WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson, the father of superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has died at age 75, according to multiple reports.
The Cauliflower Alley Club, a fraternal club for professional wrestlers, announced the news of Johnson’s death Wednesday afternoon. The legendary professional wrestler, whose birth name was Wayde Douglas Bowles, broke racial boundaries in Canada and America.
“Horrible news to pass along. We just learned that Rocky Johnson passed away today at the age of 75. His accolades in this business, all the people he influenced, all his accomplishments, and we are so deeply sorry and wish his family nothing but the most love at this time,” reads the Twitter post from the Cauliflower Alley Club.
Johnson, a Canadian, wrestled with the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1983, according to wrestling site ProWrestling Sheet, Johnson and Tony Atlas became the first black tag team to win the WWF World Tag Team Championships as the Soul Patrol.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who before becoming an A-list actor also spent time as a professional wrestler, had not yet made a statement about his father’s passing as of Wednesday evening. In March 2019, the younger Johnson told People he was elated to buy his dad a home. He spoke on the tough love his dad gave that shaped him.
"My dad used to beat my ass, tough love, and I hated it back then, but I'm so grateful for it now and it just felt good to kinda give back to the ones who raised you so, love you too, pop," he told the magazine.
Here’s a clip of The Rock and his father during an interview for the WWE.
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