Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s father, Rocky Johnson, has died at the age of 75.
WATCH: The Rock watches dad Rocky Johnson’s Championship Wrestling 1984
World Wrestling Entertainment confirmed the devastating news, writing: “WWE is saddened to learn that Rocky “Soul Man” Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles), a WWE Hall of Famer, former World Tag Team Champion, and father of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has passed away at age 75.”
The Canadian athlete was best known as one of the world’s greatest wrestling champions, starting his professional career with the National Wrestling Alliance in 1964. After beginning at the age of 16, Rocky went on to win several championships throughout the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Less than 20 years later, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
After retiring in 1991, Rocky went on to train his son, Dwayne who became a pro wrestler before transitioning into acting, later becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest stars.
While Dwayne is yet to comment on the sad news, he’s long spoken about the legacy his father left, revealing in 2018 that he was eternally grateful for his dad for teaching him how to be an exceptional father to his three daughters. It’s well known that the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle actor has always idolised his father.
“Happy Father’s Day to this hardly ever smiling OG badass. Little boys by nature, look up to and idolize their old man. They want to be just like em, do whatever they do and are always looking for their approval. Funny thing is the day I stopped looking for that approval was the day I understood what it meant to be man and more importantly, a father,” Dwayne wrote.
“That shift lifted me to a new level of gratitude for the tough love he always gave. 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. #HappyFathersDay #KingStache #RockyJohnson,” he concluded.
Then in March 2018, after gifting his dad a car following his hip surgery, he opened up about how Rocky was a tough father, which eventually made him stronger.
“He’d kick my a** from one side of the gym to the other for years. I hated it when I was a kid, but grateful for it as a man. I’m lucky I could do this and thanks for the a** kickins.”
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