cut from the team in his first season. Shortly after, he began training as a professional wrestler.
An honorary member of the Anoa'i family, his father Rocky Johnson and maternal grandfather Peter Maivia were both professional wrestlers, so Johnson secured a contract with the WWF in 1996. He rose to prominence after developing the gimmick of a charismatic, boastful, trash-talker. He won his first WWF Championship in 1998, becoming the promotion's first world champion of African-American descent. Johnson helped usher in the Attitude Era, an industry boom period in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
In 2004, he left the WWE to pursue an acting career. He returned in 2011 as a part-time performer until 2013, and made sporadic appearances until retiring in 2019. Johnson headlined the most-bought professional wrestling pay-per-view (WrestleMania XXVIII) and was featured among the most watched episodes of WWE's two flagship television shows (Raw and SmackDown). He is a 10-time world champion, a two-time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time Tag Team Champion, the 2000 Royal Rumble winner, and WWE's sixth Triple Crown champion.
Johnson's first leading film role was as the titular character in The Scorpion King (2002), having previously briefly portrayed the character in The Mummy Returns (2001). He has since starred in many successful films, including The Game Plan (2007), Tooth Fairy (2010), Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Hercules (2014), San Andreas (2015), Central Intelligence (2016), Moana (2016), Rampage (2018), and Skyscraper (also 2018). His role as Luke Hobbs in the Fast & Furious films, beginning with Fast Five (2011), helped it become one of the highest-grossing film franchises. Johnson also stars in the Jumanji films, appearing in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019).
Johnson produced and starred in the HBO series Ballers (2015–2019), which ran for five seasons and was ranked as HBO's most-watched comedy in six years. He also stars and produces the autobiographical series Young Rock (2021). In 2000, Johnson released the autobiography The Rock Says, a New York Times bestseller. In 2012, he founded the entertainment production company Seven Bucks Productions.
In 2016 and 2019, Johnson made the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World list. He is the co-owner of the American football league, the XFL.
Early life
Dwayne Douglas Johnson was born in Hayward, California on May 2, 1972, the son of Ata Johnson (née Maivia; born 1948) and former professional wrestler Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; 1944–2020). Growing up, Johnson lived briefly in Grey Lynn in New Zealand with his mother's family, where he played rugby and attended Richmond Road Primary School before returning to the U.S. He attended Montclaire Elementary School in Charlotte, North Carolina, before moving to Hamden, Connecticut, where he spent a couple of years at Shepherd Glen Elementary School and Hamden Middle School. He attended President William McKinley High School in Honolulu, Hawaii, then Glencliff High School and McGavock High School in Nashville, Tennessee, and finally Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Before the age of 17, he struggled, being arrested multiple times for fighting, theft, and check fraud. A gifted athlete, he was on his high schools' gridiron football, track and field, and wrestling teams.
Johnson's father was a Black Nova Scotian, with a small amount of Irish ancestry. His mother is Samoan. His father was part of the first black tag team champions in WWE history, along with Tony Atlas. His mother is the adopted daughter of Peter Maivia, who was also a pro wrestler, and his wife. wife, Lia, was the first female pro wrestling promoter, taking over Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling after her husband's death in 1982, and managing it until 1988. Through his grandfather Maivia, Johnson is considered a non-blood relative to the Anoa'i wrestling family. In 2008, Johnson inducted his father and grandfather into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1996)
After his football career, Johnson decided to pursue a career as a professional wrestler. Veteran wrestler Pat Patterson got Johnson several tryout matches with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1996. Under his real name, he defeated The Brooklyn Brawler at a house show on March 10 and lost matches to Chris Candido and Owen Hart. After wrestling at Jerry Lawler's United States Wrestling Association as Flex Kavana and winning the USWA World Tag Team Championship twice with Bart Sawyer in the summer of 1996, Johnson signed a WWF contract. He received additional training from Tom Prichard, alongside Achim Albrecht and Mark Henry.
World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment
The Nation of Domination (1997–1998)
After losing the Intercontinental Championship to Owen Hart on the April 28, 1997 episode of Raw Is War and suffering a legitimate knee injury in a match against Mankind, Maivia returned in August 1997 and turned heel for the first time in his career by lashing out at fans who had been booing him and joining Faarooq, D'Lo Brown and Kama in the stable called the Nation of Domination. He then refused to acknowledge the Rocky Maivia name, instead referring to himself in the third person as the Rock, though he would still be billed as "the Rock" Rocky Maivia until 1998. The Rock would then regularly insult the audience, WWF performers, and interviewers in his promos.
The Rock saw a big uptick in fan support during this time, causing him to be booked in a feud with fellow Nation members Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown, turning babyface in the process. Henry defeated him at Judgment Day: In Your House, after interference from Brown, effectively breaking up the stable.
WWF Champion and rise to superstardom (1998–2000)
As part of The Corporation, the Rock feuded with Stone Cold Steve Austin and stole Austin's personalized WWF Championship, the "Smoking Skull" belt
The Rock was then entered into the "Deadly Game" tournament for the vacant WWF Championship. The finals occurred at Survivor Series, where the Rock defeated Vince McMahon's associate, Mankind, to win his first WWF Championship. A "double turn" then occurred as the Rock turned heel again after allying with Vince and Shane McMahon as the crown jewel of their stable, The Corporation, after the McMahons betrayed Mankind. On December 13, 1998, at the pay-per-view named after him, Rock Bottom: In Your House, the Rock had a rematch with Mankind for the WWF Championship. Mankind appeared to win the match when the Rock passed out to the Mandible Claw submission move, but Vince McMahon ruled that since the Rock did not tap out, he retained his title.
Record-breaking world champion (2000–2002)
The Rock as the WWF Champion in 2000
In the following weeks, the Rock continued his feud with Triple H and eventually won his fourth WWF Championship, which he won on April 30, at Backlash, after Stone Cold Steve Austin intervened on his behalf. The following night on Raw, he successfully defended his title against Shane McMahon in a Steel Cage match. On May 21, at Judgment Day, the Rock faced Triple H in an Iron Man match with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. With the score tied at five falls each, and with seconds left on the time limit, the Rock was disqualified when The Undertaker attacked Triple H, thus giving Triple H the 6–5 win and the title.The Rock won the WWF Championship for a fifth time at King of the Ring on June 25 by scoring the winning pin in a six-man tag team match, teaming with Kane and The Undertaker against Shane McMahon, Triple H and Vince McMahon, whom he pinned. The Rock successfully defended the championship against Chris Benoit, on July 23, at Fully Loaded. The next month, he successfully defended his title against Kurt Angle and Triple H at SummerSlam. The Rock had another successful title defense against Benoit, Kane and The Undertaker, on September 24, at Unforgiven.
Final feuds and first retirement (2003–2004)
The Rock returned on the January 30, 2003 episode of SmackDown! to set up another match with Hulk Hogan at No Way Out. Because of negative fan reaction during his previous couple of matches as a result of his budding acting career, the Rock turned heel again. The Rock then defeated Hogan at No Way Out before assigning himself to the Raw brand. There, he had various small feuds, including one with the Hurricane. He also began performing "Rock Concerts", segments in which he played the guitar and mocked WWE performers and fans in song.
Non-wrestling appearances (2007–2009)
On March 12, 2007, the Rock appeared on a WWE show after nearly three years, via a pre-taped promo shown during Raw. He correctly predicted that Bobby Lashley would defeat Umaga at WrestleMania 23 in Donald Trump and Vince McMahon's "Battle of the Billionaires" Hair vs Hair match. On March 29, 2008, Johnson appeared to induct his father Rocky Johnson and grandfather Peter Maivia into the WWE Hall of Fame. Johnson's next appearance was through a pre-taped promo on October 2, 2009 during the Decade of SmackDown.
Independent circuit
On September 30, 2009, the Rock appeared at a World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) show to support the professional wrestling debut of Sarona Snuka, the daughter of his long-time friend and mentor Jimmy Snuka.
Return to WWE
Feud with John Cena (2011–2013)
On February 14, 2011, the Rock was revealed as the host of WrestleMania XXVII, appearing live on Raw for the first time in almost seven years. During a lengthy promo, he addressed the fans and started a feud with John Cena. After numerous appearances via satellite, the Rock appeared live on the Raw before WrestleMania XXVII to confront Cena. After he and Cena exchanged insults, The Miz and Alex Riley appeared and attacked the Rock; he fended off Miz and Riley, only for Cena to blindside him with an Attitude Adjustment .
Impact Wrestling (2020)
The Rock made an appearance at Impact Wrestling’s 2020 Bound For Glory via a recorded video message to induct Ken Shamrock into the Impact Hall of Fame.
Acting career
Early Years
Johnson entered Hollywood and the film industry, becoming a star initially through his wrestling popularity and noted work ethic. Over his acting career, he became one of the highest paid and most successful actors in Hollywood. He began his acting career on television while wrestling. In his first television acting job, in 1999, he played his own father in an episode of That '70s Show called "That Wrestling Show". Nearly a year later, he appeared in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Tsunkatse" as an alien wrestler who fought popular character Seven of Nine. While Johnson was away from WWE, the company continued to sell "The Rock" merchandise, and he continued to be featured prominently in the opening montages of their television shows.
2010s and mainstream success
Johnson's first box office success came in 2011, portraying Luke Hobbs in Fast Five (2011), the film becomes the seventh highest-grossing film of 2011. He became known for reinvigorating film franchises after portraying Marvin F. Hinton / Roadblock in G.I. Joe: Retaliation and reprising his role as Luke Hobbs in Fast & Furious 6 (2013), while also starring in true-story films Pain & Gain (2013) and Empire State (2013). That same year, he hosted and produced the TNT reality competition series The Hero, and won the Favorite Male Buttkicker Award at the 2013 Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards. In May 2013, it was announced that he would executive produce and star in Ballers, an HBO comedy-drama series about NFL players living in Miami. By December of that year, Forbes named him the top-grossing actor of 2013, with his films bringing in $1.3 billion worldwide for the year. Forbes credited the success of Fast & Furious 6, which grossed $789 million globally, and his frequent acting work as primary reasons for topping the list.
Johnson starred as the title character in Hercules (2014) and reprised his role as Luke Hobbs in Furious 7 (2015). He hosted another reality series for TNT in 2014, entitled Wake Up Call, which saw him "lending a helping hand to everyday people who were facing enormous challenges in their lives" alongside guest experts such as Rocco DiSpirito, Jillian Michaels, and Josh Shipp. In 2016, Johnson co-starred with Kevin Hart in the action-comedy Central Intelligence and had a lead voice role in the Disney animated film Moana, in which he voiced the Polynesian demigod Maui. He reprised his role as Luke Hobbs in The Fate of the Furious, which was released in 2017. Johnson starred in two other blockbuster movies that year, Baywatch and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle as Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon and Dr. Smolder Bravestone, respectively. In 2018, he starred in the action films Rampage and Skyscraper.
Producing
In 2012, Johnson founded his production company Seven Bucks Productions.
Though originally attached as producer and star, Johnson will now serve solely as the former on a film adaptation of The Janson Directive. John Cena will fill the leading role, with Akiva Goldsman attached as screenwriter. Additionally, he will produce and star in a Netflix exclusive film titled John Henry & The Statesmen, as the titular folklore hero. The film will be directed by Jake Kasdan, from a script co-written by Kasdan and Tom Wheeler. With the first official teaser trailer released in October 2018, the project marks Kasdan and Johnson's third collaboration, following Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level.
Other work
In 2000, Johnson published his autobiography, titled The Rock Says..., which he co-wrote with Joe Layden. It debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list and remained on the list for several weeks.
In 2019, Johnson announced he would be launching his own competitive bodybuilding show alongside his business partner and ex-wife Dany Garcia, called Athleticon. It is set to rival other long-standing bodybuilding shows such as The Arnold Classic and Joe Weider's Mr. Olympia. The show was set to debut in October 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia, but plans were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Personal life
Johnson with his ex-wife Dany GarcÃa in April 2009
Johnson married Dany Garcia on May 3, 1997. She is a businesswoman, IFBB professional bodybuilder, and producer. Their daughter, Simone, was born on August 14, 2001. They announced they were separating amicably on June 1, 2007, and their divorce was finalized in May 2008.
Johnson subsequently began dating Lauren Hashian, the daughter of Boston drummer Sib Hashian. They first met in 2006 while Johnson was filming The Game Plan. They were married on August 18, 2019, in Hawaii. The couple have two daughters: Jasmine (born December 17, 2015) and Tiana (born April 17, 2018). The family reside in Los Angeles, having also a farm in Virginia and a second home in Southwest Ranches, Florida.
In recognition of his service to the Samoan people, and because he is a descendant of Samoan chiefs, Johnson was given the noble title of Seiuli by Malietoa Tanumafili II during his visit there in July 2004. In 2009, he gained Canadian citizenship through his father's birth and citizenship there.
He received a partial Samoan pe'a tattoo on his left side in 2003. In 2017, he had the small "Brahma bull" tattoo on his right arm covered with a larger half-sleeve tattoo of a bull's skull.
In February 2020, the WWE announced that Johnson's daughter Simone began training at the WWE Performance Center, making her the first fourth-generation WWE wrestler. On May 16, Johnson announced she had signed a contract with WWE.
In September 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson revealed that he, his wife, and their two young daughters had all tested positive for (and since recovered from) COVID-19. He said they contracted the disease after contact with family friends.
Filmography
Championships and accomplishments
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Match of the Year (1999) vs. Mankind in an "I Quit" match at Royal Rumble
Match of the Year (2002) vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8
Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1999, 2000)
Wrestler of the Year (2000)
Ranked No. 2 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2000
United States Wrestling Association
USWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Bart Sawyer
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Best Box Office Draw (2000, 2011, 2012)
Best Gimmick (1999)
Best on Interviews (1999, 2000)
Most Charismatic (1999–2002, 2011, 2012)
Most Improved (1998)
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2007)
WWE/World Wrestling Entertainment/Federation
WWE Championship[a] (8 times)
WCW Championship[b] (2 times)
WWF Intercontinental Championship (2 times)
WWF Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Mankind (3), The Undertaker (1), and Chris Jericho (1)
Royal Rumble (2000)
Sixth Triple Crown Champion
Deadly Games WWF Championship Tournament (1998)
Slammy Award (9 times)
Best Actor (2014)
Game Changer of the Year (2011) – with John Cena
Guess Who's Back or: Return of the Year (2011)
LOL! Moment of the Year (2012, 2013) – insulting John Cena using the history of Boston, Massachusetts, Rock Concert on the 20th anniversary episode of Raw
Match of the Year (2013) – vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 29
New Sensation (1997)
"Tell Me You Didn't Just Say That" Insult of the Year (2014) – insulting Rusev and Lana
"This is Awesome" Moment of the Year (2015) – with Ronda Rousey.
Awards and honors
1991 NCAAF National Championship Miami Hurricanes
2001 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie: Villain The Mummy Returns
2012 CinemaCon Action Star of the Year
2013 Kids Choice Awards Favorite Male Buttkicker Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
2015 Muscle & Fitness Man of the Century
2016 Mr. Olympia Icon Award
People's Choice Awards Favorite Premium Cable TV Actor
People Magazine Sexiest Man Alive
Shorty Awards Best Actor
Time 100 Most Influential People in the World inclusion
2017 Hollywood Walk of Fame Motion pictures star
People's Choice Awards Favorite Premium Series Actor
Kids' Choice Awards BFF's (shared with Kevin Hart) Central Intelligence
Teen Choice Awards Choice Fantasy Movie Actor Moana
NAACP Image Awards Entertainer of the Year
2018 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Movie Actor Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Teen Choice Awards Choice Comedy Movie Actor
Golden Raspberry Awards The Razzie Nominee So Rotten You Loved It Baywatch
2019 honored United States 1st Armored Division
Time 100 Most Influential People in the World
MTV Movie & TV Awards MTV Generation Award
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