Dwayne Johnson said he’s “in pain” following the death of his father Rocky Johnson, a WWE Hall of Famer who died on Wednesday at age 75.
“I’m 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,” Johnson said on Instagram post about his father on Friday. “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.”
Johnson also posted a video of his father being introduced in the ring as part of the first black championship tag-team, and in the video you can see a young Dwayne Johnson sitting ringside.
Born Wayde Douglas Bowles in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1944, Rocky Johnson began his wrestling career at the age of 16 and 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 to be a wrestler, at which point Dwayne Johnson took the name Rocky Maivia in his 1994 WWF debut.
See The Rock’s tribute below.
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