Dwayne Douglas Johnson, born on May 2, 1972, is an American actor, producer, businessman, and former professional wrestler. Widely known as "The Rock", Johnson has achieved tremendous success in both the wrestling and entertainment industries.
Early Wrestling Career
Johnson's journey began in the world of professional wrestling, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He is a third-generation superstar, the son of renowned wrestler Rocky Johnson and the grandson of High Chief Peter Maivia.
In 1996, Dwayne Douglas Johnson wrestled as 'Flex Kavana' in the USWA. He teamed with Bart Sawyer, facing opponents like Reggie B. and Brickhouse Brown. Matches included:
- Monday 17 June - with Bart Sawyer against Reggie B.
- Saturday 22 June - with Bart Sawyer against Reggie B.
- Monday 15 July - with Bart Sawyer against Brickhouse Brown and Reggie B.
- Saturday 20 July - with Bart Sawyer against Reggie B.
- Saturday 3 August - with Bart Sawyer and The Moondogs against Punisher, Convict, Reggie B.
- Saturday 10 August - with Bart Sawyer and Koko B. Ware against Reggie B.
Later in 1996, Johnson debuted with the World Wrestling Federation as Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father and grandfather's ring names, although announcers acknowledged his real name. 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.
Johnson's first WrestleMania match came at WrestleMania 13 on March 23, where he was victorious in his Intercontinental Championship defense against The Sultan.
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WWF fans started to reject his character and push from the company. He defeated Bret Hart by disqualification in a title defense on the March 31 episode of Raw is War. Behind the scenes, Hart mentored Johnson for his first year in WWF and refused to be booked to take the title from him.
Upon returning in August, Maivia turned heel by lashing out at fans who had been booing him and joining Faarooq, D'Lo Brown and Kama in the stable called the Nation of Domination. At D-Generation X: In Your House on December 7, Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated The Rock in under six minutes to retain the Intercontinental Championship.
The next night on Raw Is War, Austin was ordered by Mr. McMahon to defend the title in a rematch, but forfeited it to The Rock instead, handing him the title belt before hitting him with the Stone Cold Stunner.
The Rise of "The Rock"
Under the name 'The Rock', he achieved major success in the WWF and transitioned into the entertainment industry, becoming one of the highest paid actors in the world. The Rock's WWF career was marked by high-energy entertainment and crazy antics.
The Rock also started consolidating his famous persona during this time, which would last until 2000. The Rock's popularity caused him to be booked in a feud with fellow Nation members Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown, turning babyface in the process.
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The Rock was then entered into the "Deadly Game" tournament for the vacant WWF Championship. The finals occurred at Survivor Series on November 15, where The Rock defeated Vince McMahon's associate, Mankind, to win his first WWF Championship. A "double turn" then occurred as The Rock turned heel again after allying with Vince and Shane McMahon as the crown jewel of their stable, The Corporation, after the McMahons betrayed Mankind.
On December 13, at the pay-per-view named after him, Rock Bottom: In Your House, The Rock had a rematch with Mankind for the WWF Championship.
On January 31, during an episode of Sunday Night Heat, The Rock and Mankind participated in an Empty Arena match, a match that took place in an arena with 22,000 empty seats where any part of the facility could be used to contest the match.
The Rock's popularity continued to grow and audiences still cheered for him even though he was a heel. The Rock then lost the title rematch against Stone Cold Steve Austin at Backlash: In Your House on April 25. The next night on Raw is War, The Rock was fired from The Corporation after he was betrayed by Shane McMahon, turning him face again and starting a feud with Triple H, The Undertaker and The Corporate Ministry.
In the episode, The Rock continued his feud with The Corporate Ministry. This led to a match with Triple H, at Over the Edge on May 23, which The Rock won, and a match for the WWF Championship against The Undertaker, at King of the Ring on June 27, which The Rock lost.
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The Rock was also given the privilege of having his own signature match, like The Undertaker with the Buried Alive match, Kane with the Inferno Match and Mankind with the Boiler Room Brawl: the Brahma Bullrope match, a variant of a strap match was a normal singles match where the components are tied together with a rope used for cattle farming, and the rope and its attached cowbell could both be used as weapons.
Shortly after SummerSlam, The Rock began teaming with former opponent Mankind and the two became known as the Rock 'n' Sock Connection. They became WWF Tag Team Champions for the first time after defeating The Undertaker and Big Show for the titles on the August 30 episode of Raw is War.
At the Royal Rumble on January 23, 2000, The Rock entered the Royal Rumble match and was one of the final two remaining, along with Big Show. In an attempt at a "false finish", Big Show intended to throw The Rock over the top rope in a running powerslam-like position, before The Rock countered the move on the ring apron, sending Big Show to the floor before reentering the ring as the winner.
In the following weeks, The Rock continued his feud with Triple H and eventually won his fourth WWF Championship, which he won on April 30, at Backlash, after Stone Cold Steve Austin intervened on his behalf. The following night on Raw is War, The Rock successfully defended his title against Shane McMahon in a Steel Cage match.
On May 21, at Judgment Day, The Rock faced Triple H in an Iron Man match with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. With the score tied at five falls each, and with seconds left on the time limit, The Rock was disqualified when The Undertaker attacked Triple H, thus giving Triple H the 6-5 win and the title.
The Rock won the WWF Championship for a fifth time at King of the Ring on June 25 by scoring the winning pin in a six-man tag team match, teaming with Kane and The Undertaker against Shane McMahon, Triple H and Vince McMahon, whom he pinned.
The Rock successfully defended the championship against Chris Benoit on July 23 at Fully Loaded. The next month, he successfully defended his title against Kurt Angle and Triple H at SummerSlam on August 27. The Rock then lost the WWF Championship to Kurt Angle at No Mercy on October 22, 2000.
The next month, The Rock feuded with Rikishi and defeated him at Survivor Series on November 19. The Rock wrestled a six-man Hell in a Cell match for the WWF Championship at Armageddon on December 10, which Angle won to retain the title.
On the December 18 episode of Raw is War, The Rock won the WWF Tag Team Championship with The Undertaker, defeating Edge and Christian, before losing the titles back to Edge and Christian the next night.
The Rock’s WWE debut came against the Brooklyn Brawler, just months after beginning his pro wrestling education. Still unsigned, he sharpened his craft in the USWA under the name Flex Kavana. Johnson signed with WWE in 1996 and made his official debut as Rocky Maivia at the 1996 Survivor Series, continuing his unprecedented ascent to the biggest pro wrestling stage in the world.
Johnson’s first iteration of his character was a clean-cut babyface, smiling wide, dispatching heels with exaggerated, sometimes clunky mannerisms. By WrestleMania 13 in 1997, Johnson’s first, the crowd grew tired of his saccharine act and resented him, showering boos at every show.
Johnson’s promo skills were razor sharp, cutting more tenured performers to ribbons with caustic catchphrases that amused audiences. He eventually became the leader of NOD, feuded with Ken Shamrock, and battled over the Intercontinental Championship with another upcoming WWE superstar: “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
After surviving an IC Title challenge from Ken Shamrock at WrestleMania 14, The Rock orchestrated a takeover of the Nation of Domination by having the group turn on the leader Farooq. From there, The Nation started a rivalry with D-Generation X led by Triple H. This feud between the two groups culminated with a Ladder Match blowoff with Triple H defeating The Rock to win the IC Championship.
The SummerSlam 1998 clash elevated both men's career with Rock moving up to the main event scene following the bout. After turning babyface due to overwhelming face support, Rock would turn back heel by Survivor Series when he defeated Mankind to become the youngest WWE Champion in company history at that point thanks to help from Mr. McMahon.
Becoming the "Corporate Champion" of the Corporation, Rock feuded with Mankind, trading the WWE Championship at the end of 1998 into 1999. After coming out on top of his rivalry with Mankind, Rock went on to lose the title to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 15.
Once he lost the gold, The Corporation turned on Rock, leading to a more permanent babyface turn. His popularity soared as he feuded with Triple H, Billy Gunn and others throughout 1999. Rock's former rival Mankind became his tag team partner, forming The Rock N' Sock Connection. The duo won the WWE Tag Team Championships and took part in one of the highest rated Raw segments in history with the "This Is Your Life" segment.
By the calendar changed to 2000, The Rock was the most popular babyface in the company with Austin out with injury. He went on to win the 2000 Royal Rumble Match. After losing his title shot briefly to Big Show, Rock won it back before coming up short in a Fatal Four Way to Triple H at WrestleMania 2000.
However, Rock then defeated Triple H to win the WWE Championship at Backlash. His reign was short lived as he lost it back to "The Game" in an Iron Man Match at Judgment Day. Then, Rock won the title back in a six-man tag team match at King of the Ring. Rock held the title until losing the gold to Kurt Angle at No Mercy.
Transition to Hollywood
The Rock's success in the wrestling world paved the way for a transition into acting. His large part to his movie-star good looks and charisma helped him gain recognition.
He leveraged his wrestling fame to promote his book and to take on small acting roles. His first film role was in The Mummy Returns (2001). The next year, he played his first leading role in the action fantasy film The Scorpion King. For which he was paid, in Hollywood terms, a paltry $500,000.
The would-be actor took his role seriously. The Scorpion King became a box office success, opening weekend. The film opened up a whole new career for Johnson, giving him acting freedom.
By the mid-2000s, Johnson was a full-fledged movie star. He was able to balance his acting career take over his peaceful Washington town despite his hectic wrestling schedule.
Again, reviewers were pleasantly surprised. He has since starred in family films The Game Plan (2007), Race to Witch Mountain (2009), Tooth Fairy (2010), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), and Jungle Cruise (2021), and the action films Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013), Hercules (2014), Skyscraper (2018), San Andreas (2015) and Rampage (2018). He also starred in the action comedy films Get Smart (2008), Central Intelligence (2016), Baywatch (2017), and Red Notice (2021).
Johnson produced and starred in the HBO comedy-drama series Ballers (2015-2019)[27] and the autobiographical sitcom Young Rock (2021-2023).
Legacy
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's journey from Flex Kavana to a global icon is a testament to his hard work, dedication, and charisma. He transitioned from a chair-flinging, wisecracking wrestler known as The Rock to a movie star.
He is 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.
Johnson's impact on both wrestling and entertainment is undeniable. He helped make World Wrestling Smackdowns a part of must-see TV and continues to entertain audiences worldwide.
PEOPLE'S CHAMP | The Rock Story (Full Career Documentary)
| Championship | Times Won |
|---|---|
| WWE Championship | 8 |
| WCW Championship | 2 |
| WWE Intercontinental Championship | 2 |
| WWE Tag Team Championship | 5 |
| Men's Royal Rumble | 1 |
| NCAA National Football Championship | 1 |