Tag: Rocky Johnson

The Rock Pays Tribute To His Father Rocky Johnson With Instagram Post

The Rock took to Instagram and Twitter today to pay tribute to his father, WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson.

“I love you,” The Rock wrote. “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 deep complex 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 [Goat emoji]”

As noted, the former WWE Tag Team Champion passed away at the age of 75 on Wednesday.

It was reported earlier today, via the Wrestling Observer, that Johnson had been sick in the weeks leading up to his passing. Brian Blair, head of the Cauliflower Alley Club who first announced the passing, told the Observer that Johnson had been sick for a few weeks and thought he h ad the flu. Blair advised Johnson to go to the doctor or hospital after he had been sick for a week, but he did not go to the doctor, and passed away at his home in Lutz, Florida on Wednesday. The cause of death has not been ruled as the autopsy was not completed as of Thursday.

Rocky Johnson Passed Away At 75

WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson has passed away yesterday at the age of 75.

WWE NXT tapings and AEW tapings opened up with ten-bell salutes to WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson, who has passed away at the age of 75.

Below is WWE’s full video of the ten-bell salute from the NXT Arena at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL, which was led by Alicia Taylor.

Below is the graphic that was shown on the USA Network as NXT hit the air, and AEW’s Twitter graphic on Johnson, which was shown on TNT as last night’s Dynamite episode hit the air. AEW announcer Jim Ross also mentioned Johnson’s passing as Dynamite hit the air.

https://twitter.com/WWE/status/1217613066952749056

https://twitter.com/AEWrestling/status/1217602353890648064

WWE issued the following statement on Johnson’s passing:

WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson passes awayWWE is saddened to learn that Rocky “Soul Man” Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles), a WWE Hall of Famer, former World Tag Team Champion, and father of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, has passed away at age 75.

Johnson’s sports-entertainment career began in the mid-1960s when he made a memorable impression in the National Wrestling Alliance. However, Johnson found his highest levels of success when he began his WWE tenure in 1983.

The physically imposing and wildly charismatic Johnson had several memorable rivalries with the likes of Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, Don Muraco and Adrian Adonis. He found his greatest success when he teamed up with Tony Atlas as The Soul Patrol. The two men became the first African-American World Tag Team Champions in WWE history when they defeated The Wild Samoans on Dec. 10, 1983.

The “Soul Man” retired from the ring in 1991, but his imprint continued to be felt on WWE for years to come. Post-retirement, Johnson had a hand in training his son, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The Rock would become one of the biggest stars in the history of sports-entertainment and carried on his father’s legacy with pride.

In 2008, Johnson achieved the highest honor in sports-entertainment when he was inducted by The Rock into the WWE Hall of Fame where he will be forever enshrined as one of sports-entertainment’s most influential performers.

WWE extends its condolences to Johnson’s family, friends and fans.

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon took to Twitter today to pay tribute to WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson.

https://twitter.com/VinceMcMahon/status/1217807369956155394

As of this posting The Rock Dwayne Johnson hasn’t made a comment on social media on his father’s passing.