Dwayne Johnson (born May 2, 1972),
also known by his former
ring name The Rock, and occasionally credited as
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, is an American
actor and retired
professional wrestler.
Johnson was a
collegiate football player, and in 1991, he was part of the
University of Miami's national championship team. He later played for the
Calgary Stampeders in the
Canadian Football League, but was cut two months into the season.
This led to his decision to become a professional wrestler, like his grandfather,
Peter Maivia and his father
Rocky Johnson.
He gained mainstream fame as a wrestler in
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), originally known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1996 to 2004, and was the first third-generation superstar in wrestling history. Johnson was quickly given a push in WWE, first as "Rocky Maivia", and then as "The Rock", a member of the
Nation of Domination. Two years after he joined the WWE, Johnson won the
WWF Championship, and became one of the most popular wrestlers within the company for his engaging interviews and
promos. In 2001 he began acting and occasionally returned to the ring. Dwayne now primarily focuses on acting.
In professional wrestling, Johnson was a nine-time
world champion, having won the
WWF/E Championship seven times (with his last reign being the WWE Undisputed Champion) and the
WCW Championship two times. In addition to these championships, Johnson has also won the
WWF Intercontinental Championship two times and the
WWF Tag Team Championship five times. He is also the sixth
WWF/E Triple Crown champion and was the winner of the
2000 Royal Rumble.
