Rocky Johnson, father of superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has died on Wednesday. He was 75.
Johnson was a former professional wrestler. He was the first African-American World Tag Team Champion in WWE history as a member of The Soul Patrol.
Rocky Johnson whose birth name is Wayde Douglas Bowles was born in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1944.
Johnson began his wrestling career at the age of 16. He became a top star in the National Wrestling Alliance in the 1970s. He won multiple regional NWA titles; traveling through the territorial system and wrestling against legends like Harley Race, Terry Funk, and Jerry Lawler.
Johnson retired from wrestling in 1991 and trained his son, Dwayne, to be a wrestler despite initial misgivings. Upon his WWF debut in 1996, Dwayne Johnson took the ring name Rocky Maivia in honor of his father and his wrestling roots before reimagining himself as the Attitude Era heel known famously as The Rock.
In 2008, Rocky John got an induction into the WWE Hall of Fame alongside Peter Maivia by his son.
Johnson is survived by his sons, Dwayne and Curtis, and his daughter, Wanda. The family has not yet revealed the cause of death.