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The Rock was born Dwayne Johnson on May 2, 1972 in the state of California. His mother is of Samoan heritage, the daughter of The High Chief Peter Maivia, and his father, the great legend Rocky Johnson, is of African-Canadian heritage. The Rock progressed into sports by playing high school football at the age of 14 at Freedom High in Bethleham, Pa. By his senior year, Dwayne was considered one of the top 10 defensive tackles in the country.
This earned him a five year scholarship and Dwayne accepted. While playing for the Miami Hurricanes, Dwayne won a National championship in his very first year (1991). In 1995, Dwayne graduated and signed a contract with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. After playing on the team for one season, Dwayne decided that football wasn't for him and decided to take a crack at what was in his blood: Professional Wrestling.
Dwayne signed a contract with the WWF in March of 1996 and began wrestling in the USWA (owned by the WWF). He wrestled under the name Flex Kavana and used his time in the minor league of wrestling to hone his skills. The WWF brass took note and started promoting Dwayne in the big leagues (The World Wrestling Federation).
On November 17 1996, Dwayne made his WWF debut as Rocky Maivia in a 6 man Survivor Series match and won. Dwayne combined both his grandfathers name (Peter Maivia) and his fathers name (Rocky Johnson) to honor them, thus forming the name Rocky Maivia.
After six months in the WWF, Rocky defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Triple H) to win the Intercontinental Belt (the most prestigious belt after the World Championship belt).
All that success in the ring earned him "The Best Newcomer Of The Squared Circle" Slammy Award. Professional wrestling's equivalent of "Rookie of the Year". Quite the honor for young Dwayne.
But everything wasn't roses for Dwayne Johnson. Shortly after winning the Intercontinental belt, he suffered a serious knee injury that put him out of action for a few months. It is during this time that Dwayne cooked up his current ring persona: The Rock.
Upon his return to the WWF, the Brahma Bull (he has a tattoo of a Brahma bull on his right arm) came back with an attitude. He came back more cocky and more arrogant than ever before. He became the man the fans loved to hate. In wrestling parlance, he became the WWF's number one heel. He became the leader of the "Nation of Domination" and on the strength of his charisma, fans began loving him…even if he was a heel!
His popularity began to skyrocket to levels never before seen. The Rock became even more self-centered and began referring to himself as "The People's Champ" and "The Great One"... and the fans ate it up. He then pushed his trademarks to even higher levels. One funny gesture he does is called "The People's Eyebrow" whereby he lifts his right eyebrow very high while staring into the camera.
It began as a joke in high school and carried over into his WWF career. Then there is The Rock's infamous finishing move "The People's Elbow" which is little more than an elbow drop off the ropes, usually delivered after a "Rock Bottom" (a type of body slam.)
The Rock has coined many catch phrases we've all no doubt heard such as "Know your Role (and shut your mouth)" and "Can you smell what The Rock is cooking". Shortly after becoming a "good" guy again, The Rock turned heel again and joined Vince McMahon (the WWF owner/villain) in "The Corporation". He began to refer to fans as "trailer park trash", yet he kept getting bigger and bigger responses. He played his part perfectly, even renaming his finishing move "The Corporate Elbow".
After many great matches with the likes of Mick Foley (Mankind), Stone Cold Steve Austin, the late Owen Hart and many more WWF superstars, The Rock has laid claim to three WWF World Championships, three WWF Intercontinental Championships and three WWF Tag Team Championships, all before turning 28 years old.
The Rock has begun to parlay his immense popularity into more than just a wrestling career. He recently hosted Saturday Night Live and received a great reception both from fans and critics. He is slated to take on the lead role in an upcoming movie titled The Mummy II. The Rock has what it takes to rise to the challenge and become one of the biggest stars in the world. We wish him the best of luck. Oh, and happy birthday Rock! |
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