Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had paid tribute to his late father.
On Friday, the “Jumanji: The Next Level” actor wrote a touching post in honor of his dad, Rocky Johnson, whose death was announced by the WWE on Wednesday. He was 75.
As seen on Instagram, the action star posted a vintage wrestling clip of his dad with his "The Soul Patrol" partner, Tony Atlas. A young Dwayne can be seen in the audience, watching his father's introduction by a ring announcer.
In his message, the 47-year-old reminded his followers how his father “broke color barriers, became a ring legend and trail blazed [his] way thru this world.”
Aside from inspiring him to pursue wrestling, Dwayne says Rocky taught him to embrace his black and Samoan lineage.
“I was the boy sitting in the seats, watching and adoring you, my hero from afar,” Dwayne wrote. “The boy you raised to always be proud of our cultures and proud of who and what I am. The boy you raised with the toughest of love.”
Though he wishes he “had one more shot to tell you, I love you, before you crossed over to the other side,” he knows Rocky “lived a very full, very hard, barrier breaking life and left it all in the ring.”
“I love you dad and I’ll always be your proud and grateful son. Go rest high,” Dwayne concluded.
Rocky — born Wayde Douglas Bowles — began his career in the mid-1960s, and was recruited by the World Wrestling Federation in 1982. In 1983, “The Soul Patrol” became the first African-American world tag team champions in WWF (now WWE) history.
Decades later, in 2008, Dwayne inducted his father and his maternal grandfather, Peter "High Chief" Maivia, into the WWE Hall of Fame.
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