PERSONAL LIFE - Loyalty

A FAMILY MAN, BORN AND BRED TO BE A SUPERSTAR

• Of Samoan and Canadian descent, Dwayne Douglas Johnson was born in Hayward, CA on May 2, 1972, making him a shade under 40, today.

• Family is engrossed in wrestling, from his grandfather, Great Chief Peter Maivia, his grandmother, who was apparently a promoter, to his father, Rocky Johnson, who was also a wrestler.
• Though there were many Samoan and African-American wrestlers before him, The Rock has been, without a doubt, the most visible.

Great Chief Pete Maivia

Rocky Johnson

• Having bloodline ties to royalty through his mother, he takes his Samoan heritage very seriously. He was given the title Seiuli by the then Samoan King Malietoa Tanumafili II in 2004 and often returns to the island of Samoa, as well as New Zealand. Royal Homecoming
• His left shoulder tattoo is of Samoan design which he got after receiving his Samoan title.
• The tattoo on his right arm, the Brahma Bull, is a bull that can withstand harsh heat conditions and can be found in Polynesian areas like where he's from. But, reportedly, he chose it for his Zodiac sign, Taurus. 
• Tattoo breakdown

• He was well-traveled by the time he was 18, having lived in Hawaii, New Zealand, and finally landing in Pennsylvania, where he took off as a high school athlete.

• Member of undefeated 1991 National Champion Miami Hurricanes football team, which Warren Sapp was apparently on, as well.
• After a back injury, he played in the CFL in 1995 for a short while, before going into pro wrestling a year later.
• Playing in Canada, on the Calgary Stampeders, with Doug Flutie as a teammate, was apparently one of the worst experiences he'd ever had, sleeping on a mattress he'd found in a hotel dumpster and scamming food wherever he could. Ebony Article

• Heavily involved in philanthropic endeavors. 
• Created the Dwayne Johnson, or DJ, Rock Foundation, which focuses on terminally-ill and less-than-fortunate children.
• Donated to Miami University, establishing a wing with his family’s name.
• Created Team Bring It, a group that pledges, in no particular fashion, to “bring it” every day in whatever juggernaut-like fashion they can, which now stands +1,000,000 strong via twitter followers and facebook users.
• Other philanthropic work

• Recently divorced, but still remains close to his wife and daughter.
• He was honored in Washington DC for his efforts with the DJ Rock Foundation in 2009 and, in his speech, thanked his “beautiful partner, Dany,” who attended the event with him. Ceremony

• Co-authored his autobiography, The Rock Says. . ., which was published in 2000 and goes over his childhood, athletic career, and much of his wrestling career. It debuted at #1 on the New York’s Best Seller list and has an overwhelming amount of positive reviews on Amazon. The Rock Says. . .

• He claims to be close friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as Michael Clarke Duncan.

@TheRock I've been "assigned" to research u, ur accomplishments + ur endeavors as uve put foot2ass over ur life. Where wud u have me start?

. . . . . 

@Dothisfirst Me coming out of the womb ready to kick ass. Good luck on your assignment!

WWE - Determined

THE MOST ELECTRIFYING MAN IN SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT

• After leaving football in ’95, he made first appearance in United States Wrestling Alliance under the name "Flex Kavana" in 1996 and made his way to the WWF that same year, donning his new moniker, The Rock.
• He was trained by his father, Rocky Johnson, who spent the better part of 3 decades in wrestling, and Pat Patterson, who is credited as the first WWE Intercontinental Champ.

• His debut, the 1996 Survivor Series, was an incredible one, where he won, being the sole survivor, which led to him garnering the Intercontinental Championship for the first time.

• Knowing wrestling, there’s a good guy (in wrestler's terms, a "babyface") and bad guy ("heel") image, both of which he’s had to play. Initially a babyface, he came into the limelight as a heel with the Nation of Domination, along with fellow wrestlers Faarooq, D’Lo Brown and Kama, who is also known as The Godfather.
• At this time, The Rock developed his persona, referring to himself in 3rd person and talking the best trash that the WWF has ever seen with words like "Jabroni" and eventually donning the distinction of "The People's Champion."

• He won his first of 7 WWF/WWE Championships in 1998. He was the youngest in history (26) to hold the title until Brock Lesnar, at 25, broke his record, by beating The Rock at Summerslam in 2002.

• The Attitude Era, from ’98 to ’02 or ’03, was an incredible time in pro wrestling. The Rock feuded with everyone he could and beat everyone he could. Here’s a short list of the titles he claimed in that era:
• WWF/WWE Champion - Nov. ’98, Jan. ’99, Feb. ’99, Apr. ’00, June ’00, Feb. ’01, July ’02
• Tag Team Champion - 



The Rock 'n' Sock Connection

• The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection (The Rock & Mankind) - Aug. ’99, Sept. ’99, Oct. ’99
• The Rock & Undertaker - Dec. '00
• The Rock & Chris Jericho - Oct. '01

• Royal Rumble Champion - 2000
• Intercontinental Champion - Feb. ’97, Dec. ’97
• Here's a list of the WWF/WWE Champions over the years.

• He retired in ’04, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008, and came back recently in 2011 to defeat John Cena. He’s headlined last year’s WrestleMania and he’ll do the same this year.

MOVIES - Uninhibited

THE PEOPLE'S CHAMP

• The Rock's first on-screen feature was a documentary titled Beyond The Mat, which was a behind-the-curtain look at professional wrestling. It was primarily focused on Mick Foley (Mankind, Cactus Jack), Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and Terry Funk, but featured The Rock in a climactic, all-time "I Quit" match between he and Mick Foley.
• The "I Quit" match won 1999's Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Match Of The Year award. 
• The first step he took on his own out of wrestling and into Hollywood stardom took place when he hosted Saturday Night Live in 2000.
• Hilarious episode. Epic performances - SNL Debut
• He’s hosted two more episodes, being the only WWE star to have hosted more than one. Charles Barkley is the only other athlete to have hosted 3 SNL episodes.

• He had some fantastic guest spots on TV before going to films. On That 70’s Show, Dwayne played his father, pro wrestler Rocky Johnson, and claimed that his son would be “...the most electrifying man in sports entertainment.” 

  

• A year later, he was featured in Star Trek Voyager, giving 7 of 9 the Rock Bottom.

• He first appeared in The Mummy Returns in ’01. The following year, a spin-off film, The Scorpion King, garnered him $5.5M, setting the curve as the largest initial payday for a first-time feature actor.

• The next few years, he starred in mature, gritty roles, playing to the masses that knew him. 
• The Rundown - Alongside Stiffler (Seann William Scott), he plays hero to a village in the Amazon.
• Walking Tall - Following the same sort of plotline as The Rundown, he fights for his hometown against money-hungry bad guys.
• Gridiron Gang - Coached a group of delinquent teens in one of his better-written roles.
• Southland Tales - A confusing almost-apocalyptic film directed by the guy who did Donnie Darko.
• In Be Cool, he showed off his comedic chops in his small role.
• He also led the way in Doom, a movie based on the first-person shooter video game, which he says hurt the genre and wishes was better. He was nominated for Razzie awards for both The Scorpion King and Walking Tall, and won Worst Actor for his role in Doom.

• He used the moniker “The Rock” one last time for the film The Game Plan, which was a more adolescent movie.
• This trend of taking roles in movies branded for families has been something that Dwayne has almost taken over his film career. Here’s a list of movies that fit the description which he’s starred in:
• Get Smart - his role was severely held back in the TV show remake
• Race To Witch Mountain - cab driver for kids that need to get to a UFO convention
• Tooth Fairy - a hockey player who becomes a tooth fairy, literally
• Planet 51 - a voiceover role as a human astronaut which lands on an alien planet
• He’s also appeared in multiple children’s TV shows, like Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place.
• It’s worth mentioning that, though these appearances and films may not have been “manly,” they cleaned up, financially. Tooth Fairy grossed over $111 million worldwide, Witch Mountain grossed $106 million, and Get Smart did $130 million, domestically. Say what you will about “keepin’ it real,” the guy knows how to pick money-making roles.

• As of late, the movie-pendulum has swung back to his alpha-persona, where he’s been prominent bad ass characters in Faster, The Other Guys, and Fast Five. Faster received weak reviews but made its money back, and the other two movies were box office successes.

• He’s currently filming Snitch, playing a DEA agent alongside Berry Pepper and Susan Sarandon. He’s in the G.I. Joe sequel, Retaliation, as one of the main characters, which is slated to release later this year, and his new film, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, another kid-focused film, will be released February 10th.
• There are reports that he's going to star in a biopic of country music singer Charley Pride in Variety
• He's voiced an interest in being a villain in a James Bond film, seeing as his grandfather was actually a villain in You Only Live Twice.