The World Meets Dwayne Johnson, The Rock – May 2nd, 1972 – Today in Wrestling History
What can be said about Dwayne Johnson, AKA The Rock, that hasn’t been said already? As these things go, we will give it our best shot. Born in Hayward, California on May 2nd, 1972, the world welcomed Dwayne Douglas Johnson. While most know he is a third-generation wrestler, did you know he had many, many, names in the ring as well?
Early career of Dwayne Johnson
Wrestling was not always the focus of Johnson. Starting out like many other athletes in the ring did, he would begin his sports career in football. In college, playing for the University of Miami, Johnson would help the team win a national championship in 1991.
In 1995 Dwayne Johnson suffered a blow to the ego. He entered the NFL draft and went undrafted. His next step was to sign with the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He would be cut in the middle of his first season. Another blow to the developing ego of “The Rock”.
Wrestling comes calling
In 1996, Dwayne Johnson earned a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), now WWE. This was an important milestone for Johnson and the WWE. Johnson was the first third generation wrestler to sign with the company. He is the son of Rocky Johnson and grandson of Peter Maivia (two he would later pay respect to in the ring).
Early on, Johnson was not a major player. He was young and green in the ring. He was quickly paired with older, more experienced, wrestlers in the Nation of Domination faction. Ron Simmons and others were used to help Johnson go from Rocky Maivia to The Rock in a believable, vested for fans, manner.
This was the start of the Attitude Era in wrestling. Dwayne Johnson finally made the right career move as he was an integral player in this era. His future was bright in the ring, but he obviously wanted more.
The acting bug bites
Dwayne Johnson began his acting career in The Mummy Returns in 2001. His first starring role was The Scorpion King in 2002. Prior to these cinematic roles though, he was appearing in music videos and on various television shows. Since then, Johnson has starred in action, comedy, mystery, animated, adventure, and more. I believe the only genre he has not attempted is horror (fellow wrestling, Glenn Jacobs/Kane saw decent success in this genre).
Johnson is currently one of the highest paid actors. You do not get there by resting on your butt waiting for things to be handed to you.
Simone Johnson, daughter of Dwayne and first wife Dany Garcia, began training with the WWE in early 2020. She will be the first fourth generation athlete to step into the WWE ring if she completes training.
Happy birthday, Dwayne Johnson, AKA The Rock.
For more birthdays, maybe you share one with an athlete, find out here. For instance, I share a birthday with Simone Johnson, who knew?
Want to grab some Rock merch? Don't worry, eBay and Amazon have plenty of it available. Check out Johnson's movies with ease thanks to Vudu (such as Jumanji The Next Level).
This article was originally published on the Gravis Ludus Wrestling website.