Rocky Johnson, Dwayne Johnson’s Father, Passes Away At The Age Of 75

Updated
by Lindsay Wilson

The former WWE star Rocky Johnson, Dwayne Johnson’s father, passed away on Wednesday 15th January 2020 at the age of 75.

Dwayne Johnson and his father Rocky Johnson
© The Wrap
Dwayne Johnson and his father Rocky Johnson

Rocky Johnson has fallen

On Wednesday 15th January 2020, Rocky Johnson, a legend in pro-wrestling, passed away at the age of 75. He was father to another well-known WWE superstar Dwayne Johnson, known around the world under his pseudonym ‘The Rock’.

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WWE announced the death of the former pro-wrestler on social media but did not specify the reason behind his death.

Wayde Douglas Bowles, as was his real name, will go down a legend in the world of sport. After his retirement from the field in 1991, Rocky Johnson swapped his role as a father for that of a mentor in order to train his worthy successor, his own son, Dwayne Johnson. The two men both joined the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson made a post on Instagram in memory of his late father and received thousands of comments from supporters and well-wishers.

View this post on Instagram

I love you. You broke color barriers, became a ring legend and trail blazed your way thru this world. I was the boy sitting in the seats, watching and adoring you, my hero from afar. 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. The intense work. The hard hand. The adoring boy who wanted to know only your best qualities. Who then grew to become a man realizing you had other deeply complicated sides that needed to be held and understood. Son to father. Man to man. That’s when my adoration turned to respect. And my empathy turned to gratitude. Grateful that you gave me life. Grateful you gave me life’s invaluable lessons. Dad, I wish I had one more shot to tell you, I love you, before you crossed over to the other side. But you were ripped away from me so fast without warning. Gone in an instant and no coming back. Im in pain. But we both know it’s just pain and it’ll pass. Now I’ll carry your mana and work ethic with me, as it’s time to move on because I have my family to feed and work to accomplish. Finally, I want you to rest your trailblazing soul, Soulman. Pain free, regret free, satisfied and at ease. You 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. #ripsoulman #rockyjohnson 🐐

A post shared by therock (@therock) on

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