Dwayne Johnson's Father, Professional Wrestler Rocky Johnson, Has Passed Away At 75

Jan 16, 2020

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's father, Rocky Johnson, has sadly passed away at the age of 75. Rocky was a professional Canadian wrestler who went on to train his son Dwayne who would eventually go on to being one of the most successful celebrities in Hollywood. Dwayne paid tribute to his father just last year for everything he taught him. 

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) confirmed on their website that the WWE Hall of Famer had passed away. They wrote, "The “Soul Man” retired from the ring in 1991, but his imprint continued to be felt on WWE for years to come.

Post-retirement, Johnson had a hand in training his son, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The Rock would become one of the biggest stars in the history of sports-entertainment and carried on his father’s legacy with pride." 

Rocky began wrestling in the 1960s however he became successful when he moved on to the WWE in the 1980s. Rocky teamed up with another wrestler known as Tony Atlas and the two became "The Soul Patrol." "The physically imposing and wildly charismatic Johnson had several memorable rivalries with the likes of Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, Don Muraco and Adrian Adonis.

Rocky and Atlas became the first African-American World Tag Team Champions in WWE history and defeated The Wild Samoans on Dec. 10, 1983.

The Rock paid tribute to his dad last year on father's day writing about how he always looked up to his father and sought his approval. However, he says that when he stopped seeking his approval was the day he understood what it means to be a man.

"The day I stopped looking for that approval was the day I understood what it meant to be man and more importantly, a father. That shift lifted me to a new level of gratitude for the tough love he always gave," Dwayne wrote. 

He said his father made him into the man that he is today. "Years later as a man and father of three girls, I know that tough love, is a helluva lot better than no love at all. I’ll take it. It’s made me who I am today. Grateful to the original Rock." 

Dwayne had gifted his father a brand new car in 2918 after he had undergone hip surgery. He let his dad pick out whatever car he wanted, according to People.

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