10 Unknown Facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

March 1, 2021 By Sourav


10 Unknown Facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Growing up, almost every child in the '90s has seen The Rock perform in the wrestling ring. He is one of the many names which are associated with the brand of WWE. In fact, The Rock is a brand in itself. The Rock, with his stunning physique, intimidating height, and exceptional showmanship, has always owned the stage. And, here are the unknown facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Unknown Facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

His attitude has won many hearts, and even as he ventured into the industry of movies, his fans followed him. But how much do we know about Dwayne Johnson, the real person? Let us take a look at 10 Unknown Facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

10. The Rock with His Most Unlikely Partners

Rock-With-Mick-Foley
Rock-With-Mick-Foley

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson achieved his first Tag Team Championship title with the most unlikely partner Mick Foley, which is the tenth fact in our list of 10 unknown facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. They started their respective WWE career as enemies but eventually found their common intention to dispatch 'The Undertaker and Big Show' team. So they came together to form the most improbable tag team in WWE, the “Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection”.

Foley challenged the Undertaker-Big Show duo to show up against his own tag-team with “The Rock” during the 1999 segment of Raw Is War in Boston, Massachusetts. Later that night, the Rock-Foley duo defeated the Big Show with a double People’s Elbow and won the Tag Team gold in WWE.

9. The Debut of “The Rock Says” as the New York Times Best Seller

The-Rock-Says
The-Rock-Says

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson published his first book during the height of his WWE fame. The book called “The Rock Says” is actually an autobiography that also depicts his family’s wrestling legacy besides the details of his struggle and rise in professional wrestling. The book sold like a hot cake just after it hits the market and became viral among younger wrestling fans. Book also became the staircase for Rock to become the first true superstar of WWE into the 21st century.

His autobiography “The Rock Says” was co-written by him with Joe Layden and was first published in 2000. The book made its debut as the No.1 on the New York Times Best Seller list which is the ninth fact in our list of 10 unknown facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. “The Rock Says” also stayed on the list for several weeks.

8. His Legacy with the Canadian Football League

Rock-Canadian-Football
Rock-Canadian-Football

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson played college football at the University of Miami before he moved to professional wrestling. His football legacy didn’t end at college football as he eventually signed a three-year deal with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League after his college career which is the eighth fact in our list of 10 unknown facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Once a superstar in his college team, The Rock found a solid chance in his financial state as he earned as low as $150 a week during his time with the Calgary Stampeder’s practice squad. Eventually, he was cut down from the Stampeders squad and made his way back home to train as a wrestler.

7. His Second Home - Madame Tussaud’s Museum

The-Rock-Madame-Tussaud
The-Rock-Madame-Tussaud

When someone becomes famous or extremely famous in any field he supposed to get rewards and awards which Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson also earned during his legacy as a wrestler and a movie star. After winning multiple WWE Championships he starred in several movies which are an unmatched achievement.

He became so crazily famous that he revealed his statue in Madame Tussaud’s Museum in New York and took the world by surprise, which is the seventh fact in our list of 10 unknown facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He posed next to his newly unveiled replica statue for an April 2002 photograph at the Madame Tussaud’s wax museum. That won several million hearts.

6. His Connection with the Dictionary

The-Rock-Connection-Dictionary
The-Rock-Connection-Dictionary

The Thursday night special of WWE, “The SmackDown!” is proclaimed by the Rock to be “his” show for using a part of his own catchphrase “layeth the smackdown” which he supposed to land on various parts of a person’s body. The show made its debut in April 1999, and eventually, became one of the main events of the WWE after the company took over its arch-rivals WCW and ECW. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was drafted in his own show.

WWE used a draft format to decide the roster of each program between the “SmackDown!” and “Raw Is War”. Merriam-Webster added the word “smackdown” in its database of words in 2007, which is the sixth fact in our list of 10 unknown facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

5. His Wrestling Names

The-Rock-Wrestling-Names
The-Rock-Wrestling-Names

The world knows Dwayne Johnson by his famous name “The Rock” but actually tried two other named before finally ending up here, Flex Kavana and Rocky Maivia. He dropped his first altered-ego name “Flex Kavana” when WWE felt it wasn’t going to work on the global wrestling stage. While searching for a different stage name, “The Rock” combined his father's and grandfather’s first names, Rocky and Maivia, and ended up naming himself as “Rocky Maivia”.

Eventually, he again dropped this name as he felt his family’s legacy might actually be holding him back which is the fifth fact in our list of 10 unknown facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He first appeared as “The Rock” during a Raw Is War promo where he attacked Ron Simmons, a former ally of his group “the Nation of Domination”.

4. His Connection with the Guinness Book of World Records

The-Rock-Guinness-Book
The-Rock-Guinness-Book

He was paid a whopping $5.5 million to star his first feature film “The Scorpion King” which is the record amount for any actor in his first leading role and is the fourth fact in our list of 10 unknown facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The top-rated critics scored the film as average. But, it successfully created a staircase for Rock to enter the real Hollywood world.

After his first major role, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson suddenly became the potential successor of aging action superstars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. He was also the second choice for the role of Willy Wonka in Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But, Johnny Depp took it over with his own unique characteristics.

3. Dwayne Johnson Actually Owns “The Rock”

Recently Dwayne Johnson stopped using his in-ring name outside the wrestling circuit while thinking that the ring name might hold him back to achieve the desired Hollywood fame. He now rarely calls himself “The Rock”, but the question stands at “can anyone use the name Rock now?” The answer is no. He with Vince McMahon first co-owned the name “The Rock”. They also owned several of his catchphrases that he used during his wrestling career.

He now solely owns the rights to the name The Rock and many of his catchphrases associated with his wrestling career according to IMDB.com, which is the third fact in our list of 10 unknown facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

2. His Family’s Relation with WWE

The-Rock-Family-Connection
The-Rock-Family-Connection

WWE put their continuous effort to let the audience know that Dwayne Johnson was the company’s first “third-generation superstar” while building The Rock’s character in the mid-1990s. Dwayne Johnson had his family’s connection with the WWE so deep that he himself thought it might hold him back in the wrestling business, which is the second-best fact in our list of 10 unknown facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

His father Rocky Johnson and his grandfather Peter “High Chief” Maivia was former superstars of WWE. But that’s not the end; Dwayne Johnson also has his cousins in the WWE field such as Rikishi, Manu, Umaga, and Yokozuna. Now, who can forget the Great-Bum of legendary Rikishi?

1. He and His Affection towards Charity

Dwayne Johnson used to give a verbal smackdown to every opponent or to fight them in the WWE ring. But surprisingly, he is one of the most sincere stars outside the ring to enter the Hollywood status. He always showed his affection towards the charity and gave a generous donation to several causes which are the number one fact in our list of 10 unknown facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

To construct Robert and Judi Prokop Newman Alumni Center’s living room, The Rock donated $2 million to the University of Miami. He founded the “Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation” in 2006 which now works with at-risk and terminally ill children. As an interesting fact, he gifted an SUV to his housekeeper while he bought his mother a new car for Christmas.

With the display of incredible strength, he has inspired many a friendly-match among children. The trading cards with his face and stats are still precious possessions and prized memories for those who grew up watching him.

We can conclude that there's a reason why Dwayne Johnson is such a fantastic presence in the world of entertainment. And, one this for sure: that Dwayne Johnson was, is, and will always be, The Rock to every wrestling fan. So, these are the 10 unknown facts about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Leave a Reply

  1. Frank Lenton
    Frank Lenton November 29, 2019 15:04

    I think I'm going to go check out the new Jumanji movie this weekend. It's a sequal to the last one. Jack Black and Dwayne Johnson together again! It's gonna be great. Those two are the best!

    1. Sourav Das
      Sourav Das December 12, 2019 01:42

      Jumanji: The Next Level??

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