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THE ROCK
Dwayne Johnson was born on
May 2, 1972 in Hayward, California. He is a
third generation wrestler. His father is Rocky
Johnson and his grandfather, on his mother's
side, was the late Peter Maivia. He was a member
of the 1991 national champion Miami Hurricane
football team. While attending Miami, he met and
later married Dany Johnson (Garcia). Their
daughter, Simone Alexandra, was born in 2001.
Rocky Maivia:
Dwayne was trained to wrestle by his father and
Pat Patterson. He started wrestling in 1995. As
Rocky Maivia, he made his WWE debut at the 1996
Survivor Series. He quickly went on to become
the Intercontinental champion. Even though he
was a face (good guy), the fans hated him.
During his matches, the fans would chant "Rocky
Sucks". After a brief absence, Rocky Maivia
turned into the Rock.
The Nation of
Domination:
The Rock was an arrogant heel that spoke
about himself in the third person. As a bad guy,
his promos were incredible and he seemed to come
up with a new catch phrase on a continual basis.
It was during this time that he came up with his
signature gimmicks "The People's Eyebrow" and
"The People's Elbow" with the joke being that he
was the bad guy that the people hated.
The People's Champ:
While Steve Austin was the top performer in
the company, it was obvious that The Rock was
about to reach that level. The Rock became WWE
Champion at the 1998 Survivor Series, which was
his second anniversary in the WWE. He would go
on to main event 3 WrestleMania shows against
Austin. Starting in 2000, the Rock would take a
lot of time off due to his new film career.
Best Selling Author and
the Start of a New Career:
In 2000, his autobiography, The Rock Says,
went to number 1. Hollywood took notice and he
hosted Saturday Night Live to promote
WrestleMania 2000. His performance was so good
that he received the role of the Scorpion King
in The Mummy Returns. While it was only a cameo
role, he stole the movie and starred in the
prequel, The Scorpion King.
The Transition From
Wrestler to Actor:
By 2001, his wrestling career was a few
months on and a few months off. However, his
matches were always the main event and while his
feuds were short they were memorable. In 2002,
the fans were treated to a dream match when he
finally got in the ring against Hulk Hogan at
WrestleMania X-8. In 2004, he wrestled his final
match at WrestleMania XX.
Box Office History
(Domestic and World Wide Grosses in Milions):
• 5/4/01 The Mummy Returns - $202, $433
• 4/19/02 The Scorpion King - $91, $165
• 9/26/03 The Rundown - $48, $81
• 4/2/04 Walking Tall - $46, $57
• 3/4/05 Be Cool - $56, $95
• 10/5/05 Doom - $28, $56
Title Victories:
WWE Championship
• 11/15/98 Survivor Series - beat Mankind in the
tournament final to win the vacant title
• 1/24/99 Royal Rumble - beat Mankind in an "I
Quit" match
• 2/15/99 RAW – beat Mankind in a ladder match
• 4/30/00 Backlash - beat Triple H
• 6/25/00 King of the Ring - Six-Man Tag Match
for the WWE Title: The Rock became champ by
pinning Vince McMahon in a match featuring the
Rock, Kane, & the Undertaker vs Champion Triple
H, Vince McMahon, & Shane McMahon
• 2/25/01 No Way Out - beat Kurt Angle
• 7/21/02 Vengeance - beat WWE champion the
Undertaker & Kurt Angle
(Sources include: Pro
Wrestling Illustrated Almanac, IMDB.com, WWE.com,
Thehistoryofwwe.com, and Boxofficemojo.com)
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