[283] 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. The Rock later saved Cena from an assault by Big Show, only to be laid out by CM Punk. [242][243][244] He has also appeared in, and been the cover athlete for, several video games. His wedding anniversary falls on the same day as. His father and Tony Atlas were the first black tag team champions in WWE history, in 1983. So it seems Johnson inherited his incredible wrestling talent from both sides of his family. [355] Johnson has also worked with Make-A-Wish Foundation on a number of occasions. [361] They were married on August 18, 2019, in Hawaii. [106][107] Rock and Mankind then lost the titles to The New Age Outlaws on the very next episode of SmackDown!. As of this year, Johnson has starred in 11 films that have grossed over $1 billion worldwide. [163] The Rock won after delivering three consecutive Rock Bottoms, ending their long-running rivalry in what turned out to be Austin's final match. [13] In 1996, Johnson's father Rocky, a longtime professional wrestler, assisted in helping him secure a contract with the WWF. [105] The two lost the titles back to Undertaker and Big Show on the September 9, 1999, episode of SmackDown! A huge percentage of football players at Division I-A schools - especially those that are typically ranked in the top 25 - do not make the active roster as freshmen. [206], The Rock appeared at the 2015 Royal Rumble event on January 25, 2015, during the main event match, where he helped his relative Roman Reigns fend off Big Show and Kane after Reigns eliminated them from the match. In 1996, Dwayne joined the WWE and became Rocky Maivia where he joined a group known as "The Nation of Domination" and turned heel. [40][62] 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. When Johnson was 15 years old, his family was going through a rough period. He said she stopped their car on a Nashville highway and tried to walk into oncoming traffic. Hawaii. He made returns to provide support for Eugene against Jonathan Coachman, and made a cameo in his hometown of Miami and helped Mick Foley against La Rsistance. From performing extraordinary feats in the ring, to giving the bad guys nightmares in the Fast & Furious franchise, The Rock has done it all. He then signed a three-year deal with the Canadian League but left after a year to pursue a career in wrestling.He made his wrestling debut in the USWA under the name Flex Kavanah where he won the tag team championship with Brett Sawyer. The event also saw the WWF debut of the famed WCW faction New World Order, which at the time consisted of "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall. [68] He defeated Bret Hart by disqualification in a title defense on the March 31 episode of Raw is War. Dwayne's mother is of Samoan background. [261] The term "smackdown" was instituted in Merriam-Webster dictionaries since 2007. Over his acting career, he became one of the highest paid and most successful actors in Hollywood. When the classic Universal Orlando ride Earthquake: The Big One was redesigned in 2007, its new iteration, called Disaster!, featured Johnson in a prominent role. [190], On July 23, at Raw 1000, the Rock announced he would wrestle for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Many have placed the Rock on their "Mount Rushmore of Pro Wrestling", including Hulk Hogan,[247] Ric Flair[248] and John Cena. As it is today, he is a United States citizen not minding his parental affiliations with Ireland and Africa. It all adds up. [260], Derived from one of his catchphrases "lay the smackdown", WWE introduced its second flagship program WWE SmackDown in 1999 which later became television's second longest-running weekly episodic program in history. Attended and graduated from Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. [79], The Rock and The Nation then feuded with Triple H and D-Generation X, with the two stable leaders first meeting in the quarter-final of the 1998 King of the Ring tournament, which the Rock won. [259] In 2013, the night after the Rock won the WWE Championship for the first time in over a decade, at Royal Rumble, Raw got its highest rating of that year. Following his graduation, he signed with the Calgary Stampeders but was cut from the team in his first season. 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. [2] Johnson quickly rose to global prominence, aided by a gimmick he employed as a charismatic trash talker. [2][169] This would be Johnson's final wrestling match until November 2011. Reed has called Johnson the "realest" and most "down to earth, humble and talented" guy he knows. The . According to one of the producers, Johnson's was a childhood fan of Johnny Bravo. The title was named the WWF Championship during The Rock's first six reigns. [82] His popularity caused him to be booked in a feud with fellow Nation members Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown, turning babyface in the process. The Rock would pin Punk to retain the championship. [179], The Rock appeared live on Raw in his hometown of Miami to celebrate his 39th birthday. To a degree, all of my promos are scripted, in that there are certain lines and phrases that I plan to include. The wrestling superstar began his career in the National Wrestling Alliance all the way back in the 1960s, but rose to fame in the 1980s upon joining the WWE. Has a wax figure likeness of himself at Madame Tussaud's museum. Johnson competed at ten different WrestleManias over a 16-year period - XIII (1997), XIV (1998), XV (1999), 2000, X-Seven (2001), X-8 (2002), XIX (2003), XX (2004), XXVIII (2012) and 29 (2013). Do check the Promotions tab if you cannot find it in the Primary Inbox. He was contacted about appearing at the Flair farewell address the night following. He studied in . Dwayne Johnson is also known by his ring name the Rock. [338], In March 2020, Johnson launched Teremana Tequila which sold 600,000 nine-litre cases in its first year. This led to a match at WrestleMania XIX on March 30, 2003, which called back to their previous two WrestleMania encounters, both of which Austin had won. It debuted at No. During a lengthy promo, he addressed the fans and started a feud with John Cena. It is the third time that the two collaborated, following Central Intelligence and Skyscraper. [152] In 2018, writing for ESPN.com, Sean Coyle noted in a retrospective review of the event, that following his victory over Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8, the Rock "started to see a dip in fan support" and "that dip turned into a plunge" by the time Rock had his match with Lesnar at SummerSlam because fans knew he was leaving WWE to pursue an acting career. The Rock for the WWE Championship", "WWE Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin def. [12], In addition to playing football at Freedom High School, Johnson also was a member of the school's track and field and wrestling teams. The Rock For President: Dwayne Johnson Reveals His Thoughts On Trump And The Muslim Ban. [359], In 2007, Johnson began dating Lauren Hashian, the daughter of Boston drummer Sib Hashian. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Hercules (2014), Skyscraper (2018), San Andreas (2015) and Rampage (2018). [264][265], The Rock holds the record for most Raw shows main-evented in one year (38 in 2000),[266] most SmackDown shows main-evented in one year (36 in 2000)[267] and tied with Stone Cold Steve Austin (in 2001)[268] for most PPV shows main evented in one year (12 in 2000). [51][52][30], By his senior year at Freedom High School, Johnson had only played two years of high school football but the fact that he had excelled on a team in an elite high school athletic division known nationally for producing a long list of professional and Olympic-level athletes, including future NFL stars Andre Reed, Saquon Barkley, Kyzir White, and others, drew the attention of NCAA Division I collegiate programs. Trademark move: Three open handed punches, followed by a hand spitting motion, followed by a fourth punch which typically levelled the opponent. This was played up in the storyline as Big Show provided additional video footage showing this fact, and claimed to be the rightful winner. [348] Following an online public opinion poll that found that 46% of Americans would consider voting for Johnson in a presidential election, he further stated during an April 12, 2021, interview on The Today Show that "I do have that goal to unite our country and I also feel that if this is what the people want, then I will do that". What is Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's true ethnicity? In 2016 he voiced Maui in the Disney animated film Moana (2016). [111] However, the Rock's feet accidentally hit the floor during the reversal attempt although those watching the event on television did not see that. The Rock had another successful title defense against Benoit, Kane and The Undertaker, on September 24, at Unforgiven.[124]. [145][146] In an interview in 2013, Hogan said he and the Rock changed the style of the match on the fly based on the crowd's response. Did a WWE legend just take a shot at Sami Zayn's physique right here? He debuted on Monday Night Raw as a member of Marc Mero's entourage on November 4, 1996. His ethnicity or ethnic background is African- (Canadian)/Black and Irish from his father and Samoan from his mother. and mustachioed demeanor which led his fellow students to suspect he was an undercover policeman, not unlike. Johnson produced and starred in the HBO comedy-drama series Ballers (20152019),[19] and the autobiographical sitcom Young Rock (2021). [362][363][364] They have two daughters: Jasmine (born December 17, 2015)[365] and Tiana (born April 17, 2018). Born to a Samoan father and a Black Canadian mother in California, he later moved to New Zealand when his parents divorced when he was 12 years old. [332][333] His second item, a black T-shirt sporting his signature "Brahma bull", sold out after being worn at WrestleMania 32. The Rock got into a verbal back-and-forth with Bray Wyatt before having an impromptu match with Wyatt Family member Erick Rowan. A child is shaped. In the episode, the Rock continued his feud with The Corporate Ministry. Johnson has since called the boy a hero. The Rock for the Undisputed Championship", "SummerSlam 2002: A look back at a landscape-shifting moment in WWE history", "Throwback Thursday: Looking back at WWE Summerslam 2002", "WWE SmackDown! [148], The Rock made a surprise return on a June episode of Raw before going to his assigned brand of SmackDown!. American actor and former professional wrestler (born 1972), Debut and Intercontinental Champion (19961997), WWF Champion and rise to superstardom (19982000), Record-breaking world champion (20002002), insulting John Cena using the history of Boston, Massachusetts, Rock Concert on the 20th anniversary episode of. Cast in the role in August 2015, the film was based on the theme-park ride of the same name. [32] 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, Johnson was signed to a WWF contract. [186][187] On the March 12, 2012, episode of Raw, the Rock hosted his first "Rock Concert" segment since 2004, mocking Cena in his songs. Congratulations to The Rock!The 'Baywatch' star is on the cover of the new comedy issue of GQ Magazine.While much of the interview focuses on whether or not The Rock (real name Dwayne Johnson) could win a Presidential election, as well as his patriotism and his thoughts on the current administration . The attraction made riders extras in an action movie that starred Johnson. Soon the Rock was kicked out of the "Corporation". Ata Fitisemanu was the. [96], The Rock's popularity continued to grow and audiences still cheered for him even though he was a heel. That's when I started thinking about goals and what I wanted to accomplish," he has since said about his high school football experience. He also had roles in Gridiron Gang (2006), Reno 911! 'Sweetest Baby Girl in the Whole World,' Lauren Hashian Says", "One good thing Virginia has going for it this week? Vince McMahon then came out and was about to strip Punk of the championship, however, at the Rock's request, he instead restarted the match. He was majoring in criminology. Freedom High School football coach Jody Cwik, however, saw athletic potential in Johnson, and recruited him to join Freedom's football team, where he played defensive tackle. Dwayne Johnson has come a long way from being The Rock, to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, to just Dwayne Johnson. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you. [370] In 2009, he gained Canadian citizenship through his father's birth and citizenship there. In 1999, the Rock was listed No. [356], Johnson first met fellow University of Miami student Dany Garcia in the early 1990s. When one talks of the greatest wrestlers of all time, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's name is bound to pop up during the conversation. 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