Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is a multifaceted American entertainer, renowned as both an actor and a professional wrestler. He rose to prominence in WWE during the Attitude Era, achieving widespread recognition as one of wrestling's all-time greats. Transitioning to acting, Johnson became one of the highest-grossing and highest-paid actors globally, with his films earning billions. Beyond entertainment, he's a co-owner of the United Football League, a board member of TKO Group Holdings (UFC/WWE's parent), and co-founder of Seven Bucks Productions, showcasing his entrepreneurial ventures.
Mid 20th century (1950−1969)
Mid 20th century (1950−1969)
On May 2, 1972, Dwayne Douglas Johnson, known as The Rock, was born. He is an American actor, producer, professional wrestler, and businessman.
Late 20th century (1975−1999)
In 1982, Dwayne Johnson's maternal grandmother, Lia Maivia, took over Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling after her husband's death.
In 1983, Dwayne Johnson's father and Tony Atlas were the first black tag team champions in WWE history.
Dwayne Johnson's maternal grandmother, Lia, managed Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling until 1988, after taking over in 1982.
In 1990, Dwayne Johnson graduated from Freedom High School in Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania.
In 1991, Dwayne Johnson was a member of the Miami Hurricanes football team, which won the national championship that year.
In 1991, Dwayne Johnson was a member of the University of Miami's national championship football team, primarily serving as a backup player.
In 1995, Dwayne Johnson graduated with a Bachelor of General Studies and a dual major in criminology and physiology from the University of Miami.
In 1995, Dwayne Johnson went undrafted in the NFL draft. He briefly signed with the Calgary Stampeders but was cut during his first season.
In 1995, after graduating, Dwayne Johnson was signed by the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League but was cut two months into the season.
On November 4, 1996, Dwayne Johnson, as Rocky Maivia, made his WWF debut on Monday Night Raw as a member of Marc Mero's entourage.
In 1996, Dwayne Johnson's father assisted him in securing a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
In 1996, after being cut by Calgary Stampeders, Dwayne Johnson began his professional wrestling career. He secured tryout matches with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and later signed a contract with them after wrestling in the USWA.
On February 13, 1997, Rocky Maivia won the Intercontinental Championship from Hunter Hearst Helmsley on Monday Night Raw.
The Rock feuded with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Ken Shamrock throughout the end of 1997 and the beginning of 1998.
On January 19, 1998, at the Royal Rumble, the Rock defeated Ken Shamrock by disqualification to retain the Intercontinental Championship.
In 1998, The Rock and the Nation feuded with Triple H and D-Generation X (DX), leading to matches at King of the Ring and Fully Loaded: In Your House.
In 1998, The Rock experienced a surge in fan support and began solidifying his famous persona, which lasted until 2000.
On January 4, 1999, during the episode of Raw Is War, Mankind defeated The Rock for the WWF Championship.
On April 29, 1999, the pilot episode of WWF SmackDown! aired, with the term "SmackDown!" derived from one of the Rock's catchphrases. In the episode, the Rock continued his feud with The Corporate Ministry.
In 1999, Johnson appeared on That '70s Show as his father Rocky Johnson.
In 1999, The Rock's "I quit" match with Mankind at the Royal Rumble event became infamous for its brutality, establishing itself as one of the most popular "I quit" matches of all time.
In 1999, The Rock's first television acting job was portraying his father, Rocky Johnson, in an episode of That '70s Show called "That Wrestling Show".
In 1999, WWE introduced its second flagship program, WWE SmackDown, derived from one of The Rock's catchphrases "lay the smackdown."
In 1999, the Rock was listed No. 1 on Entertainment Weekly's Top 12 Entertainers of the Year, marking his growing fame and influence.
Late 20th century (1975−1999)
On January 23, 2000, at the Royal Rumble, the Rock entered the Royal Rumble match and was one of the final two remaining along with Big Show. Despite the Rock winning, his feet accidentally hit the floor during a reversal attempt, leading to Big Show claiming to be the rightful winner.
On May 1, 2000, The Rock's WWF Championship defense against Shane McMahon got an 8.3 rating, making it the highest-rated segment of all time, behind "This Is Your Life".
On October 22, 2000, at No Mercy, The Rock lost the WWF Championship to Kurt Angle.
In 2000, Access Hollywood ranked the Rock No. 1 in their list of the Top 10 Celebrities, and he was also listed in the Forbes Celebrity 100 and People Magazine's 25 Most Intriguing People.
In 2000, Dwayne Johnson won the Royal Rumble.
In 2000, Dwayne Johnson's autobiography, "The Rock Says", was released and became a New York Times bestseller.
In 2000, The Rock appeared on Wyclef Jean's single "It Doesn't Matter" and hosted Saturday Night Live (SNL) for the first time, leading to Hollywood offers.
In 2000, The Rock holds the record for most Raw shows main-evented in one year (38), most SmackDown shows main-evented in one year (36), and is tied with Stone Cold Steve Austin for most PPV shows main evented in one year (12).
The Rock's famous persona, developed since 1998, would last until 2000.
On February 25, 2001, at No Way Out, The Rock pinned Kurt Angle to win the WWF Championship for a sixth time.
On November 1, 2001, on an episode of SmackDown!, The Rock and Chris Jericho lost the WWF Tag Team Championship to Booker T and Test.
In 2001, Dwayne Johnson had his first film role in "The Mummy Returns".
In 2001, The Rock appeared at the official Xbox unveiling and made his motion picture debut as The Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns, which broke a box office record.
In 2001, The Rock is tied with Stone Cold Steve Austin for most PPV shows main evented in one year (12).
In 2001, The Rock made his theatrical debut in The Mummy Returns, playing the antagonist Mathayus "The Scorpion King".
In 2001, The Rock was listed on Entertainment Weekly's 101 Most Influential People and E!'s 20 Top Entertainers, highlighting his continued impact.
In 2001, The Rock's return to WWE had a 7.1 rating, marking the highest-rated segment of the year.
On January 20, 2002, at Royal Rumble, The Rock unsuccessfully challenged Chris Jericho for the Undisputed WWF Championship.
On March 25, 2002, during the WWF's "draft lottery" on Raw, the Rock was the number one overall pick, going to the SmackDown! brand before taking a sabbatical from wrestling.
In 2002, The Rock reprised his role as Mathayus and starred as the titular character in the spin-off film The Scorpion King.
In 2002, The Rock was listed on E!'s 25 Toughest Stars, reinforcing his tough image.
On January 30, 2003, The Rock returned to SmackDown! to set up another match with Hulk Hogan, turning heel and adopting a new persona called Hollywood Rock.
In 2003, The Rock worked in the action film The Rundown.
In 2003, the Rock was listed in VH1's 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons and was No. 7 in People Magazine's 50 Favorite TV Stars, solidifying his status as a pop culture icon.
On March 14, 2004, at WrestleMania XX, the Rock aided Mick Foley in his feud against Evolution. The Rock 'n' Sock Connection lost against Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Batista in a handicap match when Orton pinned Foley after an RKO. This marked Johnson's final wrestling match until November 2011.
Before March 12, 2012 on Raw Supershow, The Rock last hosted his first "Rock Concert" in 2004.
In 2004, The Rock worked in the action film Walking Tall.
In 2005, The Rock had a supporting role in the comedy Be Cool and was the primary antagonist in the horror film Doom.
In 2006, The Rock made his voice acting debut in the video game Spyhunter: Nowhere to Run.
In 2006, The Rock worked in the sports drama Gridiron Gang and the thriller Southland Tales.
On March 12, 2007, the Rock appeared on a WWE show after nearly three years, via a pre-taped promo shown during Raw, correctly predicting Bobby Lashley would defeat Umaga at WrestleMania 23.
In 2007, Dwayne Johnson starred in the family film "The Game Plan".
In 2007, The Rock appeared in the comedy Reno 911!: Miami and had further success in the sports family comedy The Game Plan.
In 2007, the term "smackdown," popularized by The Rock, was included in Merriam-Webster dictionaries.
On March 29, 2008, Johnson inducted his father Rocky Johnson and grandfather Peter Maivia into the WWE Hall of Fame.
In 2008, Dwayne Johnson inducted his father and grandfather into the WWE Hall of Fame.
In 2008, Dwayne Johnson starred in the action comedy film "Get Smart".
On September 30, 2009, the Rock appeared at a World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) show to support the professional wrestling debut of Sarona Snuka.
On October 2, 2009, The Rock made a pre-taped promo appearance during the Decade of SmackDown.
In 2009, Dwayne Johnson starred in the family film "Race to Witch Mountain".
In 2009, The Rock voiced NASA astronaut Chuck in the animated sci-fi comedy Planet 51.
In 2010, Dwayne Johnson starred in the family film "Tooth Fairy".
In 2010, The Rock played the title character in the fantasy comedy Tooth Fairy and a police officer in the buddy cop comedy The Other Guys, and returned to action genre in the unsuccessful Faster.
On February 14, 2011, the Rock was announced as the host of WrestleMania XXVII, appearing live on Raw.
On April 3, 2011, the Rock hosted WrestleMania XXVII and started a feud with John Cena.
In November 2011, The Rock returned to wrestling after WrestleMania XX on March 14, 2004.
In 2011, Dwayne Johnson joined the "Fast & Furious" film franchise, starting with "Fast Five", which helped the franchise become one of the highest-grossing.
In 2011, Dwayne Johnson returned to WWE as a part-time performer.
In 2011, The Rock had his first big box-office success, portraying Luke Hobbs in Fast Five.
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.
On March 12, 2012, The Rock hosted his first "Rock Concert" segment since 2004 on Raw SuperShow, mocking John Cena in his songs.
In 2012, Dwayne Johnson starred in the action film "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island".
Raw 1000 was the highest rated Raw episode of 2012 and The Rock's segment with CM Punk and Daniel Bryan was the highest rated segment of the show.
On January 7, 2013, the Rock returned on Raw to confront his Royal Rumble opponent, CM Punk, building anticipation for their upcoming match.
In 2013, Dwayne Johnson continued as a part-time performer in WWE, following his return in 2011.
In 2013, Dwayne Johnson starred in the action film "G.I. Joe: Retaliation".
In 2013, Hulk Hogan said that he and The Rock changed the style of their WrestleMania X8 match on the fly based on the crowd's response.
In 2013, the night after The Rock won the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble, Raw got its highest rating of that year.
In April 2014, the Rock made an appearance in the opening segment of WrestleMania XXX, alongside Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan, marking a memorable moment for fans.
In 2014, Dwayne Johnson starred in the action film "Hercules".
In 2014, The Rock starred as the title character in Hercules and hosted the TNT reality series Wake Up Call.
On January 25, 2015, at the Royal Rumble, the Rock helped his relative Roman Reigns fend off Big Show and Kane, endorsing Reigns after his victory in the main event match.
On March 29, 2015, The Rock appeared at WrestleMania 31 alongside Ronda Rousey, engaging in an in-ring altercation with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon and ultimately prevailing.
In 2015, Dwayne Johnson produced and starred in the HBO comedy-drama series "Ballers".
In 2015, Dwayne Johnson starred in the action film "San Andreas".
In 2015, The Rock reprised his role as Luke Hobbs in Furious 7 and starred in the disaster film San Andreas.
On January 25, 2016, the Rock was in a segment on Raw where he conversed with various wrestlers before he and The Usos had an altercation with The New Day.
On April 3, 2016, at WrestleMania 32, the Rock announced a new attendance record, defeated Erick Rowan in six seconds, and was aided by John Cena in fending off The Wyatt Family.
In 2016, Dwayne Johnson starred in "Central Intelligence" and voiced Maui in the Disney animated film "Moana".
In 2016, The Rock co-starred with Kevin Hart in the action-comedy Central Intelligence and had a lead voice role in the Disney animated film Moana, in which he voiced Maui.
In 2016, The Rock reprised his voice role of Maui from Moana.
In 2016, Time named Dwayne Johnson as one of the world's most influential people.
On February 20, 2017, after the broadcast of Raw, the Rock made an untelevised appearance to promote and film a scene for his then-upcoming movie, Fighting with My Family.
In 2017, Dwayne Johnson starred in "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" and "Baywatch".
In 2017, The Rock reprised his role as Luke Hobbs in The Fate of the Furious and starred in Baywatch and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.
In September 2018, principal photography began for Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, starring The Rock alongside Jason Statham.
In 2018, Dwayne Johnson starred in "Skyscraper" and "Rampage".
In 2018, Sean Coyle writing for ESPN.com, noted in a retrospective review of SummerSlam that The Rock "started to see a dip in fan support" and "that dip turned into a plunge" by the time of his match with Brock Lesnar, because fans knew he was leaving WWE to pursue an acting career.
In 2018, The Rock starred in Rampage and Skyscraper.
On July 26, 2019, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, starring The Rock and Jason Statham, was released.
On August 3, 2019, the Rock officially announced his retirement from professional wrestling, marking the end of an era.
On September 30, 2019, after speculation, the Rock announced he would appear on SmackDown's 20th Anniversary, marking his return to the show after several years.
On October 4, 2019, the Rock appeared on SmackDown's 20th Anniversary, cutting a promo with Becky Lynch and attacking King Corbin, marking his first SmackDown appearance since October 2014 and his first televised appearance since April 2016.
On December 13, 2019, Jumanji: The Next Level, starring The Rock, was released.
In 2019, Dwayne Johnson retired from WWE, after several years of sporadic appearances.
In 2019, Dwayne Johnson starred in the family film "Jumanji: The Next Level".
In 2019, Dwayne Johnson's show "Ballers" ended.
On March 16, 2021, The Rock appeared for the first time as the video game character, The Foundation, in Fortnite Battle Royale.
In April 2021, production on Black Adam began filming.
On July 30, 2021, Disney's Jungle Cruise, co-starring The Rock and Emily Blunt, was released.
On December 4, 2021, The Rock's involvement as The Foundation in Fortnite Battle Royale was confirmed.
At the 2021 Survivor Series, WWE held a 25-man Battle Royal to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of The Rock's WWE debut, which was won by Omos.
In 2021, Dwayne Johnson produced and starred in the autobiographical sitcom "Young Rock".
In 2021, Dwayne Johnson starred in "Jungle Cruise" and "Red Notice".
On October 21, 2022, Black Adam, starring The Rock, was released but received mixed to negative reviews and was a box office disappointment.
In 2022, Dwayne Johnson joined the DC Extended Universe by playing the title role in "Black Adam".
In May 2023, The Rock reprised his role as Luke Hobbs in a cameo appearance during the mid-credits scene of Fast X.
On September 15, 2023, the Rock made a surprise return to SmackDown, interacting with Pat McAfee and Austin Theory, marking his first WWE televised appearance since October 4, 2019.
In 2023, Dwayne Johnson returned to WWE once again on a part-time basis.
In 2023, Dwayne Johnson's show "Young Rock" ended.
On January 1, 2024, the Rock made a live appearance on Raw, confronting Jinder Mahal and referencing Roman Reigns, his relative and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
As of October 2024, the Rock's Instagram account is the sixth most-followed globally, boasting over 395 million followers, illustrating his expansive influence on social media.
In November 2024, The Rock starred in Red One and reprised his voice role of Maui from Moana (2016), in its sequel Moana 2.
In 2024, Dwayne Johnson will reprise his role as the voice of Maui in the Disney animated film "Moana 2".
In 2024, the Rock joined Roman Reigns' faction, The Bloodline, debuted a new "Hollywood Rock" persona, and received a "People's Championship" from Muhammad Ali's wife, Lonnie. During WrestleMania XL, The Rock teamed up with Reigns to defeat Rhodes and Rollins, but he was chokeslammed by The Undertaker and Rhodes defeated Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Championship. The next night on Raw, the Rock congratulated Rhodes and revealed that he would be leaving for a while, but would be coming after Rhodes when he returns, allowing Johnson time off to film the biopic The Smashing Machine.
On January 6, 2025, The Rock returned on the Raw premiere on Netflix, thanking Cody Rhodes for his work and embracing Roman Reigns after his victory, signifying evolving relationships within the wrestling world.
On September 1, 2025, The Smashing Machine, starring The Rock, premiered at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, receiving a standing ovation and a Golden Lion award nomination.
On October 3, 2025, The Smashing Machine, starring The Rock, had its wide release but was met with a poor theatrical response.
In 2026, Dwayne Johnson will reprise the role as the voice of Maui in the live-action remake of "Moana".
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