Rocky Johnson, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s legendary father, has passed away at the age of 75 after a long and successful career that landed him in the WWE Hall of Fame.
The father of the Hollywood star has risen to fame after joining the world of WWE back in 1983, some two decades after he started his career in the wrestling scene.
Following years of hard work, in 2008, Rocky, who was also known as the ‘Soul Man,’ got inducted into the Hall of Fame.
After the legend’s passing, a series of wrestling stars and associations took to social media to pay their respects to Rocky ‘Soul Man’ Johnson who was born as Wayde Douglas Bowles.
“WWE is saddened to learn that WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson had passed away,” WWE tweeted.
In a statement, WWE has also extended “its condolences to Johnson’s family, friends and fans.”
“He had several memorable rivalries with the likes of Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine, Don Muraco and Adrian Adonis,” they wrote.
“He found his greatest success when he teamed up with Tony Atlas as The Soul Patrol. The two men became the first African-American World Tag Team Champions in WWE history when they defeated The Wild Samoans on Dec. 10, 1983.”
Previously, in 2019, Dwayne has also opened up about his father and revealed how The Soul used to surpass him “in the gyms and on wrestling mats” when he was young.
“Well for my pops that path started at 13yrs old when his mom kicked him out of his house on Christmas day and forced him to live on the streets (very true and f****d up story) so his reality of compassion and love was forged thru pain and toughness,” he shared on Instagram.
“He raised me with that tough physical love and used to beat my a** in the gyms and on wrestling mats. I hated it then as a little boy, but grateful for it today as a man.”
Surviving the WWE legend are son Dwayne, widow Dana Martin, and the man’s two kids from his previous marriage, Wanda and Curtis.
What are your thoughts on this news? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to SHARE this post with your family and friends and follow us on Facebook for more news and stories!
Replaced!