Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Johnson 'The Rock' posted the expensive Christmas gift he gave to his father with an emotional picture on Instagram. Getty Images

Wrestling fans are bidding goodbye to another legend. On Wednesday, Jan. 15, renowned wrestler Rocky Johnson, father of wrestling superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, died at the age of 75.

Cauliflower Alley Club was the first to break the news of his death on Twitter, dampening the spirits of his fans. “Horrible news to pass along. We just learned that Rocky Johnson passed away today at the age of 75. His accolades in this business, all the people he influenced, all his accomplishments, and we are so deeply sorry and wish his family nothing but the most love at this time,” the organization tweeted.

Here are five amazing facts you probably didn’t know about Rocky “Soul Man” Johnson:

1. He had a prolific wrestling career

A true pioneer of wrestling, Rocky started his wrestling career in mid-1960s but it wasn’t until 1983 that he joined the WWE. He and fellow wrestler Tony Atlas were part of “The Soul Patrol” and became WWFF’s first African-American tag team champions. Throughout his career, he appeared in almost all of the biggest wrestling arenas around the world. He was also the first African American to bag the Southern Georgia and Florida heavyweight titles.

2. He was his son’s number one fan

As his son Dwayne went to follow in his footsteps, Rocky made it a point to always be there for him every step of the way. No wonder, “The Rock” has always held him in the highest regard and even adopted his “Rocky” moniker from him. In one of Dwayne’s matches, Rocky made headlines when he made a surprise appearance and jumped into the ring to show his support for Dwayne, leaving his son in absolute shock. He trained “The Rock” to be a boxing pro and he was a well-known sight at his bouts.

3. He had a tough upbringing

In one of his old Instagram posts, Dwayne opened up about his father’s life before he became a wrestler. The wrestling superstar revealed that Rocky was actually homeless before he became a professional wrestler. At age 13, he lost his dad and was banished by his own mom, but he still managed to go far in life.

4. He started complaining of an unspecified illness just weeks before his death

According to professional wrestler and Rocky’s good friend Brian Blair, Dwayne’s father started missing church a few Sundays ago when he started feeling under the weather. His wife, Sheila, said he never got to recover since then. “He was just under the weather, he thought he had the flu or something,” said Blair. “I said, ‘You need to get checked out, Rocky.’ He said he’d be okay… He still didn’t get checked out. I talked to Sheila and she said he was just being stubborn. He died at home today,” he added.

5. He published his memoir last year

In October 2019, Rocky published “Soulman: The Rocky Johnson Story” to chronicle his life and career. This book follows his life as a teenager and his eventual rise to fame.

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