HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...
The Rock, is an American actor and
professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
. He is signed to
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Johnson was integral to the development and success of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) during the
Attitude Era The Attitude Era was a major era of professional wrestling within the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The term "WWF Attitude" was used to describe its programming from November 9, 1997 to May 6, 2002. It began during the Monday Ni ...
. He wrestled for the WWF full-time for eight years before pursuing an acting career. His films have grossed over worldwide, making him one of the world's highest-grossing and highest-paid actors. He is a co-owner of the United Football League, a member of the board of directors of
TKO Group Holdings TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (TKO) is an American media conglomerate created by Endeavor as part of a merger between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) and Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Since ...
—the parent company of UFC and WWE—and co-founder of
Seven Bucks Productions Seven Bucks Productions is an American production company founded by actor Dwayne Johnson and his manager/ex-wife Dany Garcia in 2012. The company is involved in film, television, digital networks, and emerging technologies. It produces a varie ...
. After accepting an athletic scholarship to play
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
at the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
, Johnson was a member of the 1991 national championship team but was largely a backup player."Suspension at Freedom High took Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson from troubled teen to one of world's 'most likable people',"
''The Morning Call'', January 4, 2021
Despite aspirations to professional football, he went undrafted in the
1995 NFL draft The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount ...
, and briefly signed with the
Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...
before being cut in his first season. In 1996, his father assisted in helping him secure a contract with the WWF. Johnson quickly rose to global prominence, aided by a
gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out ...
he employed as a charismatic
trash talk Trash talk is a form of spoken insult usually found in sports events, although it is not exclusive to sports or similarly characterized events. It is often used to intimidate the opposition and/or make them less confident in their ability to wi ...
er. Johnson left the WWE in 2004; he returned in 2011 as a part-time performer until 2013 and made sporadic appearances from thereon until his retirement in 2019; in 2023, he returned once again on a part-time basis. 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 headlined multiple
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...
events, including WWE's flagship event WrestleMania six times ( 15, 16, 17, 28, 29 and 40 - Night 1) which includes the most-bought professional wrestling pay-per-view (WrestleMania 28) and main evented the most watched episodes of WWE's flagship television series ('' Raw'' and '' SmackDown''). Johnson's 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''. He has since starred in family films '' The Game Plan'' (2007), ''
Race to Witch Mountain ''Race to Witch Mountain'' is a 2009 American science fiction adventure film directed by Andy Fickman. The film stars Dwayne Johnson alongside AnnaSophia Robb, Carla Gugino, Ciarán Hinds, Alexander Ludwig, Tom Everett Scott, and Christoph ...
'' (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 Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...
'' (2014), ''
Skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...
'' (2018), '' San Andreas'' (2015) and '' Rampage'' (2018). He also starred in the action comedy films ''
Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...
'' (2008), '' Central Intelligence'' (2016), ''
Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...
'' (2017), and '' Red Notice'' (2021). His role as Luke Hobbs in the ''
Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'', also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'', is an American Action film, action media franchise centered on a series of films revolving around street racing, heist film, heists, and spy film, spies. The franchise also inclu ...
'' films, beginning with ''
Fast Five ''Fast Five'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 5'') is a 2011 action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan (filmmaker), Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious (2009 film), Fast & Furious'' (2009) and the fif ...
'' (2011), helped the franchise become one of the highest grossing in film. He joined the
DC Extended Universe The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that appear in American comic books published by DC Comic ...
by playing the
title role The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...
in '' Black Adam'' (2022). He has also voiced
Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
in the
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
animated film '' Moana'' (2016), and its sequel ''
Moana 2 ''Moana 2'' is a 2024 American animated musical film, musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The second film in the Moana_(franchise)#Films, ''Moana'' franchise, it was directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and D ...
'' (2024), and will reprise the role in the 2026 live-action remake. Johnson produced and starred in the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
comedy-drama series '' Ballers'' (2015–2019) and the autobiographical sitcom '' Young Rock'' (2021–2023). His autobiography, ''The Rock Says'', was released in 2000 and was a ''New York Times'' bestseller. In 2016 and 2019, ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' named him as one of the world's most influential people.


Early life and education

Johnson was born in
Hayward, California Hayward is a city located in Alameda County, California, United States, in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area, and the third largest in ...
, on May 2, 1972, the son of Mataniufeagaimaleata "Ata" Fitisemanu (née Maivia) and former professional wrestler Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles). Growing up, he briefly lived in
Grey Lynn Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914. Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of t ...
in
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, New Zealand, with his mother's family, where he played rugby and attended Richmond Road Primary School before returning to the U.S. Johnson's father was a Black Nova Scotian with a small amount of Irish ancestry and his mother is Samoan. His father and Tony Atlas were the first black tag team champions in
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
history, in 1983. Johnson's uncle Ricky was also a wrestler. His mother is the adopted daughter of
Peter Maivia Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia (born Fanene Pita Anderson; April 6, 1937 – June 13, 1982), better known as Peter Maivia, was a Samoan-American professional wrestler, actor and stunt coordinator. Maivia was the grandfather of Dwayne Johnson, Dwayne ...
, who was also a professional wrestler. Johnson's maternal grandmother Lia was one of the first female pro wrestling promoters, taking over Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling after her husband's death in 1982 and managing it until 1988. Through his maternal grandfather Maivia, Johnson is a non-blood relative of the Anoaʻi wrestling family. In 2008, he inducted his father and grandfather into the
WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when An ...
. Johnson attended Montclaire Elementary School in
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
, and then moved to
Hamden, Connecticut Hamden is a New England town, town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant (Connecticut), Sleeping Giant". The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, Connecti ...
, where he attended Shepherd Glen Elementary School and then Hamden Middle School. He attended President William McKinley High School in
Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...
and then Glencliff High School and McGavock High School, both in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, and then Freedom High School in Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania, in the
Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...
region of the state, where he graduated in 1990. At Freedom High School, Johnson initially struggled and was drawn into a culture of conflict and petty crime. By age 17, he had been arrested several times for fighting, theft, and check fraud, and was suspended two weeks for fighting. An article in the local newspaper labeled him "a troubled teenager with a history of run-ins with police". But Freedom High School football coach Jody Cwik saw athletic potential in Johnson, and recruited him to join the school's football team, where he played
defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...
, an experience that proved to be a significant personal transformation for Johnson. "My thought process started to change. That's when I started thinking about goals and what I wanted to accomplish", he has since said about his high school football experience. In addition to playing football, Johnson also was a member of Freedom High School's track and field and
wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
teams. By his senior year at Freedom High School, Johnson had played only two years of football, but was offered a full athletic scholarship offer from the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
, whose football program was beginning to emerge as one of the nation's top-level NCAA Division 1 teams.


Football career


College career

As he did in high school, Johnson continued to play defensive tackle at the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
, where he was a member of the Miami Hurricanes 1991 team, which won that year's national championship. Despite playing four years there, however, Johnson found himself behind elite players on the depth chart, including future NFL star and
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
inductee Warren Sapp, and appeared mostly in backup roles. In his time at Miami, Johnson played in 39 games with one start. He recorded 4.5 sacks and 77 tackles. In 1995, Johnson graduated with a Bachelor of General Studies and a dual major in
criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...
and
physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...
. He was also one of the university's most prolific student speakers in the Miami-area community, frequently delivering positive messages about his own struggles and encouraging students to remain in school and avoid the dangers of drug use.


Canadian Football League

After graduating, Johnson was signed by the
Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...
of the
Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...
. Calgary moved him from defensive tackle to
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
. He was assigned to Calgary's practice roster, but was cut two months into Calgary's 1995 season.


Professional wrestling career


Early career (1996)

After being cut by Calgary, Johnson began his
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
career the next year, in 1996. Veteran wrestler Pat Patterson secured several tryout matches for Johnson with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1996. Wrestling at first under his real name, Johnson defeated The Brooklyn Brawler at a
house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...
on March 10 and lost matches to Chris Candido and
Owen Hart Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...
. After wrestling at
Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...
's
United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Champions ...
under the name Flex Kavana and winning the USWA tag team championship twice with his partner Bart Sawyer in the summer of 1996, Johnson was signed to a WWF contract. He received additional training from
Tom Prichard Thomas Prichard (born August 18, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler and author better known by the ring name Dr. Tom Prichard. He is the older brother of Bruce Prichard. Professional wrestling career ...
, alongside Achim Albrecht and
Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Henry is a two-time Olympian (1992 and 19 ...
.


World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment


Intercontinental Champion (1996–1997)

Johnson made his WWF debut as Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father and grandfather's ring names, although announcers acknowledged his real name. He was initially reluctant to take this ring name but was persuaded by
Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...
and
Jim Ross James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator, sports announcer, and podcaster, better known by the ring name Jim Ross (often shortened to JR). He is signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he ...
. 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. A clean-cut
face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...
character, Maivia was pushed heavily from the start despite his wrestling inexperience. He debuted on ''
Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show features character ...
'' as a member of Marc Mero's entourage on November 4, 1996. His first match came at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
on November 17, in an eight-man elimination tag match; he was the sole survivor and eliminated the final two members of the opposing team,
Crush Crush may refer to: * Infatuation or limerence, the romantic attraction to another person * Puppy love, feelings of love, romance, or infatuation felt by young people Crush may also refer to: Film * Crush (1972 film), ''Crush'' (1972 film), a H ...
and Goldust. On February 13, 1997, he won the Intercontinental Championship from Hunter Hearst Helmsley on a Thursday edition of ''Monday Night Raw''. Maivia then successfully defended the title against Helmsley at In Your House 13: Final Four on February 16. Johnson's first WrestleMania match came at
WrestleMania 13 WrestleMania 13 was a 1997 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the 13th annual WrestleMania and was presented by PlayStation. The event was held on March 23, 1997, a ...
on March 23, where he was victorious in his Intercontinental Championship defense against The Sultan. WWF fans started to reject his character and push from the company. He defeated
Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...
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. On April 20, at In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, he lost to Savio Vega by countout but retained the title. Audiences became increasingly hostile toward Maivia, with chants of "die, Rocky, die" and "Rocky sucks" being heard during his matches. After losing the Intercontinental Championship to
Owen Hart Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...
on the April 28 episode of ''Raw Is War'', Maivia suffered a legitimate knee injury in a match against Mankind in June and spent several months recovering.


Nation of Domination (1997–1998)

Upon returning in August, Maivia turned
heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...
for the first time in his career by lashing out at fans who had been booing him and joining Faarooq, D'Lo Brown and
Kama ''Kama'' (Sanskrit: काम, ) is the concept of pleasure, enjoyment and desire in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. It can also refer to "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsका� ...
in the
stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...
called the Nation of Domination. He then refused to acknowledge the Rocky Maivia name, instead referring to himself in the third person as The Rock, though he would still be billed as "The Rock" Rocky Maivia until 1998. The Rock would then regularly insult the audience, WWF performers, and interviewers in his promos. At D-Generation X: In Your House on December 7,
Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson and later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired Professional wrestling, profes ...
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 Rock feuded with Austin and
Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock ( né Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Ken Shamrock. He is best known ...
through the end of 1997 and beginning of 1998. On January 19, 1998, at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
, The Rock defeated Shamrock by disqualification to retain the Intercontinental Championship. Later that night, he entered the Royal Rumble match and lasted until the final two before he was eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin. On March 29, at
WrestleMania XIV WrestleMania XIV, also promoted as WrestleMania dX raided, was a 1998 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; WWE as of 2002). It was the 14th annual WrestleMania and took place on March ...
, he defeated Shamrock by disqualification once again to retain the title. The next night, on ''Raw is War'', The Rock debuted a new Intercontinental Championship design and would later overthrow Faarooq as leader of the Nation of Domination to spark a feud between the two. He then successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship against Faarooq at Over the Edge: In Your House on May 31. The stable would then refer to themselves as simply "The Nation". The Rock and the Nation then feuded with
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...
and
D-Generation X D-Generation X (DX), is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable, and later a tag team, who consisted of various members mostly Generation X wrestlers, most notably Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Ch ...
(DX), with the two stable leaders first meeting in the quarter-final of the
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
King of the Ring tournament, which The Rock won. At King of the Ring on June 28, The Rock defeated
Dan Severn Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Beast", is an American retired professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of ...
in the semi-final match and lost to rival Ken Shamrock in the final. The Rock then resumed his feud with Triple H, as the two had a
two out of three falls match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...
at Fully Loaded: In Your House on July 26 for the Intercontinental Championship, which The Rock retained in controversial fashion. This led to a
ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself become ...
at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 30, where The Rock lost the title to Triple H. In the latter half of 1998, The Rock saw a big uptick in fan support. He also started consolidating his famous persona during this time, which would last until 2000. His popularity caused him to be booked in a feud with fellow Nation members
Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Henry is a two-time Olympian (1992 and 19 ...
and D'Lo Brown, turning babyface in the process. Henry defeated The Rock at Judgment Day: In Your House on October 18 after interference from Brown, effectively breaking up the stable.


WWF Champion and rise to superstardom (1998–2000)

The Rock was then entered into the "Deadly Game" tournament for the vacant WWF Championship. The finals occurred at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
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 Shane Brandon McMahon ( ; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his tenures in WWE. The son of Vince McMahon, he is a fourth-generation wrestling promoter as a ...
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. Mankind appeared to win the match when The Rock passed out to the Mandible Claw submission move, but Vince McMahon ruled that since The Rock did not tap out, he retained his title. In the main event of the January 4, 1999, episode of ''Raw Is War'', Mankind defeated The Rock for the championship after interference from Stone Cold Steve Austin. Then at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
on January 24, The Rock regained the title in an "I Quit" match, a type of submission match that only ends if one of the combatants says "I quit" on a microphone. Intended to show a vicious streak in The Rock's character, The Rock hit Mankind in the head with a steel chair 11 times instead of the scripted five, five shots already being risky (most wrestling matches in the Attitude Era involving steel chairs had at most 2 or 3 shots to the head). After the fifth shot, Mankind was still ringside instead of two-thirds up the entrance ramp where he was supposed to be, and after the eleventh shot, which knocked Mankind out, a recording of Mankind saying "I Quit" from an earlier interview was played over the public address system. 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. After 20 minutes of chaotic brawling in the ring, the stands, a kitchen, the catering area, an office, the arena corridors and finally a basement loading area, Mankind pinned The Rock using a
forklift truck A forklift (also called industrial truck, lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th c ...
to win the WWF Championship. The two faced off again, at St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House on February 14, in a Last Man Standing match which ended in a draw, meaning Mankind retained the title. Their feud ended on the February 15 ''Raw Is War'', when The Rock won his third WWF Championship in a Ladder Match after a debuting
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...
interfered on his behalf. The Rock then lost the WWF Championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin at
WrestleMania XV WrestleMania XV was a 1999 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the 15th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 28, 1999, at the First Union Center in Philadelp ...
on March 28. The Rock's popularity continued to grow and audiences still cheered for him even though he was a heel. He 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 Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...
and The Corporate Ministry. On April 29, 1999, WWF aired the pilot episode of ''
SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...
'', a term derived from one of The Rock's catchphrases. 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. The Rock then lost a number one contender's match to Triple H, at Fully Loaded on July 25, after interference from "Mr. Ass" Billy Gunn. The Rock then defeated Gunn in a Kiss My Ass match at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 22. 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. The Rock contested this match twice, both times in Texas (vs Triple H in Dallas, and vs Al Snow in Houston). 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''. The two performed a number of critically acclaimed comedic skits together, including one called "This Is Your Life", which saw Mankind bring parody versions of people from The Rock's past on television, such as his high school girlfriend and his high school football coach, only to have The Rock insult them. The segment earned an 8.4
Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the #Nielsen TV ...
, one of the highest ratings ever for a ''Raw'' segment. The two lost the titles back to Undertaker and Big Show on the September 9 episode of ''SmackDown!'' and won them back from them on the September 20 episode of ''Raw is War''. The Rock and Mankind then lost the titles to The New Age Outlaws on the very next episode of ''SmackDown!''. The Rock and Mankind would win the tag titles for the third and final time after beating the New Age Outlaws on the October 14 episode of ''SmackDown!'' before losing the titles to The Holly Cousins on the October 18 episode of ''Raw is War''. At the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
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. But The Rock's feet accidentally hit the floor during the reversal attempt, though those watching the event on television did not see that. This was played up in the storyline as Big Show provided additional video footage showing it and claimed to be the rightful winner. The Rock's number one contendership for the WWF Championship was then put on the line against Big Show at No Way Out on February 27, which Big Show won after Shane McMahon interfered. The Rock then defeated Big Show on the March 13 episode of ''Raw Is War'', to regain the right to face the WWF Champion, Triple H, at WrestleMania 2000 on April 2, in a Fatal Four-way elimination match, also including Big Show and Mick Foley. Each wrestler had a McMahon in his corner: Triple H had his wife,
Stephanie Stephanie is a female name that comes from the Greek name Στέφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown, wreath, garland". The male form is Stephen. Forms of Stephanie in other languages include the German "Stefanie", the Italian, Czech, Pol ...
, Foley had Linda, The Rock had Vince and Big Show had Shane. The Rock lasted until the final two but was eliminated by Triple H after Vince betrayed him by hitting him with a chair. Due to his image at the time, a '' Magic: The Gathering'' deck archetype was named after him.


Record-breaking world champion (2000–2002)

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 Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...
, 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 Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...
, The Rock faced Triple H in an Iron Man match with
Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...
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 Christopher Michael Benoit ( ; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, but is notorious for Chris Benoit double-murd ...
on July 23 at Fully Loaded. The next month, he successfully defended his title against
Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...
and Triple H at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 27. The Rock had another successful title defense against Benoit, Kane and The Undertaker on September 24 at
Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American revisionist Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by David Webb Peoples. It stars Eastwood as William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job years after ...
. 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 A , or, more colloquially, , is a sumo wrestler. Although used to define all wrestlers participating in sumo wrestling matches, the term is more commonly used to refer to professional wrestlers, employed by the Japan Sumo Association, who par ...
and defeated him at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
on November 19. The Rock wrestled a six-man
Hell in a Cell Hell in a Cell is a professional wrestling steel cage-based match which originated in 1997 in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It features a large cell structure, a four-sided cuboid made from open-weave steel mesh chain-link f ...
match for the WWF Championship at
Armageddon Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...
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 at a ''
SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...
'' taping. The Rock continued to feud with Angle over the WWF Championship, culminating at No Way Out on February 25, 2001, where he pinned Angle to win the WWF Championship for a sixth time. The Rock then feuded with the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
winner, Stone Cold Steve Austin, whom he lost the title to at WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1 after Austin allied with Vince McMahon, who interfered on his behalf. On the next night's ''Raw is War'', during a steel cage title rematch, Triple H attacked The Rock, allying with McMahon and Austin and helping Austin retain the championship. Austin and Triple H then formed a tag team called The Power Trip, while The Rock was indefinitely suspended in storyline. Johnson used this time off to act in '' The Scorpion King''. The Rock returned in late July when the WWF was feuding with rival promotions
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...
(WCW) and
Extreme Championship Wrestling Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...
(ECW) during what is known as The Invasion storyline. In reality, WCW was purchased by Vince McMahon and the WWF, and ECW had gone out of business in early 2001. Many former WCW and ECW wrestlers were then brought onto WWF television and formed The Alliance to compete with the WWF in storyline. The Alliance and Vince McMahon then both attempted to persuade the Rock to join their team. The Rock then aligned with McMahon and the WWF. The next month, the Rock defeated
Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 194 ...
at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
on August 19 to win the WCW Championship for the first time. He later lost the title to
Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...
at No Mercy on October 21. The next night on ''Raw'', he teamed with Jericho to win the WWF Tag Team Championship from
The Dudley Boyz The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team who consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley and D-Von Dudley. The team was also joined by various Dudley Brothers, Dudley family members, notably ...
. The two then lost the tag titles to Booker T and Test on the November 1, 2001, episode of ''SmackDown!''. The Rock defeated Jericho on the November 5 episode of ''Raw'' for his second WCW Championship. As part of the WWF's battle against The Alliance, the Rock wrestled in a "winner takes all" five-on-five elimination tag team match at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
on November 18 where the losing team's company would be dissolved in storyline. He was a member of Team WWF along with Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Kane, and Big Show. The Alliance's team consisted of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Booker T,
Rob Van Dam Robert Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD) is an American professional wrestler. Known for his unique ring style—which includes his variety of kicks, acrobatic movemen ...
, and Shane McMahon. In the end, it came down to a one-on-one between the Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Rock seemed to have the upper hand, until his teammate Jericho entered the ring and attacked the Rock. Austin tried to capitalize on this by pinning the Rock, but Kurt Angle revealed his true allegiance by attacking Austin. The Rock then pinned Austin, giving Team WWF the victory and forcing The Alliance to disband. The Rock's WCW Championship was renamed the unbranded "World Championship" following the Alliance's loss. At the next pay-per-view, Vengeance on December 9, The Rock lost the World Championship to Jericho, who would then unify the WWF and World titles later that night. The Rock then unsuccessfully challenged Jericho for the now Undisputed WWF Championship at
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
on January 20, 2002. At the next pay-per-view, No Way Out on February 17, The Rock defeated The Undertaker in a singles match. The event also saw the WWF debut of the famed WCW faction New World Order (nWo), which at the time consisted of "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan,
Kevin Nash Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor, podcaster and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is also known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Ac ...
, and
Scott Hall Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ...
. This later led to a match between The Rock and Hogan at WrestleMania X8 on March 17. The match was billed as "icon versus icon", with both men representing the top tier of two generations of wrestling; ultimately The Rock pinned Hogan at WrestleMania X8 to win the match. Despite The Rock portraying a heroic character and Hogan a villain, a portion of the crowd attending the
SkyDome Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to ...
was rooting heavily for Hogan. In an interview in 2013, Hogan said he and The Rock changed the style of the match on the fly based on the crowd's response. After the introduction of the first-ever
brand extension Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off. Organizations use this ...
, the WWF held a " draft lottery" on the March 25, 2002, episode of ''Raw''. The Rock was the number one overall pick, going to the
SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...
brand before taking a sabbatical from wrestling. The Rock made a surprise return on a June episode of ''Raw'' before going to his assigned brand of SmackDown!. There, he was named the number one contender for the WWE Undisputed Championship, which he won for a record-setting seventh time at Vengeance on July 21, by defeating Kurt Angle and then-champion The Undertaker in a Triple Threat match. The Rock successfully defended the title at the Global Warning event on August 10 against Triple H and
Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a ...
after pinning Triple H. On August 25, at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
, The Rock lost the WWE Undisputed Championship to Lesnar along with the record for the youngest WWE Champion, which he had set in 1998. In 2018, writing for '' ESPN.com'', Sean Coyle noted in a retrospective review of the event, that following his victory over Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8, The Rock "started to see a dip in fan support" and "that dip turned into a plunge" by the time The Rock had his match with Lesnar at SummerSlam because fans knew he was leaving WWE to pursue an acting career, as evidenced by the negative crowd response during his match with Lesnar. After SummerSlam ended, The Rock was visibly angry at the crowd reaction. When he tried to do a post-show speech for the crowd, the fans booed him. He eventually cut a short promo, declaring that "sing-along with The Rock is over!" The Rock then took time off to kickstart his acting career.


Hollywood Rock (2003)

The Rock returned on the January 30, 2003, episode of ''SmackDown!'' to set up another match with Hulk Hogan at No Way Out on February 23. Because of negative fan reaction during previous matches as a result of his budding acting career, The Rock turned heel for the first time since 1999. He also started a new persona that has been called ''Hollywood Rock'', with a new look and a shaved head. The Rock defeated Hogan at No Way Out before moving to the Raw brand. There, he had various small feuds, including one with The Hurricane. He also began performing "Rock Concerts", segments in which he played the guitar and mocked WWE performers and fans in song. After failing to win a number one contendership for the World Heavyweight Championship, The Rock went into another program with Stone Cold Steve Austin. This led to a match at
WrestleMania XIX WrestleMania XIX was a 2003 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view events, event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 19th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 30, 2003, at T-Mobile Park, ...
on March 30, which called back to their previous two WrestleMania encounters, both of which Austin had won. The Rock won after delivering three consecutive ''Rock Bottoms'', ending their long-running rivalry in what turned out to be Austin's final match, until
WrestleMania 38 WrestleMania 38 was a 2022 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE. It was the 38th annual WrestleMania and took place as a two-night event on Saturda ...
. The next night, ''Raw'' was billed as "The Rock Appreciation Night", in honor of his victory over Austin. That night, he was attacked by a debuting Goldberg. At
Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), a comic book character from ...
on April 27, Goldberg defeated The Rock, who then briefly left WWE to film '' Walking Tall''.


Final feuds and departure (2003–2004)

On the June 2 episode of ''Raw'', The Rock joined the Highlight Reel and attacked
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
and
Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...
with
Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to * Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century ** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T." * Booker T. Jones (born 194 ...
, turning face once again. He would later return on the December 8 episode of ''Raw'' to help Mick Foley against La Résistance. In 2004, The Rock aided Mick Foley in his feud against
Evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
, leading to a reunion of the Rock 'n' Sock Connection. They lost against
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...
,
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...
, and
Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player João Batista da Silva * Dave Bautista, Batista (wrestler) (Dave ...
in a
handicap match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...
at WrestleMania XX on March 14, 2004, when Orton pinned Foley after an '' RKO''. This was Johnson's final wrestling match until November 2011. The Rock appeared in WWE sporadically following WrestleMania XX. He made returns to provide support for Eugene against
Jonathan Coachman Jonathan William Coachman (born August 12, 1973), also known as "The Coach", is an American sports analyst and former professional wrestling personality. Early life Before embarking on an announcing career in professional wrestling, Coachman w ...
and made a cameo in his hometown of Miami, where he confronted
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...
. On the August 23 episode of ''Raw'', he hosted a pie-eating contest, as part of the
WWE Diva Search ''WWE Diva Search'' (formerly ''WWE Raw Diva Search'') is an American talent competition that was produced and held by WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The first winner was Jaime Koeppe, but she did not receive a contract like subsequen ...
, and ended the segment by giving Coachman a ''People's Elbow''. The Rock's contract with WWE then ended and he started his full-time acting career.


Non-wrestling appearances (2007–2009)

On March 12, 2007, the Rock appeared on a
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
show after nearly three years, via a pre-taped promo shown during ''Raw''. He correctly predicted that
Bobby Lashley Franklin Roberto Lashley (born July 16, 1976) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Hurt Syndicate and is one-half of the AEW World Tag Team C ...
would defeat Umaga at WrestleMania 23 in
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's and Vince McMahon's "Battle of the Billionaires" Hair vs. Hair match. On March 29, 2008, Johnson inducted his father Rocky Johnson and grandfather
Peter Maivia Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia (born Fanene Pita Anderson; April 6, 1937 – June 13, 1982), better known as Peter Maivia, was a Samoan-American professional wrestler, actor and stunt coordinator. Maivia was the grandfather of Dwayne Johnson, Dwayne ...
into the
WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when An ...
. His next appearance was through a pre-taped promo on October 2, 2009, during the '' Decade of SmackDown''.


Independent circuit (2009)

On September 30, 2009, the Rock appeared at a
World Xtreme Wrestling World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) was a Florida-based independent circuit, independent professional wrestling promotion which has held events across the United States and toured in Japan, the Middle East and South Pacific region including American S ...
(WXW) show to support the professional wrestling debut of Sarona Snuka, the daughter of his longtime friend and mentor
Jimmy Snuka James Reiher Snuka (born James Wiley Smith; May 18, 1943 – January 15, 2017) was a Fijian and American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 2010s ...
.


Return to WWE


Feud with John Cena (2011–2013)

On February 14, 2011, The Rock was announced as the host of
WrestleMania XXVII WrestleMania XXVII was a 2011 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 27th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 3, 20 ...
on April 3, 2011, appearing live on ''Raw'' for the first time in almost seven years. During a lengthy promo, he addressed the fans and started a feud with
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...
. After numerous appearances via satellite, The Rock appeared live on the ''Raw'' before WrestleMania XXVII to confront Cena. After he and Cena exchanged insults,
The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame a ...
and
Alex Riley Kevin Robert Kiley Jr. (born April 28, 1981) is an American former professional wrestler and commentator. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, under the ring name Alex Riley, where he was a participant in the second season of '' NXT''. Pr ...
appeared and attacked The Rock; he fended off Miz and Riley, only for Cena to blindside him with an '' Attitude Adjustment''. On April 3, at WrestleMania XXVII, The Rock opened the show by cutting a promo. After appearing in numerous backstage segments, The Rock came to ringside to restart the
main event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
between Cena and The Miz as a No Disqualification match, after it had ended in a double countout. As revenge for the ''Attitude Adjustment'' Cena had given him on ''Raw'', The Rock hit Cena with the ''Rock Bottom'', allowing The Miz to pin him and retain the WWE Championship. After the match, The Rock attacked The Miz and hit him with the ''People's Elbow''. The next night on ''Raw'', The Rock and Cena agreed to a match at WrestleMania XXVIII the next year. They then worked together to fend off an attack by
The Corre The Corre was a short-lived villainous stable in WWE. Formed in 2011, the group was a spinoff of Wade Barrett's former group The Nexus. The stable was formed after Barrett left The Nexus and aligned himself with Heath Slater and Justin Gabrie ...
, which at the time consisted of
Wade Barrett Stuart Alexander Bennett (born 10 August 1980) is an English acting, actor and former professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Wade Barrett as a color commentator on the ''WWE Sma ...
,
Heath Slater Heath Wallace Miller (born July 15, 1983) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Heath Slater. He also performed in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, Impact Wrestling ...
, Justin Gabriel, and Ezekiel Jackson. The Rock appeared live on ''Raw'' in his hometown of Miami to celebrate his 39th birthday. On September 16, WWE announced The Rock would wrestle in a traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series tag team match, teaming with Cena at
Survivor Series Survivor Series, branded as Survivor Series: WarGames since 2022, is a professional wrestling event produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving ( ...
in November. But on the October 24 episode of ''Raw SuperShow'', Cena instead suggested The Rock be his partner in a standard tag team match against The Miz and
R-Truth Ronnie Aaron Killings (born January 19, 1972) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under his real name, stylized as Ron Killings and R-Truth. Killings worked for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) ...
, a team called Awesome Truth, which Rock agreed to the next week. On November 14, during the special ''Raw Gets Rocked'', The Rock appeared live, delivering ''Rock Bottom''s to Mick Foley, who had been hosting a "This Is Your Life"-style segment for Cena, and later both members of Awesome Truth. The Rock and Cena defeated Awesome Truth on November 20 at Survivor Series, when The Rock pinned The Miz. After the match, The Rock gave Cena a ''Rock Bottom''. Leading up to WrestleMania, The Rock and Cena had several verbal confrontations on ''Raw SuperShow''. On the March 12, 2012, episode of ''Raw SuperShow'', The Rock hosted his first "Rock Concert" segment since 2004, mocking Cena in his songs. On April 1, at WrestleMania XXVIII, The Rock defeated Cena in the main event after countering Cena's attempt at a ''People's Elbow'' into a ''Rock Bottom'' and pinning Cena. This event broke the record for biggest professional wrestling pay-per-view buyrate. The following night on ''Raw SuperShow'', The Rock praised Cena, calling their match "an honor". He then vowed to once again become WWE Champion. On July 23, at '' Raw 1000'', The Rock announced he would wrestle for the WWE Championship at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
pay-per-view. During the show, he encountered then-reigning WWE Champion
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...
, Daniel Bryan, and John Cena, all of whom expressed a desire to face him. The Rock later saved Cena from an assault by
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...
, only to be laid out by CM Punk. On the January 7, 2013, episode of ''Raw'', The Rock returned to confront his Royal Rumble opponent CM Punk. On January 11, he made his first ''SmackDown'' appearance in ten years, getting into an altercation with Team Rhodes Scholars, resulting in him delivering a ''Rock Bottom'' to Damien Sandow and a ''People's Elbow'' to
Cody Rhodes Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (born June 30, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. As of April 2022, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. He is also known for co-fou ...
. The Rock closed out the 20th-anniversary episode of ''Raw'', on January 14, with one of his "Rock Concerts", leading to a brawl with CM Punk. The following week on ''Raw'', The Rock was attacked by
The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...
. Vince McMahon then asserted that if The Shield attacked the Rock in his title match with CM Punk, Punk would be stripped of the WWE Championship. On January 27, at the
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
, CM Punk would seemingly defeat The Rock after the arena lights went out and someone attacked The Rock. Vince McMahon then came out and was about to strip Punk of the championship, however, at The Rock's request, he instead restarted the match. This culminated in The Rock defeating Punk to win his eighth WWE Championship. Punk received a title rematch with The Rock, at
Elimination Chamber The Elimination Chamber is a professional wrestling elimination-based match held in the WWE. The match was created by Triple H, and introduced by Eric Bischoff in November 2002. It features a large chain-linked circular steel structure which ...
on February 17, 2013, with the added stipulation that if The Rock was disqualified or counted out, he would still lose the
WWE Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown bran ...
. The Rock would pin Punk to defeat him and retain the championship. The following night on ''Raw'', The Rock unveiled a new WWE Championship design, with a different center plate and removable customizable side-plates which had his "Brahma Bull" logo. The Rock then resumed his rivalry with John Cena, who won that year's Royal Rumble to set up a rematch of the previous WrestleMania match between the two at WrestleMania 29, only this time with the WWE Championship on the line. On April 7, at WrestleMania 29, The Rock lost the WWE Championship to Cena, ending his reign at 70 days. Despite being advertised for ''Raw'' after WrestleMania, where it was stated that The Rock was still entitled a rematch for the WWE Championship, The Rock did not appear because of a real injury sustained during his match with Cena, in which his
abdominal The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...
and adductor
tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough band of fibrous connective tissue, dense fibrous connective tissue that connects skeletal muscle, muscle to bone. It sends the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system, while withstanding tensi ...
s tore from his
pelvis The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an Anatomy, anatomical Trunk (anatomy), trunk, between the human abdomen, abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also c ...
. Johnson underwent surgery on April 23 to reattach the torn tendons. Post surgery, it made his abdomen look far less muscular than the rest of his body, notably his arms.


Part-time appearances (2014–2023)

In April 2014, the Rock appeared in the opening segment of WrestleMania XXX along with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan. On the October 6 episode of ''Raw'', the Rock made a surprise appearance to confront Rusev and Lana; this resulted in the Rock clearing Rusev from the ring. On the 15th Anniversary of ''SmackDown'' on October 10, The Rock would make an appearance in a backstage segment, where he and Triple H would reminisce on their past feud. The Rock appeared at the 2015 Royal Rumble event on January 25, 2015, during the main event match, where he helped his relative
Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...
fend off Big Show and Kane after Reigns eliminated them from the match. Reigns then won the match and the Rock endorsed him in the ring. The Rock appeared at
WrestleMania 31 WrestleMania 31 was a 2015 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE. It was the 31st annual WrestleMania and took place on March 29, 2015, at Levi's S ...
on March 29, 2015, alongside Ronda Rousey, getting into an in-ring altercation with
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...
and
Stephanie McMahon Stephanie Marie McMahon Levesque ( ; ; born September 24, 1976) is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. She is known for her various roles within WWE between 1998 and 2023. The daughter of Vince McMahon, Vince and Lind ...
. Rock and Rousey prevailed after he attacked Triple H and she overpowered McMahon. On June 27, the Rock appeared at a live event in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, where he confronted Bo Dallas and gave him a ''Rock Bottom''. On the January 25, 2016, episode of ''Raw'', the Rock was in a segment that saw him converse with The Miz, Big Show, Lana and Rusev before he and his relatives,
The Usos The Usos were a Samoan-American professional wrestling tag team which consisted of twin brothers Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They are signed to WWE, where Jey performs on the WWE Raw, Raw brand while Jimmy performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), Sma ...
, got into an altercation with then-WWE Tag Team Champions, The New Day. The Rock appeared at
WrestleMania 32 WrestleMania 32 was a 2016 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE. It was the 32nd annual WrestleMania and took place on April 3, 2016, at the AT&T ...
on April 3, 2016, where he announced that WWE had broken the all-time WrestleMania attendance record before being interrupted by The Wyatt Family. The Rock got into a verbal back-and-forth with
Bray Wyatt Windham Lawrence Rotunda (May 23, 1987 – August 24, 2023), better known by his ring name Bray Wyatt, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in WWE from 2009 until his death in 2023. Rotunda was a third-generati ...
before having an impromptu match with Wyatt Family member Erick Rowan. The Rock won after giving Rowan a ''Rock Bottom'' and pinning him in six seconds, which set the record for the fastest win in WrestleMania history. The Rock was then aided by a returning John Cena to fend off Wyatt, Rowan and
Braun Strowman Adam Joseph Scherr (born September 6, 1983) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Strongman (strength athlete), strongman. As a wrestler, he is best known for his tenure in WWE from 2013 to 2025, where he performed un ...
. On the February 20, 2017, episode of '' Raw'', the Rock made an untelevised appearance after the broadcast had gone off the air, where he promoted and filmed a scene for his then-upcoming film '' Fighting with My Family''. On August 3, 2019, the Rock officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling. On September 30, 2019, after weeks of speculation, the Rock announced that he would appear on ''SmackDown''s 20th Anniversary on October 4, 2019, marking his first appearance on ''SmackDown'' since October 2014 and his first televised appearance since April 2016. At the event, he cut a promo with
Becky Lynch Rebecca Quin (born 30 January 1987), better known by the ring name Becky Lynch, is an Irish professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the Raw brand and is the current WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion in her ...
before they were interrupted by King Corbin. After attacking Corbin, the Rock and Lynch celebrated in the ring. On September 15, 2023, the Rock made a surprise return to SmackDown, in a segment with Pat McAfee and
Austin Theory Austin Tyler White (born August 2, 1997) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Bodybuilding, bodybuilder. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand under the ring nam ...
, who Rock took out within the segment. This marked his first televised appearance in WWE since October 4, 2019.


The Final Boss (2024–present)

It was teased that a former WWE Champion would be appearing on the Day 1 edition of ''Raw'' on January 1, 2024; the unidentified champion was at first revealed to be Jinder Mahal, who insulted the crowd before being interrupted by The Rock in his first live appearance on ''Raw'' since 2016. The two brawled and The Rock emerged victorious, after which he asked the crowd if he should sit at "the head of the table" in a direct reference to Undisputed WWE Universal Champion
Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...
, his relative whose nickname is "The Head of the Table". The Rock also appeared on the February 2 episode of ''SmackDown'', where he confronted Reigns after
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
winner
Cody Rhodes Cody Garrett Runnels Rhodes (born June 30, 1985) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. As of April 2022, he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. He is also known for co-fou ...
decided against choosing Reigns as his WrestleMania 40 opponent to allow The Rock to face Reigns. This was met by intense backlash from fans who wanted Rhodes to face Reigns; the WrestleMania XL media event on February 8 thus saw The Rock align himself with Reigns, chastise Rhodes for reversing his decision not to choose Reigns as his WrestleMania opponent, and slap Rhodes for speaking out against the Anoaʻi family (of which The Rock and Reigns are both members), thus turning heel for the first time since 2003. As WWE's chief creative officer
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...
was being interviewed backstage over what had just transpired, The Rock and Reigns walked by and told him to "fix it" or they would, though Triple H would later appear on ''SmackDown'' to stand by Rhodes' decision. On the February 16 episode of ''SmackDown'', The Rock officially joined Reigns' faction The Bloodline; he also debuted a new persona that incorporated facets of his arrogant " Hollywood Rock" incarnation from 2003, such as insulting the audience, wearing gaudy expensive clothes, and entering the arena to a new entrance theme that began with his heroic character's music before transitioning into his "Hollywood Rock" music. He then appeared on the March 1 episode of ''SmackDown'', where he gave his new character the nickname of " The Final Boss" and issued a challenge to Rhodes and Seth "Freakin" Rollins: if they beat him and Reigns in a tag team match at WrestleMania Night 1, Rhodes' championship match against Reigns on Night 2 would be free of interference from The Bloodline, but if Rhodes and Rollins lost, the championship match would be contested under " Bloodline Rules". Rhodes and Rollins accepted the challenge the following week. On the March 25 episode of ''Raw'', The Rock attacked Rhodes backstage, leaving him beaten and bloody in the parking lot. During the 2024
WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when An ...
, The Rock received a "People's Championship" from
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
's wife Lonnie, which he would begin carrying over his shoulder whenever he appeared onscreen. In the Night 1 main event of WrestleMania XL, The Rock and Reigns defeated Rhodes and Rollins. During the Night 2 main event between Reigns and Rhodes, multiple people interfered on behalf of both men; The Rock appeared and hit
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...
with a Rock Bottom after the two stared each other down, but
The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...
then appeared and chokeslammed The Rock. Rhodes went on to defeat Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship. The following night on ''Raw'', The Rock interrupted Rhodes' celebration to congratulate him and reveal that he would be leaving for a while, but would be coming after Rhodes when he returns; this allowed Johnson time off to film the biopic '' The Smashing Machine''. During his hiatus, Solo Sikoa became the new leader of The Bloodline, starting the Bloodline Civil War. Six months later, in the main event of Bad Blood on October 5, Rhodes and Reigns teamed up to face members of The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa and
Jacob Fatu Jacob Fatu (born April 18, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand and is the WWE United States Champion in his List of WWE United States Champions, first re ...
) from which Reigns had been ousted, defeating Sikoa and Fatu with the help of a returning Jimmy Uso. Following the match, The Rock returned and stood at the top of the entrance ramp, where he silently counted to three and made a throat slashing gesture to Reigns, Rhodes, and Uso before leaving. The Rock returned on the ''Raw'' premiere on Netflix on January 6, 2025, thanking Rhodes for all his work as the face of the company and hugging him. Later that night, The Rock embraced Reigns after the latter defeated Sikoa to reclaim his Ula Fala and Tribal Chief title. The next night at New Year's Evil, The Rock made his first appearance on the NXT brand. He sought advice from his daughter, NXT general manager Ava, and spoke to
Ethan Page Julian Micevski (born September 20, 1989), better known by his ring name Ethan Page, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand, and is ...
. In a promo that closed out the television special, he addressed criticism towards his actions the night before on Raw. On the February 21 episode of ''SmackDown'', The Rock made an appearance to announce that WrestleMania 42 will take place in
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, where ''SmackDown'' was being taped. The Rock also called out Cody Rhodes, where he offered to elevate Rhodes as a star in exchange for Rhodes' loyalty and cryptically stated that he wanted Rhodes' soul. On March 1 at Elimination Chamber: Toronto, Rhodes refused The Rock's offer, who responded by signalling Elimination Chamber match winner John Cena to attack Rhodes, leaving him beaten and bloodied in the assault.


Mainstream crossover

The Rock appeared on
Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...
's 2000 single " It Doesn't Matter" and in its music video. He also recorded "Pie" with
Slick Rick Richard Martin Lloyd Walters (born January 14, 1965), better known as Slick Rick, is an English-American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence as part of Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew in the mid-1980s. His songs " The Show" and ...
for '' WWF The Music, Vol. 5''. In 1999, Johnson appeared on ''
That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from 197 ...
'' as his father Rocky Johnson. The next year, he was on '' Star Trek: Voyager'' as an alien wrestler who used the Rock's moves. In 2000, he hosted ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' (SNL) for the first time. Fellow wrestlers
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...
,
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...
, and
Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and author. He is signed to WWE, under a Legends contract while also serving as an ambassador. Foley worked for many wrestling promotions, including the W ...
also appeared on the show. Johnson has said the success of that episode is the reason he began receiving offers from Hollywood studios. He has since hosted SNL four more times. In 1999, the Rock was listed No. 1 on ''Entertainment Weekly''s Top 12 Entertainers of the Year. In 2000, ''Access Hollywood'' ranked him No. 1 in their list of the Top 10 Celebrities of 2000. That year, Rock was also listed in the
Forbes Celebrity 100 Celebrity 100 was an annual list compiled and published by ''Forbes'' magazine from 1999 to 2020, preceded by the ''Forbes'' Top 40 entertainers list. Until 2014, the rankings were made based on a complex combination of factors, including earnin ...
and ''People'' Magazine's 25 Most Intriguing People. The Rock was listed on ''Entertainment Weekly''s 101 Most Influential People in both 2000 and 2001. In 2001, he was also listed on E!'s 20 Top Entertainers. In 2002, the Rock was listed on E!'s 25 Toughest Stars. In 2003, he was listed in VH1's 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons and was No. 7 in ''People'' Magazine's 50 Favorite TV Stars. The Rock made a surprise appearance at the official Xbox unveiling during
Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...
's keynote speech at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show in 2001. Johnson's motion picture debut was as The Scorpion King in '' The Mummy Returns'' (2001). The movie broke a two-year record for the highest-grossing single day in film history by earning . The movie's financial success led to Johnson's first leading role in the spin-off '' The Scorpion King'' (2002). He received for the role and ''
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
'' named him the record-holder for highest-paid actor in their first leading role. The Rock has appeared on the covers of many magazines, including ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'', ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'', and ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
''. He has also appeared in, and been the cover athlete for, several video games. , his
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
account is the sixth most-followed in the world, with over 395 million followers.


Legacy in professional wrestling

The Rock has been listed as one of the all-time greatest professional wrestlers, as well as one of the top draws in wrestling history. Many have placed the Rock on their "
Mount Rushmore The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a National Memorial (United States), national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (, or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dak ...
of Pro Wrestling", including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and John Cena. In ''Cable Visions: Television Beyond Broadcasting'', the Rock was described as "for a long time, the WWE's biggest star and probably held the greatest international appeal". R. D. Reynolds stated in his book ''The WrestleCrap Book of Lists'' that the Rock was "the biggest star for WWE from 1999 until 2004". The Rock's "I quit" match with Mankind at the 1999 Royal Rumble event is infamous for its brutality and one of the most popular "I quit" match of all times. The Rock main-evented the most bought
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...
worldwide in WWE history ( WrestleMania XXVIII), the most bought pay-per-view domestically in WWE history ( WrestleMania X-Seven), the highest rated '' Raw'' in history, the highest rated ''SmackDown'' in history, and was part of the highest rated cable segment in WWE history with Mankind entitled "This is Your Life", in which Mankind would honor The Rock with various gifts and reunions. His return in 2001 had a 7.1 rating, the highest-rated segment of the year. The Rock was also part of the highest-rated match of the 21st century when his WWF Championship defense against
Shane McMahon Shane Brandon McMahon ( ; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his tenures in WWE. The son of Vince McMahon, he is a fourth-generation wrestling promoter as a ...
, on May 1, 2000, got an 8.3 rating, making it the highest-rated segment of all time, behind "This Is Your Life". In 2011, the Rock's return to an episode of ''Raw'' generated an average of 4.7 million viewers in the United States, with 7.4 million tuning in during his promo. '' Raw 1000'' was the highest rated ''Raw'' episode of 2012 and his segment with
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...
and Daniel Bryan was the highest rated segment of the show. In 2013, the night after the Rock won the
WWE Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown bran ...
for the first time in over a decade, at
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
, ''Raw'' got its highest rating of that year. Derived from one of his catchphrases "lay the smackdown", WWE introduced in 1999 its second flagship program, ''
WWE SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs Live television, live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Netwo ...
'', which became television's second longest-running weekly episodic program in history. The term "smackdown" was included in
Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Incorporated is an list of companies of the United States by state, American company that publishes reference work, reference books and is mostly known for Webster's Dictionary, its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary pub ...
dictionaries in 2007. He is also known for popularizing the term " jabroni", derived from " jobber", although it was originally introduced by The Iron Sheik. The Rock holds the record for most ''Raw'' shows main-evented in one year (38 in 2000), most ''SmackDown'' shows main-evented in one year (36 in 2000), and is tied with
Stone Cold Steve Austin Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson and later Steven James Williams; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, producer and retired Professional wrestling, profes ...
(in 2001) for most PPV shows main evented in one year (12 in 2000). The Rock is also one of two wrestlers (the other being The Undertaker) to main event WrestleMania in four different decades: 1990s: XV (1999); 2000s: WrestleMania 2000 (2000), X-Seven (2001); 2010s: XXVIII (2012), 29 (2013); 2020s: XL (2024). At the 2021 Survivor Series, WWE held a 25-man Battle Royal to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Rock's WWE debut. The match was won by
Omos Tolulope "Jordan" Omogbehin (born May 16, 1992) is a Nigerian professional wrestler and former college basketball player. He is currently signed to WWE as a free agent, where he performs under the ring name Omos. He is a former one-time Raw T ...
.


Acting career

Johnson entered Hollywood and had early success due to his wrestling popularity and noted work ethic. Over his acting career, he became one of the highest-paid and most successful actors in Hollywood.


Career beginnings (1999–2010)

He began his acting career on television while wrestling. In his first television acting job, in 1999, he portrayed his father Rocky Johnson in an episode of ''
That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from 197 ...
'' called "That Wrestling Show". Nearly a year later, he appeared in the '' Star Trek: Voyager'' episode " Tsunkatse" as an alien wrestler who fought against
Seven of Nine Seven of Nine (born Annika Hansen) is a fictional character introduced in the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Voyager''. Portrayed by Jeri Ryan, she is a former Borg drone who joins the crew of the Federation starship ...
. While Johnson was away from WWE, the company continued to sell "The Rock" merchandise, and he continued to be featured prominently in the opening montages of their television shows. Johnson made his theatrical debut in '' The Mummy Returns'' (2001), playing the antagonist Mathayus "The Scorpion King". He reprised this role in the spin-off film '' The Scorpion King'' (2002), where he starred as the titular character. Johnson was paid for his leading role, putting him in the
Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...
for the highest salary for a first-time leading man. The film was a commercial success and despite mixed reception, Johnson's acting was praised. Film critic
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
wrote, "I expect him to become a durable action star". In the following years, he worked in action films ''
The Rundown ''The Rundown'' (known internationally as ''Welcome to the Jungle'') is a 2003 American action comedy film directed by Peter Berg and written by James Vanderbilt and R.J. Stewart from a story by Stewart. It follows an aspiring chef working as ...
'' (2003), and '' Walking Tall'' (2004), but these films failed to gain success. He had a supporting role in the comedy ''
Be Cool ''Be Cool'' is a 2005 American crime comedy film directed by F. Gary Gray and based on Elmore Leonard's 1999 novel, which was the sequel to Leonard's 1990 novel '' Get Shorty''. The movie is the sequel to the 1995 film adaptation of ''Get Sh ...
'' (2005) as a homosexual bodyguard hoping to become an actor, and was the primary antagonist in the horror film '' Doom'' (2005). He also worked in the sports drama '' Gridiron Gang'' (2006), comedy '' Reno 911!: Miami'' (2007), and thriller '' Southland Tales'' (2006). He had further success by playing an arrogant famous American football player in the sports family comedy '' The Game Plan'' (2007), Agent 23 in spy action comedy ''
Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...
'' (2008), a cab driver in the science fiction film ''
Race to Witch Mountain ''Race to Witch Mountain'' is a 2009 American science fiction adventure film directed by Andy Fickman. The film stars Dwayne Johnson alongside AnnaSophia Robb, Carla Gugino, Ciarán Hinds, Alexander Ludwig, Tom Everett Scott, and Christoph ...
'' (2009), the title character in the fantasy comedy '' Tooth Fairy'' (2010) and a police officer in buddy cop comedy ''
The Other Guys ''The Other Guys'' is a 2010 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Adam McKay, who co-wrote it with Chris Henchy. It stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg with Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Ray Stevenson, Samu ...
'' (2010). Johnson returned to action genre in the unsuccessful '' Faster'' (2010). Johnson made his voice acting debut in the 2006 video game '' Spyhunter: Nowhere to Run'', originally intended as a tie-in for an unproduced film. He also voiced
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
astronaut Chuck in the 2009 animated sci-fi comedy '' Planet 51''. He presented the
Academy Award for Best Visual Effects The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for the best achievement in visual effects. It has been handed to four members of the team directly responsible for creatin ...
at the
80th Academy Awards The 80th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2007. The award ceremony took place on February 24, 2008, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During t ...
.


Commercial success (2011–2020)

Johnson's first big box-office success came in 2011, portraying Luke Hobbs in ''
Fast Five ''Fast Five'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 5'') is a 2011 action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan (filmmaker), Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious (2009 film), Fast & Furious'' (2009) and the fif ...
'' (2011); the film became the seventh highest-grossing film of 2011. Following this, all of Johnson's projects in the 2010s decade achieved major success and established him as a bankable actor. He next starred in the box office hit '' Journey 2: The Mysterious Island'' in 2012. He became known for reinvigorating film franchises after portraying Marvin F. Hinton / Roadblock in '' G.I. Joe: Retaliation'' and reprising his role as Luke Hobbs in ''
Fast & Furious 6 ''Fast & Furious 6'' (titled onscreen as ''Furious 6'') is a 2013 action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast Five'' (2011) and the sixth installment in the '' Fast & Furious'' franchise. The fil ...
'' (2013), while also starring in true-story films '' Pain & Gain'' (2013) and ''
Empire State The Empire State is a nickname for the U.S. state of New York, adopted in the 1800s. It has been incorporated into the names of several state buildings and events. The source of the nickname is unknown and has puzzled many historians; as Ameri ...
'' (2013). That same year, he hosted and produced the
TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
reality competition Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
series '' The Hero'', and won the Favorite Male Buttkicker Award at the 2013 Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards. In May 2013, it was announced that he would executive produce and star in '' Ballers'', an
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
series about NFL players living in Miami. By December of that year, ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' named him the top-grossing actor of 2013, with his films bringing in worldwide for the year. ''Forbes'' credited the success of ''Fast & Furious 6'', which grossed globally, and his frequent acting work as primary reasons for topping the list. Johnson starred as the title character in ''
Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...
'' in 2014 and hosted another reality series for TNT that same year, entitled ''Wake Up Call'', which saw him "lending a helping hand to everyday people who were facing enormous challenges in their lives" alongside guest experts such as Rocco DiSpirito,
Jillian Michaels Jillian Michaels (born February 18, 1974) is an American fitness trainer, nutritionist, businesswoman, media personality, and author. She is best known for her appearances on NBC series such as ''The Biggest Loser (American TV series), The Bigg ...
, and Josh Shipp. In 2015, Johnson reprised his role as Luke Hobbs in ''
Furious 7 ''Furious 7'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 7'') is a 2015 action film directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013) and '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006) and the seventh i ...
'' and starred in the disaster film '' San Andreas''. In 2016, he co-starred with
Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. The accolades he has received include the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and nominations for two Grammy Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards. After winning se ...
in the action-comedy '' Central Intelligence'' and had a lead voice role in the Disney animated film '' Moana'', in which he voiced
Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
. He reprised his role as Luke Hobbs in '' The Fate of the Furious'', which was released in 2017. Johnson starred in two other blockbuster movies that year, ''
Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...
'' and '' Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle'' as Mitchell "Mitch" Buchannon and Dr. Smolder Bravestone, respectively. In 2018, he starred in two solo box office hits '' Rampage'' and ''
Skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...
''. Johnson's role within the ''
Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'', also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'', is an American Action film, action media franchise centered on a series of films revolving around street racing, heist film, heists, and spy film, spies. The franchise also inclu ...
'' franchise continued with '' Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw'', starring alongside co-star Jason Statham. David Leitch directed the project from a script co-written by franchise-writer Chris Morgan and
Drew Pearce Drew Pearce (born August 24, 1975) is a British screenwriter, director, and producer best known for his work on The Fall Guy (2024 film), ''The Fall Guy'' (2024), ''Hotel Artemis'' (2018), ''Iron Man 3'' (2013), ''Fast and Furious Presents: Hob ...
. The film began principal photography in September 2018, and was released on July 26, 2019. Johnson reprised his role as Bravestone, in '' Jumanji: The Next Level''. With the critical and financial success of ''Welcome to the Jungle'', production of the movie began in early 2019, and it was released on December 13, 2019. Johnson's films grossed $10.6 billion in the 2010s, making him the decade's sixth-highest-grossing actor and the highest-grossing actor outside the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
.


Career fluctuations (2021–2024)

In 2021, after a year long hiatus, Johnson co-starred with
Emily Blunt Emily Olivia Laura Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Emily Blunt, several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition t ...
in
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
's '' Jungle Cruise'' as Frank Wolff. The film is based on the theme-park ride of the same name.
Jaume Collet-Serra Jaume Collet-Serra (; born 23 March 1974) is a Spanish-American film director and producer. He directed the horror films ''House of Wax (2005 film), House of Wax'' (2005), ''Orphan (2009 film), Orphan'' (2009), and ''The Shallows (film), The Sh ...
directed, with a script by Michael Green from a previous one by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay. In addition to his work on the film, Johnson assisted with re-designing the titular ride for all Disney theme parks. ''Jungle Cruise'' was released on July 30, 2021. On March 16, 2021, he appeared for the first time as the video game character, The Foundation, in ''
Fortnite Battle Royale ''Fortnite Battle Royale'' is a 2017 Battle royale game, battle royale video game produced by Epic Games. It was originally developed as a companion game part of the early access version of ''Fortnite: Save the World'', a cooperative survival ...
''. Johnson was initially uncredited in his role, yet hinted at his involvement through a series of Instagram posts. His involvement was finally confirmed during the Chapter 2 End Event on December 4, 2021, with The Foundation removing his helmet to reveal that he shared Johnson's voice and likeness. Also in 2021, Johnson starred in
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
's film '' Red Notice'', written and directed by
Rawson Marshall Thurber Rawson Marshall Thurber (born February 9, 1975) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for writing and directing the 2004 comedy film ''Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story''. Early life Thurber was born in San Francisco, California ...
. It is the third time that the two collaborated, after ''Central Intelligence'' and ''Skyscraper''. It co-stars Gal Gadot and
Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian and American actor, producer and businessman. Known for starring in comedic and superhero films, he was the List of highest-paid film actors, world's second-highest-paid actor in 202 ...
. It is the most watched film on Netflix of all time. Johnson voiced Krypto the Superdog in the animated feature '' DC League of Super Pets'' (2022), which was released theatrically in July and emerged as a success. On November 14, 2019, he had announced a late 2021 release date for the superhero ''Black Adam'' film. Production on '' Black Adam'' began filming in April 2021 and was released on October 21, 2022. He earned to star in the film and received millions more for producing and promoting it on social media. However, the anticipated film received mixed to negative reviews and turned out to be a box office disappointment. Following the failure of ''Black Adam'', Johnson's star power came under scrutiny, and his involvement in creative decisions faced criticism. In 2023, Johnson voiced his Moana character Maui in Disney crossover short film '' Once Upon a Studio''. In May 2023, Johnson reprised his role as Luke Hobbs in a
cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
during the
mid-credits scene A post-credits scene (also known as a stinger, end tag, or credit cookie) is a short teaser clip that appears after the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV show, or video game has run. It is usually i ...
of ''
Fast X ''Fast X'' is a 2023 American action film directed by Louis Leterrier from a screenplay written by Dan Mazeau and Justin Lin, both of whom also co-wrote the story with Zach Dean. It is the sequel to ''F9 (film), F9'' (2021), the tenth main ins ...
''. By the early 2020s, Johnson faced increasing criticism for consistently portraying similar characters, often described as charismatic, larger-than-life figures who are both physically imposing and possess a dry wit. These roles frequently involve action or adventure elements, and the characters tend to be heroic, if sometimes reluctant, protagonists. Johnson has been a member of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...
in the Actor's Branch since 2017. In 2024, he presented an award alongside
Bad Bunny Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio (; born March 10, 1994), better known by his stage name Bad Bunny, is a Puerto Rican rapper and singer. Known as the " King of Latin Trap", Bad Bunny is credited with helping Spanish-language rap music achieve m ...
. In November 2024, Johnson reunited with director
Jake Kasdan Jacob Kasdan (born October 28, 1974) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing ''Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story'' (2007), ''Bad Teacher'' (2011), ''Sex Tape (film), Sex Tape'' (2014), ''Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle'' (2 ...
to star alongside Chris Evans,
Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu (; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Widely regarded as a trailblazer for Asian Americans in arts and entertainment, Asian American representation in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, she is t ...
, and J. K. Simmons, in the Christmas themed action comedy ''Red One'', which didn't fare well both critically and financially. However, it became one of the top streamed movies of 2024 after its release on
Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...
. In the same month, he reprised his voice role of
Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
from '' Moana'' (2016), in its sequel ''
Moana 2 ''Moana 2'' is a 2024 American animated musical film, musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The second film in the Moana_(franchise)#Films, ''Moana'' franchise, it was directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and D ...
''. Despite receiving mixed reception, the film opened strongly and set several box office records. It eventually emerged as the third highest-grossing film of 2024.


Diversification (2025–present)

He will next be seen portraying former
MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...
fighter Mark Kerr in
Benny Safdie Benjamin Safdie (born February 24, 1986) is an American filmmaker, film editor, and actor. He and his elder brother, Josh, have directed the films '' Heaven Knows What'' (2014), '' Good Time'' (2017), and '' Uncut Gems'' (2019). Transitioning ...
's biographical sports drama '' The Smashing Machine'' (2025). Full facial prosthetics and a wig were used to transform Johnson's appearance to resemble Kerr. Subsequently, he will portray Maui again in the live action adaptation '' Moana'' (2026). In February 2025, Johnson was cast in a crime drama film directed by
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...
, alongside
Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...
and
Emily Blunt Emily Olivia Laura Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Emily Blunt, several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition t ...
. The film will depict the mafia's influence in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, with Johnson portraying an aspiring mob boss's rise within the criminal underworld.


Producer

In 2012, Johnson founded his production company
Seven Bucks Productions Seven Bucks Productions is an American production company founded by actor Dwayne Johnson and his manager/ex-wife Dany Garcia in 2012. The company is involved in film, television, digital networks, and emerging technologies. It produces a varie ...
. Though originally attached as producer and star, Johnson will now serve solely as the former on a film adaptation of '' The Janson Directive''.
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...
will fill the leading role, with
Akiva Goldsman Akiva Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes ''The Client (1994 film), The Client''; ''Batman Forever'' and its sequel ''Batman & Robin (film), Batman ...
attached as screenwriter. Additionally, he will produce and star in a Netflix exclusive film titled ''John Henry & The Statesmen'', as the titular folklore hero. The film will be directed by Jake Kasdan, from a script by Kasdan and Tom Wheeler. With the first official teaser trailer released in October 2018, the project marks Kasdan's and Johnson's third collaboration, after ''Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle'' and ''Jumanji: The Next Level''. In 2019, Johnson produced and appeared as himself in '' Fighting with My Family'', a comedy drama about Saraya Bevis and her family, who are also professional wrestlers. Johnson will co-produce and star in ''The King'', a film about king Kamehameha Kūnuiākea, founder and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. The project will be directed by
Robert Zemeckis Robert Lee Zemeckis (born May 14, 1952) is an American filmmaker known for directing and producing a range of successful and influential movies, often blending cutting-edge visual effects with storytelling. He has received several accolades incl ...
from a script by Randall Wallace. The movie will be comparable to ''
Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American epic film, epic historical drama, historical war drama film directed and produced by Mel Gibson, who portrays Scottish warrior William Wallace in the First War of Scottish Independence against Edward I of Engl ...
'' in tone, given Wallace's work on both films, and will depict the king's role in resolving the wars among the islands of Hawaiʻi. ''The King'' was scheduled to begin production in 2020, but was halted by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Johnson is also attached to produce/star in a sequel to ''
Big Trouble in Little China ''Big Trouble in Little China'' (also known as ''John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China'') is a 1986 American fantasy action-comedy film directed by John Carpenter, and starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun and James Hong. The ...
'', as well as project under development with
Shane Black Shane Black (born December 16, 1961) is an American screenwriter, film director, and actor, known for his distinctive style of Action film, action and action comedy films. He is the original creator of the ''Lethal Weapon (franchise), Lethal Wea ...
focusing on a new interpretation of
Doc Savage Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a polymathic scientist, explorer, detective, and warrior who "right ...
. In 2021, his biographical comedy-drama series '' Young Rock'' began airing on NBC. A film centered around Teth-Adam/Black Adam, a part of the
DC Extended Universe The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that appear in American comic books published by DC Comic ...
, was announced to be in development in January 2017. Originally cast in the role as early as September 2014 as the antagonist, in a film centered around the superhero Billy Batson/Shazam, his villainous role for '' Shazam!'' was reworked into two separate films. Johnson did not appear in ''Shazam!'', but he served as a producer and his likeness was used through special effects in flashback scenes.


Business career

In March 2020, Johnson launched Teremana
Tequila Tequila (; ) is a liquor, distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Jalisco, Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands (''Los Altos (Jal ...
, which sold 600,000 nine-litre cases in its first year and is valued at approximately . In August 2020, Johnson along with several partners and investors—including
RedBird Capital Partners RedBird Capital Partners is an American investment management firm founded in 2014 in New York by Gerry Cardinale. The company has assets under management of over $10 billion as of 2022. Investments RedBird is active in several tertiary se ...
—purchased the XFL for . Within months, Johnson announced plans for the relaunch of the league in spring 2022. While the launch was delayed a year, the first games of 2023 kicked off on time. After a successful 2023 season, the XFL and
United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...
announced their intent to merge into a single league. On December 31, 2023, it was announced that the new merged league would be called the United Football League (UFL). The league would feature 8 teams and start on March 30, 2024. Johnson, along with Dany Garcia, and RedBird Capital Partners own 50% of the UFL together under XFL Properties LLC. On January 23, 2024, Johnson joined the
TKO Group Holdings TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (TKO) is an American media conglomerate created by Endeavor as part of a merger between World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) and Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Since ...
board of directors. In the process, he obtained full ownership over his trademarked name "The Rock", which was owned by WWE. As part of the settlement, Johnson signed a new services and merchandising agreement with WWE.


Other work

In 2000, Johnson published his autobiography, ''The Rock Says...'', co-written with Joe Layden. It debuted at No. 1 on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list and remained on the list for several weeks. In 2013, Johnson hosted and produced the
TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
reality competition series '' The Hero''. In 2014, he hosted another TNT reality series, ''Wake Up Call''. In 2019, Johnson started hosting the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
competition series '' The Titan Games''. In March 2016, Johnson partnered with American fitness apparel manufacturer
Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sportswear company that manufactures footwear and clothing, apparel headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. History 20th century Under Armour was founded on September 25, 1996, by Kevin Plank, a ...
to release "Project Rock". The first item in his partnership with Under Armour, a gym bag, sold out in a couple of days. His second item, a black T-shirt sporting his signature "Brahma bull", sold out after being worn at WrestleMania 32. Johnson also released an alarm clock app as part of "Project Rock" that received more than one million downloads in its first week of release. Since then, they have released sneakers, headphones, and other apparel. In 2016, Johnson started his YouTube channel. His first video, ''The YouTube Factory'', featured online personality
Lilly Singh Lilly Singh (born September 26, 1988) is a Canadian YouTuber, television host, comedian and author. She began making YouTube videos in 2010. She originally appeared under the pseudonym Superwoman (stylized IISuperwomanII), her YouTube username ...
and several other internet stars. In 2019, Johnson announced he would launch a competitive bodybuilding show, "Athleticon", with his business partner and ex-wife, Dany Garcia. It is set to rival other long-standing bodybuilding shows such as The Arnold Classic and Joe Weider's Mr. Olympia. The show was set to debut in October 2020 in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, but plans were disrupted by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. A fan of the rapper
Tech N9ne Aaron Dontez Yates (born November 8, 1971), better known by his stage name Tech N9ne (pronounced "tech nine"), is an American rapper and singer. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O'Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold ...
, Johnson is featured on the song " Face Off" from the rapper's 2021 album '' Asin9ne''.


Activism and philanthropy


Politics

As part of WWE's non-partisan "Smackdown Your Vote" campaign aiming to encourage young people to vote, Johnson had a speaking role at the 2000 Republican National Convention and attended the 2000 Democratic National Convention less than two weeks later. Johnson voted for
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
in
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
and
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, but did not vote in
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
, and was an
independent voter An independent voter, often also called an unaffiliated voter or non-affiliated voter in the United States, is a voter who does not align themselves with a political party. An independent is variously defined as a voter who votes for candidate ...
. He endorsed
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
in
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
, but told
Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
in an April 2024 interview that he regretted the decision due to it causing "division" and refused to endorse anyone in
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
. Johnson has expressed interest in running for president, telling ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' in February 2021 that he would "consider a presidential run in the future if that's what the people wanted". Following an online poll which found that 46% of Americans would consider voting for Johnson in an election, he told ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...
'' in April 2021, "I do have that goal to unite our country and I also feel that if this is what the people want, then I will do that".


Charity

Johnson has worked with the Make-A-Wish Foundation on a number of occasions. In 2006, Johnson founded the Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation, a charity working with at-risk and terminally ill children. In 2007, he and his then-wife, Dany Garcia, donated to the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
to support the renovation of its football facilities; the university renamed the
Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...
' locker room in his honor. In 2015, actress Michelle Trachtenberg tagged Johnson in a tweet about an abandoned dog that her local shelter had rescued and named after him, prompting him to donate to the
GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...
for the dog's lifesaving surgery. In 2017, he donated to
Hurricane Harvey Hurricane Harvey was a devastating tropical cyclone that made landfall in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cy ...
relief efforts. In 2018, he donated a gym to a military base in
Oahu, Hawaii Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northw ...
. After the 2018 Hawaii floods, he worked with the nonprofit organization Malama Kauai to help repair flood damage. Johnson made a seven-figure donation to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation during the
2023 SAG-AFTRA strike From July 14 to November 9, 2023, the American actors' union SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) went on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Pro ...
, which foundation president Courtney B. Vance cited as the largest single donation that the foundation had ever received from one individual at one time. The following month, Johnson and
Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...
announced the creation of the People's Fund of Maui in response to the
2023 Hawaii wildfires The 2023 Hawaii wildfires were a series of wildfires that broke out in early August 2023 in the U.S. state of Hawaii, predominantly on the island of Maui. The wind-driven fires prompted evacuations and caused widespread damage, killing at least ...
and asked people to donate. They also donated each to it. The announcement received backlash from fans, who criticized Johnson and Oprah for requesting donations while having
net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, so net w ...
s of and respectively; Johnson apologized in October.


Personal life

In 2009, Johnson obtained
Canadian citizenship Canadian nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Canada. The primary law governing these regulations is the Citizenship Act, which came into force on February 15, 1977 and is applicable to all provinces and ...
through his father's birth and citizenship there. In 2017, he had the small "Brahma bull" tattoo on his right arm covered with a larger half-sleeve tattoo of a bull's skull. Johnson is a supporter of the Samoa national rugby league team, and publicly pledged his support to the team during the
2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received � ...
when the team made the finals for the first time. Johnson has experienced multiple episodes of depression, beginning in his college years. He has spoken publicly about the importance of seeking help and being open about mental health struggles, advocating for increased awareness and support.


Relationships

Johnson first met Dany Garcia when they were both
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
students in the early 1990s. They married on May 3, 1997. She is a businesswoman, International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation professional bodybuilder, and producer. They have one child, Simone, a daughter, who was born August 14, 2001, in
Davie, Florida Davie is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States, approximately north of Miami. The town's population was 110,320 at the 2020 census, making it the largest town in Florida by population. Davie is a principal town of the Miami metropol ...
. In 2003, Johnson got a partial Samoan Peʻa tattoo on his left side. In August 2004, in recognition of his service to the
Samoan people Samoans or Samoan people () are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Samoan Islands, an archipelago in Polynesia, who speak the Samoan language. The group's home islands are politically and geographically divided between the Independent S ...
, and because he is a descendant of Samoan chiefs, Johnson was given the noble title ''Seiuli'', meaning the son of Malietoa 'Alo o Malietoa'' by Malietoa Tanumafili II during his visit there. On June 1, 2007, Johnson and Garcia announced they were separating amicably. The divorce was finalized in May 2008. In 2007, Johnson began dating Lauren Hashian, the daughter of Sib Hashian, the drummer for the band
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. They met in 2006 while Johnson was filming '' The Game Plan''. On August 18, 2019, Johnson and Hashian married in Hawaii. They have two daughters, Jasmine and Tiana, and live in Los Angeles. They also maintain a farm in
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
and a home in Southwest Ranches, Florida. Jasmine and Tiana provided voices for Johnson's 2024 film ''
Moana 2 ''Moana 2'' is a 2024 American animated musical film, musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The second film in the Moana_(franchise)#Films, ''Moana'' franchise, it was directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and D ...
''. In February 2020,
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
announced that Johnson's daughter Simone had started training at the
WWE Performance Center WWE Performance Center (WWE PC) is a group of professional wrestling schools owned by American company WWE. They serve as tryout and training facilities for WWE, and also contain sports science and medical facilities as well as live events and ...
, making her the first fourth-generation WWE wrestler. On May 16, Johnson announced she had signed a contract with WWE, and announced in May 2022 that her ring name would be Ava Raine. She has since been appearing on the NXT brand.


Discography


Singles


As lead artist


As featured artist


Championships and accomplishments

* ''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
'' ** Match of the Year (1999) ** Match of the Year (2002) ** Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1999, 2000) ** Wrestler of the Year (2000) ** Ranked No. 2 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''
PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
'' in 2000 *
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
**Ranked No. 3 of the 20 Greatest WWE Wrestlers Of All Time *
United States Wrestling Association The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Champions ...
** USWA World Tag Team Championship ( 2 times) – with Bart Sawyer * ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
'' ** Best Box Office Draw (2000, 2011, 2012) ** Best Gimmick (1999) ** Best on Interviews (1999, 2000) ** Most Charismatic (1999–2002, 2011, 2012, 2024) ** Most Improved (1998) **
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Mel ...
( Class of 2007) * WWE/World Wrestling Entertainment/Federation **
WWE Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown bran ...
( 8 times) ** WCW Championship ( 2 times) ** WWF Intercontinental Championship ( 2 times) ** WWF Tag Team Championship ( 5 times) – with Mankind (3),
The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...
(1), and
Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...
(1) **
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after, and centered on, the Royal Rumble match, a modified Battle royal (professional wre ...
(
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
) ** Sixth Triple Crown Champion ** Deadly Games WWF Championship Tournament (1998) ** Slammy Award (10 times) *** Best Actor (
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
) *** Game Changer of the Year (
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
) – with
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...
*** Guess Who's Back or: Return of the Year (2011) *** LOL! Moment of the Year (
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
,
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
) – , *** Match of the Year (2013) – *** New Sensation (
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
) *** "Tell Me You Didn't Just Say That" Insult of the Year (2014) – *** "This is Awesome" Moment of the Year (
2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
) – with Ronda Rousey *** Trash Talker of the Year (
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
)


Awards and honors


Notes


References


External links

* * *
Dwayne Johnson profile
at
Miami Hurricanes football The Miami Hurricanes football team represents the University of Miami in college football. The Hurricanes compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Foot ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Dwayne 1972 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors 21st-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers Actors of Samoan descent American professional wrestlers American television producers American emigrants to New Zealand American expatriates in New Zealand American film production company founders American football defensive tackles American male film actors American male professional wrestlers American male television actors American male voice actors American people of Beninese descent American people of Black Nova Scotian descent American people of Irish descent American people of Samoan descent American philanthropists American professional wrestlers of Samoan descent Anoaʻi family Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football defensive linemen Canadian people of Beninese descent Canadian people of Black Nova Scotian descent Film producers from California Freedom High School (Pennsylvania) alumni Illeists Living people Male actors from California Male actors from the San Francisco Bay Area Miami Hurricanes football players Nation of Domination members Pacific Islander American players of American football People from Southwest Ranches, Florida Players of American football from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Hayward, California Players of Canadian football from California President William McKinley High School alumni Professional wrestlers from California Professional wrestlers from Florida Royal Rumble match winners Shorty Award winners Television producers from California University of Miami alumni USWA World Tag Team Champions WCW World Heavyweight Champions World Tag Team Champions (WWE, 1971–2010) WWE Champions WWE executives WWF/WWE Intercontinental Champions XFL (2020–2023) owners