THE ROCK

Common misspelling: The Rok, Da Rock

The Rock Biography

The following biography is from Wikipedia.org “The Free Encyclopedia.”

Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972 in Hayward, California), also known by his stage name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. He has starred in such motion pictures as Be Cool, The Mummy Returns, The Rundown, The Scorpion King, Walking Tall, and others.

Johnson first gained mainstream fame as a standout in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Before becoming The Rock, he was known as Rocky Maivia, an homage to his father, Rocky Johnson, and his maternal grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia. Since his entry into acting, Johnson continues to be known simply as The Rock.

****

Early life

Upbringing in Hawaii

Johnson was born into a family of diverse backgrounds and heritage. His father was the Black Canadian professional wrestler Rocky Johnson, a former WWF Tag Team Champion. Johnson's mother Lia Maivia belonged to a royal lineage of Hawaii and Samoa (such Polynesian lineages are interconnected across the Pacific societies). Johnson's maternal grandfather retained the royal title of Ali‘i and was highly respected especially as an elder among Native Hawaiians and Samoans. Peter Maivia was also a professional wrestler, known especially for the tattoos (of great cultural significance) that covered the lower half of his body. In keeping with this tradition, Johnson has also received such tattoos, the most prominent covering his left shoulder and upper chest.

Johnson spent his childhood living near his maternal grandfather and grandmother in Honolulu. He attended local public schools including Washington Intermediate School and President William McKinley High School, both near Ala Moana and Waikiki.

High school in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

As a high school junior, Johnson's father's career uprooted him from his Hawaii home and they relocated to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Johnson cultivated and developed a more intense athleticism in high school, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He began playing football at Freedom High School, a member of the East Penn League (now known as the Lehigh Valley Conference) in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley. It was considered one of the most competitive high school football conferences in the United States.

At the University of Miami

Johnson received various athletic scholarship offers from several universities before choosing to attend the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The University of Miami football program did not openly recruit Johnson; he had to face try-outs to join the program. In 1991, he was part of the Hurricanes' National Championship team.

Considered a candidate for the NFL, Johnson's hopes of a football career was challenged by a severe back injury. After college, Johnson signed a three-year contract with a CFL team instead. However, he was cut from the team after a year. It was then that Johnson decided to follow in his father's and grandfather's footsteps by pursuing a professional wrestling career.

Wrestling career

Along with his father and grandfather, several members of Johnson's family are current and former professional wrestlers, including his uncles, the Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika Anoai), and cousins such as the late former WWF Champion Yokozuna and former WWF Tag Team Champion Rikishi. When he declared his intention to join the family business to his father, the elder Johnson resisted, but agreed to train his son himself, warning him that he would not go easy on him. With help from former WWE executive and veteran wrestler Pat Patterson, Johnson secured a tryout with the WWF. Impressed by his talent and charisma, he was signed to a WWF deal after a short stint for "seasoning" in Jerry Lawler's USWA, where he wrestled under the stage names of Flex Kavana and Pidlaoan Rock.

Johnson first wrestled in the WWF as Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father and grandfather's ring names. The WWF played up his connection to his father and grandfather, calling him the first third-generation superstar to wrestle for the company. Johnson was first portrayed as a clean-cut babyface, and gained early success, winning the prestigious Intercontinental Championship after only three months. He was the first Intercontinental champion of Samoan desent. However, wrestling had changed since Hulk Hogan's heyday in the mid 80s, and fans quickly grew sick of the two-dimensional good guy character. Despite often being loudly booed, Johnson was forced to go to the ring and smile, as if the crowd was cheering (like they were "supposed to").

Eventually, Johnson was allowed to turn heel and joined the Nation of Domination (wrestling's version of the Black Panthers), spewing venom at the fans for turning on him, influenced by Johnson's real-life feelings toward the WWF audience. In the Nation, Rocky Maivia became The Rock, a cocky and charismatic bully who even drove out the Nation's leader Faarooq. Now allowed to be more or less himself (Johnson has often said in interviews that The Rock is merely Dwayne Johnson with "the volume turned way up"), The Rock became wildly popular, establishing several much-quoted catchphrases including "Do you smell what The Rock is cookin'?", "Layeth the Smacketh down," "It Doesn't Matter What Your Name Is!", and "Know your role and shut your mouth!" Johnson's popularity as The Rock propelled him to the WWF Championship in 1998 at age 26. At the time, he was the youngest WWF Champion in history, siding with then-heels Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon as the crown jewel of their "Corporation" stable. Johnson eventually turned face again after the Corporation betrayed him.

The Rock's last heel turn was on Smackdown!, where he publicly criticized rival wrestler Hulk Hogan. They fought at Wrestlemania 18 and later had a rematch at the pay-per-view No Way Out, with the Rock claiming victory both times. It is widely speculated that this turn was due to The Rock's growing Hollywood stardom, giving the appearance of having "sold out" his wrestling roots. The Rock later drafted himself to Raw and started a feud with the Hurricane and other babyfaces. He also had a comical gimmick, where he played the guitar and sang songs mocking the host city for the event. When Steve Austin returned, they once again feuded, with the Rock defeating Austin at Wrestlemania 19; this was the first time the Rock defeated Austin at Wrestlemania, and Austin's last appearance in a wrestling role. The Rock then had a feud with former WCW star Bill Goldberg, losing at Backlash. After that, The Rock turned face once more by betraying Chris Jericho and Christian.

Fueled by the star power of The Rock and other stars such as Stone Cold Steve Austin and Mankind, the WWF experienced a massive surge in popularity not seen since Hulk Hogan's reign in the '80s. In particular, Johnson's extremely entertaining interviews and storylines made WWF programming a must-see for wrestling fans. From 1998 to 2002, The Rock feuded against the WWF's top stars, winning the WWF Championship on several occasions, and eventually crossed over into mainstream popularity, such as with a guest appearance on R&B singer Wyclef Jean's track "It Doesn't Matter" and the accompanying video. While still wrestling full-time, Johnson made an appearance as host of the popular sketch comedy TV series Saturday Night Live. The episode was very popular, and showcased Johnson's acting and comedic ability favorably. After this, Johnson started to get offers from Hollywood for a multitude of different projects. He was a guest star on Star Trek: Voyager and That '70s Show; in the latter, he played the role of his father. The Rock's first role in a major film was a limited appearance as The Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns, and his natural charisma translated well to the silver screen. He made occasional wrestling appearances up to 2004's WrestleMania XX, but has since devoted himself to acting full-time.

The Rock added numerous tattoos to his body over the course of his wrestling career. An early nickname, "The Brahma Bull", came from the steer's head tattoo on his right bicep.

In interviews conducted in 2005, Johnson revealed that his contract with World Wrestling Entertainment expired at the end of 2004. He also stated that he is able to continue using his stage name The Rock as part of a dual-ownership agreement with WWE. Pro Wrestling Insider has since reported that Johnson and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon are back on good terms, and he will continue to appear sporadically for the company, as he did after becoming a successful actor. Announcer Jim Ross' Happy Birthday announcement to The Rock on Raw's May 2 broadcast seemed to confirm this, as Ross stated that The Rock is looking forward to future appearances in WWE. It is unknown whether Johnson has signed a new contract, but it is extremely unlikely that he will ever return to wrestling full-time as long as his Hollywood career continues with success.

Acting career

After The Rock's first role in The Mummy Returns, he reprised his role as The Scorpion King in the 2002 movie of the same name. The movie was generally panned by critics, but was a box-office success, taking in more than $90 million. His five million dollar paycheck for The Scorpion King earned The Rock a listing in the Guinness Book of Records for the highest salary for an actor receiving top billing for the first time. His next role was in The Rundown, a formulaic action/comedy which earned generally favorable reviews from critics initially skeptical of the grappler-turned-actor, but was less financially successful.

In 2004, The Rock starred in a remake of Walking Tall, as war hero-turned-sheriff Chris Vaughn (loosely based on Buford Pusser, the real-life inspiration for the original), who returns to the town where he grew up and rids it of corruption with his trusty four-by-four.

In 2005, The Rock will see more exposure on the big screen as he starred alongside John Travolta and Uma Thurman in Be Cool (where he was Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher's crew members for blowing his trailer up into pieces, while shooting the movie), the sequel to Get Shorty, and will star in Spy Hunter, a movie based on the popular video game. He has been approached to play the role of Duke Nukem in a live action Duke Nukem movie, and will star in a movie based on the popular Doom video game series, which recently finished filming. Johnson will also star in the live-action movie adaptation of the Cartoon Network series Johnny Bravo.

One of The Rock's most anticipated personal projects is the role of Kamehameha, the warrior chief that united the Hawaiian Islands and governed them as the Kingdom of Hawaii. A former Honolulu resident, The Rock developed an admiration for the king who became known as the Napoleon of the Pacific for his skills in warcraft and diplomacy. The Rock signed to create the movie with Columbia Pictures. Its preliminary title will be King Kamehameha and began the first stages of production in Hawaii in 2003.

Salary

Walking Tall (2004) $15,000,000.

The Rundown (2003) $12,500,000.

The Scorpion King (2002) $5,500,000.

Personal Life

Johnson married Dany Garcia on May 3, 1997. They have a daughter, Simone Alexandra.

Trivia

• The Rock married his wife, Dany Garcia, twenty-four hours after his twenty fifth birthday.

• He admitted in the special WrestleMania movie that he is honored and proud to call fellow WWE Superstar Stone Cold Steve Austin his close friend.

• He admits in his book, The Rock Says, that he found his true calling in life as a wrestler after being disappointed in his football career.

• He has held the WWE Championship a total of seven times.

• He was the first and only African American to become WWE Champion.

• Claims in his book, The Rock Says, that such mannerisms like the eyebrow and the words "Jabroni" and even the phrase "If you smell what The Rock is cookin" were things that he did not invent and that they have existed for some time.

• The phrase "Roody poo" is a variation of Iceman Parsons' pet phrase "Rooty Poot".

• He is the first of three 3rd Generation superstars of the WWE- the other two are Chavo Guerrero and Randy Orton.

• Has main evented WrestleMania four times - Losing to Stone Cold Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 15 and 17, losing to HHH at Wrestlemania 2000 (16), and defeating Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 18.

• His last match was a handicap match at WrestleMania 20 against Evolution, with Mick Foley as his partner. He lost the match.

• The tattoo on his arm and left chest muscle is from Samoa, applied when he was given a title of high importance when he visited Samoa in late 2002. At the time, the tattoo only covered his arm. In 2003, he returned to Samoa to complete it.

• He is the only WWE Superstar to have a pay per view and a weekly show named after him or his catchphrases, that being SmackDown! and In Your House: Rock Bottom (which took place in December 13 of 1998). Also, the popular WWE SmackDown! video game series for the Sony PlayStation systems were named after him.

• Reigned as the youngest WWE Champion ever in WWE history only to have his record broken by Brock Lesnar in 2002. Ironically, Brock Lesnar defeated The Rock in order to not only break his record, but also to begin his reign as WWE Undisputed Champion.

• Both The Rock and Stone Cold, the fiercest of rivals (storyline wise) had their last matches at WrestleMania. It is unknown whether The Rock will return to wrestle.

• Has appeared in 8 consecutive WrestleMania events. Five of those appearances were championship matches (two Intercontinental Championship defenses, two WWF Championship defenses, and one challenge for the WWF Championship).

• He has been booed twice at a WrestleMania while as a face- that being WrestleMania 13 (his first WrestleMania) and WrestleMania 18 (when facing Hulk Hogan).

• His wife Dany and his family have been present at two of The Rock's WrestleMania appearances- ironically, both attendances have featured The Rock being booed (WrestleMania 13 and XIX).

• Was formerly an aspiring football star and played for the University of Miami Hurricanes, however, injuries during his senior year limited his playing ability. He would go undrafted and eventually landed in the CFL before quitting football for good. (as quoted in his book The Rock Says).

• Was often compared to Hulk Hogan in terms of accomplishments and popularity before they even met. However, in the special WrestleMania movie, Vince McMahon says "The Rock, as popular as he is, was never quite Stone Cold," referring to the fact that Stone Cold was at one time much popular than The Rock in terms of what he had accomplished. None the less, The Rock was considered to be the "Hulk Hogan" of the new millennium for the WWE.

• Enjoys fishing in his spare time (according to his book The Rock Says).

• The only WWE/WWF performer (superstar) ever to have an appreciation night in their honor.

Filmography

Ride Along (2006, announced)

Southland Tales (2006, pre-production)

Johnny Bravo (2005, announced)

Spy Hunter (2005, pre-production)

Doom (2005, post-production)

Be Cool (2005)

Walking Tall (2004)

The Rundown (2003)

The Scorpion King (2002)

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Longshot (2000)

Famous WWF movies (1999)

Wrestling Profile

Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.95 m)

Weight: 275 lbs (125 kg) (in wrestling prime)

Birthday: May 2, 1972

Hometown: Miami, Florida

Trained By: Rocky Johnson, Pat Patterson

Professional Debut: 1995

Previous Identities: Flex Kavana, Rocky Maivia

Previous Managers: Debra Marshall, Vince McMahon, Trish Stratus

Wrestling quotes

"Layeth the smacketh down."

"If you smell...what The Rock...is...cooking!"

"The Rock says..."

"Know your role and shut your mouth!"

"Finally, The Rock has come back to (name of city)."

"This ain't 'Sing Along With The Rock'!"

"It doesn't matter what you think!"

"Who is this roody-poo?"

"It doesn't matter what your name is!"

"Who in the blue hell are you?"

"The Rock is 'The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment!'"

"Jabroni!"

"Just bring it!"

"I'm gonna take this (object), shine it up real nice, turn it side ways, and stick it straight up your candy ass!"

"Do you like pie?"

"The Rock's gonna take your monkey ass down to the corner of Know Your Role Boulevard and Jabroni Drive and check you in to the Smackdown Hotel!"

"The Rock is going to lay the smack down all over your candy ass!"

"This is The Rock's show! This is SmackDown!"

"The jabroni beating, pie eating, trail blazing, eye brow raising, the best in the present, future and past, and if ya'll don't like me you can kiss the people's ass!"

Finishing maneuvers

Rock Bottom

The People's Elbow

Signature maneuvers

Sharpshooter

Spinebuster

Samoan Drop

Spinning floatover DDT ("Layin' The Smackdown")

DDT ("People's DDT")

People's Punch combo (Punches an opponent twice, then spits on his hand and hits the victim again)

Wrestling championships and accomplishments

WWF/WWE World Heavyweight Champion (7)

1998-11-15–1998-12-29 (Won Tournament)

1999-01-24–1999-01-26

1999-02-15–1999-03-28

2000-04-30–2000-05-21

2000-06-25–2000-10-22 (Pinned Vince McMahon in a Six Man Tag Match with Champion Triple H)

2001-02-25–2001-04-01

2002-07-21–2002-08-25

WWF Intercontinental Champion (2)

1997-02-13–1997-04-28

1997-12-08–1998-08-30 (Awarded by Steve Austin)

WWF World Tag Team Champion (5)

1999-08-30–1999-09-07 (with Mankind)

1999-09-20–1999-09-21 (with Mankind, won a "Dark Side Rules" Match)

1999-10-12–1999-10-18 (with Mankind)

2000-12-18–2000-12-19 (with The Undertaker)

2001-10-22–2001-10-30 (with Chris Jericho)

WCW World Heavyweight Champion (2)

2001-08-19–2001-10-21

2001-11-05–2001-12-09

2000 Royal Rumble Winner

USWA Tag Team Champion (2)

1996-06-17–1996-07-01 (with Bart Sawyer)

1996-07-08–1996-07-15 (with Bart Sawyer)

*    *    *    *

The above biography has been copied in part or in whole from an article on Wikipedia.org "The Free Encyclopedia."  It has been modified under the NGU Free Document License Section 5 in the following manner: (1) All links within the article have been removed, including text links such as "[#]"; (2) The "[Edit]" text and link have been removed [if you would like to update the article, you may do so from the original page]; (3) the table of Contents links and text have been removed; and (4) all of the sections of the original article have not been copied. All of the above text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Document License.

URL of Original Article:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rock_%28entertainer%29

Date Article Copied: September 7, 2005

We will try to replace this article with an original biography in the near future, but we hope this will be of help to our visitors in the mean time.

 The Rock Contact Information: Click the following link to Contact Any Celebrity

The Rock Links Pages

Celebrity-Link.com

Clago.com

IMDb.com

MenCelebs.com

THE ROCK VIDEOS, PHOTOGRAPHS AND POSTERS

 

Click Here for dozens of more The Rock Pics and Posters