Dwayne Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his former ring name The Rock and occasionally credited as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Johnson was a collegiate football player, and in 1991, he was part of the University of Miami's national championship team. He later played for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League, but was cut two months into the season.This led to his decision to become a professional wrestler, like his grandfather, Peter Maivia and his father Rocky Johnson.
He gained mainstream fame as a wrestler in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), then known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1996 to 2004, and was the first third-generation superstar in wrestling history. Johnson was quickly given a push in WWE, first as "Rocky Maivia", and then as "The Rock", a member of the Nation of Domination. Two years after he joined the WWE, Johnson won the WWF Championship, and became one of the most popular wrestlers within the company for his engaging interviews and promos. Since 2001, he has focused on an acting career, though he still makes occasional WWE appearances.
Johnson was a nine-time World Heavyweight Champion in his career, being a seven-time WWE Champion and two-time WCW Champion; his last reign was as WWE Undisputed Champion in 2002. He also won the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice and is a former five-time WWF Tag Team Champion. He also was the winner of the 2000 Royal Rumble.
Johnson is also an actor, with his first leading role in 2001, in The Scorpion King. For this film, he received the highest salary for an actor in his first starring role, earning $5.5 million. He has since appeared in movies such as The Rundown, Be Cool, The Game Plan, Gridiron Gang, Doom, Race to Witch Mountain and Get Smart.
Biography
Early life
Johnson, the son of Ata (née Maivia) and professional wrestler "Soulman" Rocky Johnson, was born in Hayward, California. His maternal grandfather, "High Chief" Peter Maivia, was also a professional wrestler. His maternal grandmother, Leah Maivia, ran Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling from 1982 until 1988 following her husband's death, becoming one of wrestling's few female professional promoters. He is of half Black Canadian, half Samoan heritage (his father is Black Canadian, more specifically Black Nova Scotian, and his mother is Samoan). For a brief period, Johnson lived in Auckland, New Zealand, with his mother's family. During this time his mother Ata ensured Johnson was exposed to one of the urban Polynesian cultural strongholds of the Southern Hemisphere. Johnson attended Richmond Road Primary School before returning to the U.S. with his parents.
He spent 10th grade at President William McKinley High School in Honolulu, Hawaii. As he entered 11th grade, Johnson's father's job required his relocation to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the state's Lehigh Valley region. He began playing football at Bethlehem's Freedom High School in the highly competitive Lehigh Valley Conference.In addition to playing football at Freedom High School, he also was a member of the high school's track and field and wrestling teams.
Education, football and philanthropy
Johnson received collegiate football scholarship offers from several universities and selected the University of Miami. While the University of Miami football program did not openly recruit Johnson, he entered try-outs as a walk-on for the program and made the team, playing defensive tackle. In 1991, he was part of the Miami Hurricanes' national championship team.[9] After an injury kept him sidelined, Johnson was replaced by fellow Hurricane and future NFL star Warren Sapp.
He gained mainstream fame as a wrestler in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), then known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1996 to 2004, and was the first third-generation superstar in wrestling history. Johnson was quickly given a push in WWE, first as "Rocky Maivia", and then as "The Rock", a member of the Nation of Domination. Two years after he joined the WWE, Johnson won the WWF Championship, and became one of the most popular wrestlers within the company for his engaging interviews and promos. Since 2001, he has focused on an acting career, though he still makes occasional WWE appearances.
Johnson was a nine-time World Heavyweight Champion in his career, being a seven-time WWE Champion and two-time WCW Champion; his last reign was as WWE Undisputed Champion in 2002. He also won the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice and is a former five-time WWF Tag Team Champion. He also was the winner of the 2000 Royal Rumble.
Johnson is also an actor, with his first leading role in 2001, in The Scorpion King. For this film, he received the highest salary for an actor in his first starring role, earning $5.5 million. He has since appeared in movies such as The Rundown, Be Cool, The Game Plan, Gridiron Gang, Doom, Race to Witch Mountain and Get Smart.
Biography
Early life
Johnson, the son of Ata (née Maivia) and professional wrestler "Soulman" Rocky Johnson, was born in Hayward, California. His maternal grandfather, "High Chief" Peter Maivia, was also a professional wrestler. His maternal grandmother, Leah Maivia, ran Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling from 1982 until 1988 following her husband's death, becoming one of wrestling's few female professional promoters. He is of half Black Canadian, half Samoan heritage (his father is Black Canadian, more specifically Black Nova Scotian, and his mother is Samoan). For a brief period, Johnson lived in Auckland, New Zealand, with his mother's family. During this time his mother Ata ensured Johnson was exposed to one of the urban Polynesian cultural strongholds of the Southern Hemisphere. Johnson attended Richmond Road Primary School before returning to the U.S. with his parents.
He spent 10th grade at President William McKinley High School in Honolulu, Hawaii. As he entered 11th grade, Johnson's father's job required his relocation to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the state's Lehigh Valley region. He began playing football at Bethlehem's Freedom High School in the highly competitive Lehigh Valley Conference.In addition to playing football at Freedom High School, he also was a member of the high school's track and field and wrestling teams.
Education, football and philanthropy
Johnson received collegiate football scholarship offers from several universities and selected the University of Miami. While the University of Miami football program did not openly recruit Johnson, he entered try-outs as a walk-on for the program and made the team, playing defensive tackle. In 1991, he was part of the Miami Hurricanes' national championship team.[9] After an injury kept him sidelined, Johnson was replaced by fellow Hurricane and future NFL star Warren Sapp.
Personal life and politics
Johnson married Dany Garcia on May 3, 1997, a day after his 25th birthday.[13] His best man at the wedding was fellow wrestler and long-time family friend Tonga "Haku" Fifita. Johnson and his wife have a daughter, Simone Alexandra, born August 14, 2001.[13] On June 1, 2007, Johnson and Garcia announced that they would be splitting up after 10 years of marriage.[13] They indicated that their parting was amicable and that they would spend the rest of their lives together as best friends.[13]
In 2000, Johnson delivered a speech at the Republican National Convention.[3] Because his mother, Ata Maivia, had royal blood, Samoan King Malietoa Tanumafili II bestowed Johnson with the noble title of Seiuli during his visit to Samoa in July 2004.[14] He is a supporter of the Samoan national rugby team, as the team's website during the run-up to the 2007 Rugby World Cup showed him holding a personalized Manu Samoa jersey with "The Rock" emblazoned on the back.
The Corporation (1998–1999)
Dwayne Johnson's popularity as The Rock propelled him to the WWE Championship. The Rock began to conduct many entertaining interviews, and thus he got over with the fans. Fan reaction effectively turned him into a fan favorite, and he began to feud with Vince McMahon, who said he has a "problem with the people" and thus he should target the "People's Champion" (as The Rock claimed himself to be). A double-turn occurred at Survivor Series, when the Rock defeated the then-villain Mankind in the finals of the "Deadly Game" tournament[35] for the vacant WWF Championship,[36] to become the first World champion of African American descent in WWE history and the youngest WWE Champion at the time. At the end of the match, The Rock applied a Sharpshooter on Mankind. As he did this, McMahon called for the bell to be rung and then ordered for The Rock to be declared the winner.With the plan coming to fruition, The Rock turned into a villain again and sided with Vince and Shane McMahon as the crown jewel of The Corporation stable.[35] This was also a start of a double turn, as Mankind was kicked out of the Corporation and became a fan favorite.[37] Later, The Rock had his own pay-per view, Rock Bottom: In Your House, where he had a rematch against Mankind for the WWE Championship. Mankind won by submission but Vince McMahon said that The Rock did not tap out and therefore The Rock would retain his WWE title.[37][38] The Rock began a feud with Mankind over the WWE title, during which the title changed hands back and forth between the two, first during the main event of the January 4, 1999 edition of Raw, when Mankind defeated The Rock with the help of Stone Cold Steve Austin.[39] The Rock captured his second WWE Championship in an "I Quit" Match at Royal Rumble in early 1999,[40][41] when a pre-recorded sample of Mankind saying "I Quit!" from an interview segment was played over the sound system. This latest reign did not last long, however. In a match that counter-programmed the Super Bowl halftime show on January 31, 1999, Mankind pinned The Rock using a forklift in an Empty Arena Match where the competitors used everything from bags of popcorn to garbage to punish each other. This feud lasted until the February 15 edition of Raw, where The Rock won his third WWE Championship in a ladder match after The Big Show chokeslammed Mankind off a ladder.With Mankind out of the way, The Rock had to defend his WWE Championship at WrestleMania XV, but lost the belt to Stone Cold Steve Austin.[45] The Rock lost the title rematch to Austin at Backlash: In Your House.[46] WWE fans began to cheer The Rock despite him being a heel, due to his comedic interviews, promos and segments which mocked wrestlers and announcers and made him popular to the fans. The Rock eventually transitioned into a fan favorite again after being betrayed by Shane McMahon and established a feud with The Undertaker, Triple H and the Corporate Ministry. During this feud, he sometimes found himself fighting alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Rock defeated Triple H at Over the Edge before losing to WWE Champion Undertaker at King of the Ring.[47][48] He continued his rivalry with Triple H, after losing to him in a #1 contender's match at Fully Loaded.[49]
The Rock 'n' Sock Connection (1999)
Later on, still as a face, besides feuding with Triple H, The Rock also feuded with Mr. Ass throughout the summer of 1999, including a "Kiss My Ass" match at SummerSlam.In the fall of the same year, The Rock found himself in several singles and tag team championship opportunities. He teamed with former enemy Mankind to create the Rock 'n' Sock Connection, after The Rock challenged the team of The Undertaker and The Big Show, which led to Mankind offering his help.The Rock accepted, and they went on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship three times.Aside from the championships, the team was regarded as one of the most entertaining teams in history, as Mankind imitated The Rock, who ignored Mankind, with both wrestlers having support from the crowd. The team was also involved in a segment which occurred on Raw called "This Is Your Life," in which Mankind brought out people from The Rock's past, such as his high school girlfriend and gym teacher. The segment earned an 8.4 Nielsen rating and is, to this day, one of the single highest rated segments in terms of viewership in Raw history.
Dwayne Johnson's popularity as The Rock propelled him to the WWE Championship. The Rock began to conduct many entertaining interviews, and thus he got over with the fans. Fan reaction effectively turned him into a fan favorite, and he began to feud with Vince McMahon, who said he has a "problem with the people" and thus he should target the "People's Champion" (as The Rock claimed himself to be). A double-turn occurred at Survivor Series, when the Rock defeated the then-villain Mankind in the finals of the "Deadly Game" tournament[35] for the vacant WWF Championship,[36] to become the first World champion of African American descent in WWE history and the youngest WWE Champion at the time. At the end of the match, The Rock applied a Sharpshooter on Mankind. As he did this, McMahon called for the bell to be rung and then ordered for The Rock to be declared the winner.With the plan coming to fruition, The Rock turned into a villain again and sided with Vince and Shane McMahon as the crown jewel of The Corporation stable.[35] This was also a start of a double turn, as Mankind was kicked out of the Corporation and became a fan favorite.[37] Later, The Rock had his own pay-per view, Rock Bottom: In Your House, where he had a rematch against Mankind for the WWE Championship. Mankind won by submission but Vince McMahon said that The Rock did not tap out and therefore The Rock would retain his WWE title.[37][38] The Rock began a feud with Mankind over the WWE title, during which the title changed hands back and forth between the two, first during the main event of the January 4, 1999 edition of Raw, when Mankind defeated The Rock with the help of Stone Cold Steve Austin.[39] The Rock captured his second WWE Championship in an "I Quit" Match at Royal Rumble in early 1999,[40][41] when a pre-recorded sample of Mankind saying "I Quit!" from an interview segment was played over the sound system. This latest reign did not last long, however. In a match that counter-programmed the Super Bowl halftime show on January 31, 1999, Mankind pinned The Rock using a forklift in an Empty Arena Match where the competitors used everything from bags of popcorn to garbage to punish each other. This feud lasted until the February 15 edition of Raw, where The Rock won his third WWE Championship in a ladder match after The Big Show chokeslammed Mankind off a ladder.With Mankind out of the way, The Rock had to defend his WWE Championship at WrestleMania XV, but lost the belt to Stone Cold Steve Austin.[45] The Rock lost the title rematch to Austin at Backlash: In Your House.[46] WWE fans began to cheer The Rock despite him being a heel, due to his comedic interviews, promos and segments which mocked wrestlers and announcers and made him popular to the fans. The Rock eventually transitioned into a fan favorite again after being betrayed by Shane McMahon and established a feud with The Undertaker, Triple H and the Corporate Ministry. During this feud, he sometimes found himself fighting alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Rock defeated Triple H at Over the Edge before losing to WWE Champion Undertaker at King of the Ring.[47][48] He continued his rivalry with Triple H, after losing to him in a #1 contender's match at Fully Loaded.[49]
The Rock 'n' Sock Connection (1999)
Later on, still as a face, besides feuding with Triple H, The Rock also feuded with Mr. Ass throughout the summer of 1999, including a "Kiss My Ass" match at SummerSlam.In the fall of the same year, The Rock found himself in several singles and tag team championship opportunities. He teamed with former enemy Mankind to create the Rock 'n' Sock Connection, after The Rock challenged the team of The Undertaker and The Big Show, which led to Mankind offering his help.The Rock accepted, and they went on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship three times.Aside from the championships, the team was regarded as one of the most entertaining teams in history, as Mankind imitated The Rock, who ignored Mankind, with both wrestlers having support from the crowd. The team was also involved in a segment which occurred on Raw called "This Is Your Life," in which Mankind brought out people from The Rock's past, such as his high school girlfriend and gym teacher. The segment earned an 8.4 Nielsen rating and is, to this day, one of the single highest rated segments in terms of viewership in Raw history.
Television and movie career
Dwayne Johnson ph
otographed by Jerry Avenaim for Vanity Fair in 2001The success of Johnson's in-ring character allowed him to cross over into mainstream popularity, and he appeared on Wyclef Jean's 2000 single "It Doesn't Matter" and the accompanying video. That same year, he hosted Saturday Night Live. Fellow wrestlers Triple H, The Big Show, and Mick Foley appeared on the show. According to Johnson, it was due to the success of that episode that he began receiving offers from Hollywood studios.
He filmed guest roles on Star Trek: Voyager and That '70s Show where he played his father, Rocky Johnson. His motion picture debut was a brief appearance as The Scorpion King in the opening of The Mummy Returns. The film's financial success led to his first leading role starring in the follow-up, The Scorpion King. He was considered for the lead in a feature-length Johnny Bravo film, but it was canceled during production.
Since his last WWE match in 2004, he has quit wrestling and focused solely on acting. He also continued to make television appearances, including Disney Channel's hit show Cory in the House, in the episode entitled “Never the Dwayne Shall Meet.”Though Johnson is no longer active with WWE, the company continues to sell "The Rock" merchandise, and Johnson continues to be featured prominently in the opening montages of their television programming. The Rock has continued to show a multitude of his acting/talent skills including movie roles like the cocky famous football player Joe Kingman in The Game Plan, and in Get Smart where he played Agent 23.
Johnson was featured in the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records for having the highest salary as an actor in his first starring role, receiving $5.5 million.He appeared at the 80th Academy Awards on February 24, 2008 as a presenter for the Best Visual Effects award. He was nominated for Favorite Movie Actor at Nickelodeon's 2008 Kids' Choice Awards for his role in The Game Plan, but lost out to Johnny Depp, who won for his performance in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
On March 20, 2009, Johnson appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Johnson is scheduled to host the 2009 Kids' Choice Awards on March 28, 2009. Johnson also appeared on an episode of Wizards of Waverly Place as part of his stint with Disney.
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