Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972 in Hayward, California), better known by his stage name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. He has starred in such motion pictures as Be Cool, Walking Tall, The Mummy Returns, The Rundown, The Scorpion King, and Doom.
| Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson | |
|---|---|
| File:Rock169.jpg | |
| Born | May 2, 1972 Hayward, California |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Flex Kavana, Pidlaoan Rock, Rocky Maivia, The People's Champ, The Rock |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (194 cm) |
| Billed weight | 260 lb (118 kg) |
| Billed from | Miami, Florida |
| Trained by | Rocky Johnson, Pat Patterson |
| Debut | 1995 |
Johnson first gained mainstream fame as a standout in the World Wrestling Federation (now "World Wrestling Entertainment"). Before becoming The Rock, he was known as Rocky Maivia, in homage to his father, Rocky Johnson, and his maternal grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia (both of whom were also wrestlers, making Johnson the first third generation wrestler in the history of the WWF). After largely retiring from the ring to begin his acting career in 2001, Johnson retained the name "The Rock".
Early life
Johnson was born on May 2, 1972 into a family of diverse backgrounds and heritage. His father was the Black Canadian professional wrestler Rocky Johnson, a former WWF Tag Team Champion. Johnson's mother Ata Maivia, hails from Samoa. Johnson's maternal grandfather, Peter Maivia, was given the family chief title and was respected as an elder. Peter Maivia was also a professional wrestler, known for his tattoos that covered the lower half of his body (the Samoan pe'a). In keeping with this tradition, Johnson has a similar tattoo called a sleeve, prominent on his left shoulder and upper chest, which represents the history of his family.
Johnson spent his early childhood living near his maternal grandfather and grandmother in Honolulu. He attended local public schools, including Washington Intermediate School and President William McKinley High School, both near Ala Moana and Waikiki. He also lived in Hamden, Connecticut and attended Shepherd Glen Elementary and Hamden Middle School.
High school
As a high school junior Johnson's father's career led them to relocate to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Johnson assimilated quickly in the new area. In Bethlehem, Johnson cultivated and developed an intense athleticism, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He began playing football at Bethlehem's Freedom High School, a member of the East Penn Conference (now known as the Lehigh Valley Conference) in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. It was and continues to be one of the most competitive high school football conferences in the United States.
Known for its blue collar ruggedness, the Lehigh Valley proved a hand-in-glove match for Johnson, who fit in well with the area's street toughness. That toughness carried to his football play, where Johnson began to excel amidst the area's intense athletic competition.
University of Miami
Johnson received athletic scholarship offers from several universities before choosing to attend the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The University of Miami football program did not openly recruit Johnson; he had to face try-outs to join the program, which motivated him to take part in it. In 1991, he was part of the Hurricanes' National Championship team. Johnson played Defensive Tackle, backing up future NFL star Warren Sapp.
Considered a candidate for the NFL, Johnson's hopes of a football career was challenged by a severe back injury. After college, Johnson signed a three-year contract with the CFL's Calgary Stampeders instead. However, he was cut from the team after a year. It was then that Johnson decided to follow in his father's and grandfather's footsteps by pursuing a professional wrestling career.
Professional wrestling
Along with his father and grandfather, several members of Johnson's family are current and former professional wrestlers, including his uncles, the Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika Anoai), and cousins such as the late former WWF Champion Yokozuna and former WWF Tag Team Champion Rikishi. When he declared his intention to join the family business to his father, the elder Johnson resisted, but agreed to train his son himself, warning him that he would not go easy on him. With help from former WWE executive and veteran wrestler Pat Patterson, Johnson secured a tryout with the WWF. Impressed by his talent and charisma, he was signed to a WWF deal after a short stint for "seasoning" in Jerry Lawler's USWA, where he wrestled under the stage names of Flex Kavana and Pidlaoan Rock.
Johnson first wrestled in the WWF as Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father and grandfather's ring names. The WWF played up his connection to his father and grandfather, calling him the first third-generation superstar to wrestle for the company. Johnson was first portrayed as a clean-cut babyface, and gained early success, winning the prestigious Intercontinental Championship after only three months. He was the first Intercontinental champion of Samoan descent. However, wrestling had changed since Hulk Hogan's heyday in the mid 80s, and fans quickly grew sick of the two-dimensional good guy character, thanks in part to the exploded popularity of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Despite often being loudly booed and jeered with chants of "Die Rocky Die!" and "Rocky Sucks" from the crowd, Johnson was forced to go to the ring and smile, as if the crowd was cheering (like they were "supposed to").
The Rock
Eventually, Johnson was allowed to turn heel and joined the Nation of Domination (wrestling's version of the Nation of Islam), spewing venom at the fans for turning on him, influenced by Johnson's real-life feelings toward the WWF audience. Now allowed to be more or less himself (Johnson has often said in interviews that The Rock is merely Dwayne Johnson with "the volume turned way up"), Rocky Maivia became The Rock, a cocky and charismatic bully who even drove out the Nation's leader Faarooq. At WrestleMania XIV, Gennifer Flowers was made a special guest interviewer, interviewing the Rock. Where the Rock was posed a question about how he would conduct affairs as the President of the United States. In turn the Rock stated to her that the title “Ruler” would sound better than “President” and he would transform the White House into a Palatial Palace. Regardless of this display of arrogance, The Rock became wildly popular, establishing several much-quoted catchphrases including "If ya smell what The Rock is cookin'", "Layeth the Smacketh down", "It Doesn't Matter What Your Name Is!", "Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth!", and "Just Bring It". In essence, it was a reversal of his Rocky Maivia character, where he was cheered instead of being booed as he was "supposed to be". The Rock also became famous for always referring to himself in the third person, starting many sentences with "The Rock says..."
Johnson's popularity as The Rock propelled him to the WWF Championship at the 1998 Survivor Series at age 26. At the time, he was the youngest WWF Champion in history, siding with Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon as the crown jewel of their "Corporation" stable. The Rock would begin to feud with Mankind over the WWF Championship in which the title would change back and forth between the two, first during the main event of the January 4, 1999 episode of RAW, when Mankind pinned The Rock with the help of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. The Rock would once again capture the WWF Title in a bloody "I Quit" match at the 1999 Royal Rumble that saw The Rock hit Mankind in the head with a chair over 15 times, knocking him unconscious and using a tape recording of Mankind saying "I quit" to trick the referee. This latest reign didn't last for long, however, because in a match that counterprogrammed the Super Bowl halftime show on January 31, 1999, Mankind pinned The Rock using a forklift in a Empty Arena Match which saw the competitors use everything from bags of popcorn to fruit to punish each other. This feud lasted until the February 15, 1999 edition of RAW, where The Rock regained the WWF Title 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 WWF Championship at WrestleMania XV, against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. The Rock would lose the WWF Title to Austin at that event, and continued his feud with Austin until May 1999. WWF fans began to cheer The Rock despite being a bad guy, due to his hilarious interviews and segments which mocked wrestlers and announcers. Johnson eventually turned face again after he betrayed Vince McMahon and established a feud with The Undertaker and the Corporate Ministry, and would sometimes find himself fighting alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin. His feud with the Undertaker ended with a defeat at the King Of The Ring.
The Rock, now a face, feuded with "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn over the summer of 1999, including an infamous "Kiss My Ass" match at that year's SummerSlam. In the fall the Rock found himself in several WWF Championship opportunities, both in singles and tag. He teamed with now former enemy Mankind to create the "Rock 'n' Sock Connection" and won the WWF Tag Team Titles. Aside from the championships, the team was one of the most entertaining teams in recent memory, where Mankind would imitate The Rock, while The Rock would mostly ignore Mankind. The team was also involved in a segment which occurred on RAW called "This Is Your Life" where Mankind brought out people from The Rock's past such as his high school girlfriend and gym teacher, which to this day is the single highest rated segment in terms of viewership in RAW history. As a singles competitor, The Rock participated in a six-pack challenge match at WWF Unforgiven 1999.
In January 2000, The Rock entered in the WWF's annual Royal Rumble match and lasted until he and the Big Show were the final two men. In a controversial yet scripted move, the Big Show was going to seemingly dump the Rock over the top rope in a running powerslam-like position, and when they got to the apron, the Rock reversed it on the Show, sending the Show to the outside floor and then coming back up with the rest of his body. Those watching the event on PPV did not see The Rock's feet hit the floor. The Big Show attempted to prove to the audience and to others, like Triple H, that the Rock's feet, not his, touched the mat first. He did manage to prove it, by providing video footage showing that he was the rightful winner. The decision that The Rock had won the Rumble match could not be reversed, so a number one contendership match at No Way Out 2000 was held, which saw the Big Show come out on top after Shane McMahon interfered, knocking The Rock in the head with a steel chair as he attempted to finish off his opponent with the People's Elbow.
The Rock was able to defeat The Big Show on March 13, 2000 to regain the right to face the WWF Champion at WrestleMania 2000.
The Rock, The Big Show, Mick Foley and Triple H competed in a fatal four-way elimination match for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania 2000. Each competitor had a McMahon in their corner--for Triple H, his on-screen wife (in actual fact was Triple H's real girlfriend before they married in 2003) Stephanie McMahon; for Mick Foley, the matriarch Linda McMahon; for The Rock, Vince McMahon, and lastly but certainly not least, in Big Show's corner, Shane McMahon. Triple H retained the title when Vince turned on The Rock, giving him two vicious chair shots, allowing Triple H to pin The Rock for the three-count.
Over the next year The Rock feuded with Triple H over the Championship, having several classic matches, such as an Iron Man match against The Game at WWF Judgment Day 2000, which starred Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee and saw the return of The Undertaker, The Rock would lose the title as a result of Undertaker's interference attacking Triple H. Rock would later win the WWF Championship again at King of The Ring 2000 against Triple H in a Tag Team matching pitting himself, Kane, and Undertaker versus Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Triple H. The Rock would go on to defend the Championship against Superstars such as Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Kane, The Undertaker, and Shane McMahon.
Rock would later lose the WWF Championship to Kurt Angle at No Mercy in October of 2000. In 2001, The Rock feuded with Olympian Kurt Angle over the WWF Championship and Stone Cold Steve Austin for the second time. The Rock went into WrestleMania X-Seven as the WWF Champion, but was defeated again by Austin with the help of Vince McMahon. After losing to Austin in a rematch on the following night's RAW, he went on hiatus to film scenes for "The Mummy Returns" after a kayfabe suspension from Mr. McMahon. The Rock would return in July 2001 and would decide which side of the WWF/Alliance wars he would align himself with. He would choose the WWF and began a feud with WCW Champion Booker T. The Rock would beat Booker T at SummerSlam 2001 to become WCW Champion for the first time.
The Rock would lose and later regain the title feuding with Chris Jericho, until December 9, 2001, where he lost his WCW Championship for the final time to Jericho at Vengeance 2001. By that time the title had been renamed the "World Championship" due to the WCW's earlier defeat at Survivor Series basically ending the entire Invasion storyline. As 2002 came along, Vince McMahon introduced the nWo, and The Rock began a feud with Hollywood Hulk Hogan, which ended with a victory at WrestleMania X8. This match, one of the most memorable matches of all time pitting "Icon vs. Icon", saw the Toronto fans audibly cheer for Hogan, who was the heel, after every move (including heelish moves like raking the back - "the back rake of doom"). The fans also clearly booed The Rock, the supposed face in the match, despite the WWF's best efforts to make Hogan a despicable character before the match.
The Rock would win his seventh and final WWE Championship. He defeated Kurt Angle and The Undertaker on July 21,2002 at Vengeance after he hit a Rock Bottom on Kurt Angle. He would lose it to Brock Lesnar in SummerSlam after a month long reign.
The Rock's last heel turn began on SmackDown! in February 2003, where he publicly criticized Hulk Hogan. Their WrestleMania X8 rematch at No Way Out ended with The Rock claiming victory again. It is widely speculated that this heel turn was due to The Rock's growing Hollywood stardom, giving the appearance of having "sold out" his wrestling roots.
The Rock later drafted himself to RAW and started a feud with The Hurricane and other babyfaces. He also had a comical gimmick, where he played the guitar and sang songs mocking the host city for the event, which culminated in a "Rock concert" which took place during the main event of the March 24, 2003 edition of RAW, where The Rock mocked host city Sacramento because of the Sacramento Kings' inability to beat the Los Angeles Lakers, the city The Rock now thought of as home. He sings, "Well, I'll be sure to come back when the Lakers beat the Kings in May!" The Rock would also tease Canada in a song as well, saying "Canadians have no class... that's why they can kiss the People's Ass" (basically referring to the fact that they booed him at WrestleMania X8, despite being the "good guy").
When Steve Austin returned, they once again feuded, with the Rock defeating Austin at WrestleMania XIX; this was the first time the Rock defeated Austin at WrestleMania, and Austin's last major appearance in a wrestling role. The Rock then had a feud with former WCW star Bill Goldberg, losing at Backlash. After that, The Rock turned face once more by betraying Chris Jericho and Christian. This was specifically when Christian (who was the WWE Intercontinental Champion at the time) labelled himself as the New People's champion (based around the fact that Christian was labelled by The Rock as his "favorite wrestler". This would eventually lead to Christian labelling his fans as "his peeps"). The Rock, with the help of Booker T defeated Chris Jericho and Christian, and even did his version of the "spinaroonie".
Hollywood
Fueled by the star power of The Rock and other stars such as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Mankind, the WWF experienced a massive surge in popularity not seen since Hulk Hogan's reign in the '80s. In particular, Johnson's extremely entertaining interviews and storylines made WWF programming a must-see for wrestling fans. From 1998 to 2002, The Rock feuded against the WWF's top stars, winning the WWF/E Championship seven times during his career, and eventually crossed over into mainstream popularity, such as with a guest appearance on R&B singer Wyclef Jean's track "It Doesn't Matter" and the accompanying video. While still wrestling full-time, Johnson made an appearance as host of the popular sketch comedy TV series Saturday Night Live. The episode was very popular, and showcased Johnson's acting and comedic ability favorably. After this, Johnson started to get offers from Hollywood for a multitude of different projects. He was a guest star on Star Trek: Voyager and That '70s Show; in the latter, he played the role of his father. The Rock's first role in a major film was a limited appearance as The Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns, and his natural charisma translated well to the silver screen. He made occasional wrestling appearances up to 2004's WrestleMania XX, but has since devoted himself to acting full-time.
At WrestleMania XX, the Rock had possibly his last match ever with WWE. In March of 2004, Mick Foley was facing seemingly overwhelming odds against Ric Flair, Batista, and Randy Orton, the stable collectively known as Evolution. The Rock returned to aide his old friend and the match was made for WMXX to feature Mick & the Rock against Flair, Batista and Orton. Evolution emerged victorious after Orton nailed Foley with an RKO and scored the pinfall. The Rock would later participate in numerous antics over the summer of 2004 with the Diva Search contestants and Eugene. He has not made a live appearance on WWE television since, although his bio continues to be listed on WWE.com as a "RAW Superstar".
In interviews conducted in 2005, Johnson revealed that his contract with World Wrestling Entertainment expired at the end of 2004. He also stated that he is able to continue using his stage name The Rock as part of a dual-ownership agreement with WWE. Pro Wrestling Insider has since reported that Johnson and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon are back on good terms, and he will continue to appear sporadically for the company, as he did after becoming a successful actor. Announcer Jim Ross' Happy Birthday announcement to The Rock on RAW's May 2 2005 broadcast seemed to confirm this, as Ross stated that The Rock is looking forward to future appearances in WWE. It is unknown whether Johnson has signed a new contract, but it is extremely unlikely that he will ever return to wrestling full-time as long as his Hollywood career continues with success.
Acting career
After The Rock's first role in The Mummy Returns, he reprised his role as The Scorpion King in the 2002 movie of the same name. The movie was generally panned by critics, but was a box-office success, taking in more than $90 million. His five million dollar paycheck for The Scorpion King earned The Rock a listing in the Guinness Book of Records for the highest salary for an actor receiving top billing for the first time. His next role was in The Rundown, a formulaic action/comedy which earned generally favorable reviews from critics initially skeptical of the grappler-turned-actor, but was less successful financially.
In 2004, The Rock starred in a remake of Walking Tall, as war hero-turned-sheriff Chris Vaughn (loosely based on Buford Pusser, the real-life inspiration for the original), who returns to the town where he grew up and rids it of corruption with his trusty four-by-four.
In 2005, The Rock saw more exposure on the big screen as he starred alongside John Travolta and Uma Thurman in Be Cool (where he was Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher's crew members by blowing his trailer up into pieces, while shooting the movie) as a put upon gay bodyguard trying to find success as an actor, the sequel to Get Shorty. He will star in Spy Hunter, a movie based on the popular video game. He has been approached to play the role of Duke Nukem in a live action Duke Nukem movie, and starred as the character "Sarge" in the movie based on the popular Doom video game series - the film was his first film to receive an "R" rating in the United States. Johnson will also star in the live-action movie adaptation of the Cartoon Network series Johnny Bravo (to which he considers a great honor). He is now filming in Richard Kelly's Southland Tales as an amnesiac action film star, Boxer Santaros.
One of The Rock's most anticipated personal projects is the role of Kamehameha I, the warrior chief that united the Hawaiian Islands and governed them as the Kingdom of Hawaii. A former Honolulu resident, The Rock developed an admiration for the king who became known as the Napoleon of the Pacific for his skills in warcraft and diplomacy. The Rock signed to create the movie with Columbia Pictures. Its preliminary title will be King Kamehameha and began the first stages of production in Hawaii in 2003.
The Rock was considered for the role of Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He, on multiple occasions, had expressed great interest in playing it. Not because of the success of the movie Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, but because the book Charlie And The Chocolate Factory is his daughter's favorite book. One of the pages that was set in the chocolate room was the first bit of writing his daughter ever read to him. When The Rock was told he wasn't one of the final three contenders for the role, his daughter was the first person he told, despite him having to wait 2 days before he could see her.
Filmography
- Beyond the Mat (1999) as "Himself"
- Longshot (2000) as "The Mugger"
- The Mummy Returns (2001) as "Mathayus the Scorpion King"
- The Scorpion King (2002) as "Mathayus the Scorpion King"
- The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian (2002) (VG) (voice) as "Mathayus"
- The Rundown (2003) as "Beck"
- Walking Tall (2004) as "Chris Vaughn"
- Be Cool (2005) as "Elliot Wilhelm"
- Doom (2005) as "Sarge"
- Instant Karma (2005) (filming)
- Gridiron Gang (2006) (completed) as "Sean Porter"
- Johnny Bravo (2006) (in production, release date set for Nov.21) as "Johnny Bravo"
- Southland Tales (2006) (post-production) as "Boxer Santaros"
- Spy Hunter (2006) (pre-production) as "Alec Decker"
- Reno 911: The Movie as Himself
Salaries
- The Scorpion King (2002) $5,500,000 USD
- The Rundown (2003) $12,500,000 USD
- Walking Tall (2004) $15,000,000 USD
- Doom (2005) $10,400,000 USD ($8,200,000 USD (+ 5% box office))
Television appearances
- That '70s Show (1999) in episode "That Wrestling Show" as "Rocky Johnson"
- The Net (1999) in episode "Last Man Standing" as "Brody"
- Star Trek: Voyager (2000) in episode "Tsunkatse" as "The Champion"
Wrestling facts
Finishing and signature moves
- The People's Elbow (Feint leg drop to elbow drop)
- Rock Bottom (Side slam)
- Floatover DDT
- Flowing DDT
- Samoan drop
- Sharpshooter
- Spinebuster
- Three open-handed punches, followed by a hand-spitting motion, followed by a fourth punch which typically levels the opponent
Nicknames
- The People's Champion
- The Corporate Champion
- The Great One
- The Brahma Bull
- The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment
- The Samoan Samson (reference to "The Austrian Oak")
Championships and accomplishments
- PWI ranked him # 76 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.
- PWI Match of the Year (1999, versus Mankind; 2002, versus Hulk Hogan)
- PWI Most Popular Wrestler award (1999; 2000)
- PWI Wrestler of the Year award (2000)
- 2-time USWA Tag Team Champion
- 7-time WWF/WWE Champion
- 2-time WWF Intercontinental Champion
- 5-time WWF World Tag Team Champion (3-time with Mankind, 1-time with The Undertaker, 1-time with Chris Jericho)
- 2000 Royal Rumble winner
- 1998 Most Improved Wrestler
- 1999 Best Interviews
- 1999 Most Charismatic Wrestler
- 2000 Best Box Office Draw
- 2000 Best Interviews
- 2000 Most Charismatic Wrestler
- 2001 Most Charismatic Wrestler
- 2002 Most Charismatic Wrestler
Championship succession
Personal information
Johnson married Dany Garcia on May 3, 1997, twenty four hours after his twenty-fifth birthday. His best man was fellow wrestler and longtime family friend Uliuli "Haku" Fifita. He and Garcia have a daughter together, Simone Alexandra.
The tattoo on The Rock's arm and left pectoral muscle was given to him as a mark of high status after he visited Samoa in late 2002.
Trivia
- During The Rock's tenure in the World Wrestling Federation, the television series SmackDown!, the pay-per-view Rock Bottom and the video game SmackDown! were all named after his catchphrases.
- Many of The Rock's catchphrases, such as "Jabroni" and "If you smell what The Rock is cooking" are derived from 1970s blaxploitation films. The term "roody poo" is a variation of Iceman Parsons's pet phrase "rooty poot".
- The Rock's grandmother, Lia Miavia, was the very first female wrestling promoter, operating NWA Polynesian Wrestling.
Books
- Layden, Joe and The Rock (2000) The Rock Says..., ISBN 0060392983
References
- Morgan, Kaya: Dwayne Johnson — How The Rock Transformed from Pro Wrestler to Bankable Movie Star (retrieved January 9, 2005)
External links
