Dwayne Johnson Biography
Dwayne Johnson born on May 2, 1972, also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the development and success of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) during the Attitude Era, an industry boom period in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Dwayne Johnson wrestled for the WWF 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. He aspired to play professional football but went undrafted in the 1995 NFL Draft.
READ ALSO; Terry Lewis Net Worth – How much does Terry Lewis worth?
After accepting an athletic scholarship to play at the University of Miami, Dwayne Johnson became a member of the 1991 national championship team, but largely spent his four college football years in backup roles behind elite players, including future NFL player and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Warren Sapp.
Following his graduation, Dwayne Johnson signed with the Calgary Stampeders but was cut from the team in his first season.
In 1996, his father Rocky, a longtime professional wrestler, assisted in helping him secure a contract with the WWF. Dwayne Johnson quickly rose to global prominence, aided by a gimmick he employed as a charismatic trash talker.
Dwayne Johnson left WWE in 2004 and returned in 2011 as a part-time performer until 2013, making sporadic appearances until retiring in 2019.
A 10-time world champion, including the promotion’s first of African-American descent, he is also a two-time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time Tag Team Champion, the 2000 Royal Rumble winner, and WWE’s sixth Triple Crown champion.
He headlined the most-bought professional wrestling pay-per-view (WrestleMania XXVIII) and was featured among the most-watched episodes of WWE’s flagship television series (Raw and SmackDown).
Dwayne Johnson’s first film appearance was in The Mummy Returns (2001). The following year he played his first leading role as the titular character in the sword and sorcery action fantasy film The Scorpion King (2002).
He has since starred in family films The Game Plan (2007), Race to Witch Mountain (2009), Tooth Fairy (2010), and Jungle Cruise (2021), as well as the action-adventure films Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Hercules (2014), Skyscraper (2018), San Andreas (2015) and Rampage (2018).
SEE ALSO; Kentucky Derby Horses Dying: 2023 Kentucky Derby
He also starred in the action comedy films Get Smart (2008), Central Intelligence (2016), Baywatch (2017), and Red Notice (2021). In 2016 he voiced Maui in the Disney animated film Moana (2016).
His role as Luke Hobbs in the Fast & Furious films, beginning with Fast Five (2011), helped the franchise become one of the highest-grossing in film.
Dwayne Johnson also stars in the Jumanji films, appearing in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), and voices Bark Kent / Krypto / Superdog, Anubis, and Teth-Adam / Black Adam in the animated film DC League of Super-Pets (2022), before starring as the latter in the live-action superhero film Black Adam (2022).
Dwayne Johnson produced and starred in the HBO comedy-drama series Ballers (2015–2019), and the autobiographical sitcom Young Rock (2021). In 2000, He released his autobiography, The Rock Says, which was a New York Times bestseller.
In 2012, he co-founded the entertainment production company Seven Bucks Productions and is co-owner of the XFL a professional American football league, which he acquired from WWE owner Vince McMahon for $15 million in 2020. In 2016 and 2019, Time named Dwayne Johnson one of the world’s most influential people.
Dwayne Johnson has been listed as one of the all-time greatest professional wrestlers as well as one of the top draws in wrestling history.
He holds the record for most Raw shows main-event in one year (38 in 2000), most SmackDown shows main-event in one year (36 in 2000) and tied with Stone Cold Steve Austin (in 2001) for most PPV shows main events in one year (12 in 2000).
In recognition of his service to the Samoan people, and because he is a descendant of Samoan chiefs, Dwayne Johnson was given the noble title of Seiuli (meaning the son of Malietoa [Alo o Malietoa]) by Malietoa Tanumafili II during his visit there on August 9, 2004. He became a Canadian citizen through his father’s birth and citizenship there in 2009.
READ ALSO; Bobby Moudy Death and Obituary: TikTok Star Dies by Suicide Aged 46
Dwayne Johnson Career
Dwayne Johnson began his professional wrestling career in 1996. Wrestling at first under his real name, Dwayne Johnson 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 under the name Flex Kavana and winning the USWA tag team championship twice with his partner Bart Sawyer in the summer of 1996, Dwayne Johnson was signed to a WWF contract. He received additional training from Tom Prichard, alongside Achim Albrecht and Mark Henry.
Dwayne Johnson made his WWF debut as Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father’s and grandfather’s ring names, although his real name was acknowledged by the announcers.
He was initially reluctant to take this ring name but was persuaded by Vince McMahon and Jim Ross. He was given the nickname “The Blue Chipper” and to play up his lineage, he was hyped as the WWF’s first third-generation wrestler.
Dwayne 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 and 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 the popular character Seven of Nine.
Dwayne Johnson began his theatrical career in The Mummy Returns (2001), The Scorpion King (2002), The Rundown (2003), and Walking Tall (2004). He played a supporting role in Be Cool (2005) – most notable for the meta element of playing a bodyguard that wants to become an actor and was the primary antagonist in Doom (2005).
He also had roles in Gridiron Gang (2006), Reno 911!: Miami (2007), and Southland Tales (2006). He played a cocky famous American football player in The Game Plan (2007) and Agent 23 in Get Smart (2008).
SEE ALSO; Terry Lewis Cause of Death
Dwayne Johnson Children
He is a father of 3. He welcomed his first daughter with his ex-wife Dany Garcia, Simone on August 14, 2001, his second daughter Jasmine on December 17, 2015, and his third daughter Tiana on April 17, 2018, both with his current wife Lauren Hashia
THANK YOU for constantly reading stories on AtinkaNews. You are free to share this story via the various social media platforms . Kindly follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Telegram.
