The Rock pays tribute to his late father, Rocky Johnson.
WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson, father of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, died Wednesday. He was 75.
WWE released a statement with the news, saying the company is “saddened” by Johnson’s passing and offering condolences to his family.
Read how WWE reacted after Rocky Johnson passed away.
Johnson spent most of his career in the National Wrestling Alliance, winning several championships and emerging as a tag team specialist. He joined WWE in 1983 and won the tag team championships with Tony Atlas, becoming the first black tag team champions in WWE history.
The American wrestler and actor, 47, took to Instagram to praise his late father in a heartfelt message alongside sharing a video of himself watching his dad in the ring.
He wrote:
‘I love you. 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,’ Dwayne wrote.
‘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.’