text: dwayne johnson dwayne douglas johnson ( born may 2 , 1972 ) , also known by his ring name the rock , is an american and canadian actor , producer and semi - retired professional wrestler , signed with wwe . johnson was a college football player for the university of miami , winning a national championship on the 1991 miami hurricanes football team . he later played for the calgary stampeders in the canadian football league , and was cut two months into the 1995 season . this led him to become a professional wrestler like his grandfather , peter maivia , and his father , rocky johnson ( from whom he also inherited his canadian citizenship ) . originally billed as " rocky maivia " , he gained mainstream fame in the world wrestling federation ( wwf / e ) from 1996 to 2004 as a major figure in the company 's attitude era , and was the first third - generation wrestler in the company 's history . he returned to wrestling part - time for wwe from 2011 to 2013 and continues to make sporadic non - wrestling appearances for the company . as of july 2016 , he has had 17 championship reigns in wwe , including 10 as a world champion , winning the wwf / e championship eight times and the wcw / world championship twice . he won the intercontinental championship twice and the wwf tag team championship five times . he is the sixth triple crown champion in wwe history , and won the 2000 royal rumble . the rock is considered by many to be the biggest superstar in wwe history , as well as one of the top box office draws in wrestling history . wwe legend hulk hogan called the rock " the biggest superstar in this business " , 15 - time world champion john cena described him as " the biggest superstar in the history of wwe " and " the most successful wwe superstar ever " . wcw icon diamond dallas page described him as " the biggest star in our business , of all time " . vince russo , the head writer of wwe 's most popular era , the attitude era , stated : " i don 't think there 's ever going to be a star in the history of this business that is bigger than the rock " . the rock is also the first african - american wwe champion in the history of the company . johnson 's autobiography the rock says ... , co - written with joe layden , was published in 2000 . it debuted at no. 1 on the new york times best seller list , spent 20 weeks on the new york times bestseller list and sold 720 , 000 copies in hardcover alone . johnson 's first leading film role was in the scorpion king in 2002 . for this role , he was paid us $ 5 . 5 million , a world record for an actor in his first starring role . he has since appeared in various films , and become known for his ability to reinvigorate film franchises . perhaps his greatest success in his acting career can be sourced to his role as luke hobbs in the fast and the furious franchise . he hosted and produced the hero , a reality competition series ; and has since continued to produce tv series and films through his production company seven bucks productions , each of which he also stars in . forbes listed dwayne johnson # 25 in the top 100 most powerful celebrities in 2013 . time named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016 . early life johnson was born in hayward , california , the son of ata johnson ( née maivia ) and professional wrestler rocky johnson . his maternal grandfather , " high chief " peter maivia , was also a wrestler . his maternal grandmother , lia maivia , was one of wrestling 's few female professional promoters , taking over polynesian pacific pro wrestling after her husband 's death in 1982 , until 1988 . his cousin , , is also a wrestler currently working for wwe . his father is a black nova scotian , and his mother is of samoan heritage . his father was part of the first black tag team to win the world tag team championship in the world wrestling federation ( wwf ) . through maivia , he is considered a non - blood relative of the anoa 'i wrestling family . johnson briefly lived in the suburb of grey lynn in auckland , new zealand , with his mother 's family . he attended richmond road primary school , before returning to the united states with his parents . johnson spent 10th grade at president william mckinley high school in honolulu , hawaii . as he entered 11th grade , his father 's job required his relocation to bethlehem , pennsylvania . he began playing football at freedom high school in the east penn conference . he was also a member of the school 's track and field and wrestling teams . johnson was a promising football prospect , and received offers from many division i collegiate programs . he decided upon a full scholarship from the university of miami to play defensive tackle . in 1991 , he was on the miami hurricanes ' national championship team . after an injury kept him sidelined , he was replaced by future national football league ( nfl ) star warren sapp . while attending miami , johnson met his future wife , dany garcia , who graduated from the university in 1992 and later became a member of its board of trustees . she also founded a miami - based wealth management firm . in 2006 , the couple donated $ 2 million to build a living room at the university 's newman alumni center . johnson graduated from miami in 1995 , with a bachelor of general studies degree in criminology and physiology . he joined the calgary stampeders of the canadian football league in 1995 . he was on the practice roster as a backup linebacker but was cut two months into the season . on november 10 , 2007 , johnson returned to the miami orange bowl to participate in the festivities surrounding the university of miami 's last home football game at the stadium . professional wrestling career training ( 1995 – 1996 ) like his father and grandfather , several of johnson 's other ( non - blood ) relatives are or were professional wrestlers , including his uncles , afa and sika ( the wild samoans ) and his cousins , rodney ( yokozuna ) , ( rikishi ) , matt ( rosey ) and eddie ( umaga ) . when johnson declared his intent to become a wrestler , his father initially resisted , but then agreed to train him himself , warning that he would not go easy on him . veteran wrestler pat patterson got johnson several tryout matches with the world wrestling federation ( wwf ) in 1996 . under his real name , he defeated the brooklyn brawler at a house show , and lost the other matches to chris candido and owen hart . after wrestling at jerry lawler 's united states wrestling association , as " flex kavana " , and winning the uswa world tag team championship twice with bart sawyer in the summer of 1996 , johnson signed a wwf contract . he received additional training from tom prichard , alongside achim albrecht and mark henry . world wrestling federation / entertainment rocky maivia ( 1996 – 1997 ) johnson made his wwf debut as rocky maivia , a combination of his father and grandfather 's ring names , although his real name was acknowledged by the announcers . he was initially reluctant to take this ring name , but was persuaded by vince mcmahon and jim ross . he was given the nickname " the blue chipper " , and his lineage was played to on tv , where he was hyped as the wwf 's first third - generation wrestler . maivia , a clean - cut face character , was pushed heavily from the start despite his wrestling inexperience . he debuted on monday night raw as a member of " the stalker " barry windham 's entourage on november 4 , 1996 , and had his first match at survivor series on november 17 , in an eight - man elimination tag match ; he was the sole survivor . wwf fans generally rejected him because of his cheesy character . at in your house 12 : it 's time , maivia defeated salvatore sincere in his first singles match at a pay - per - view event . on february 13 , 1997 , he won the intercontinental championship from hunter hearst helmsley on monday night raw . maivia successfully defended the title at in your house 13 : final four against hunter hearst helmsley and at wrestlemania 13 against the sultan . he defeated bret hart by disqualification in a title defense on march 31 episode of raw . on april 20 , at in your house 14 : revenge of the ' taker , he lost to savio vega by countout , retaining the title for the final time . audiences became increasingly hostile toward maivia , with chants of " die , rocky , die ! " and " rocky sucks ! " being heard during his matches . the nation of domination ( 1997 – 1998 ) after losing the intercontinental championship to owen hart on april 28 , 1997 raw is war , and suffering a knee injury in a match against mankind , maivia returned as a heel . along with faarooq , d 'lo brown , and kama , he formed a stable called the nation of domination . during this time , he refused to acknowledge the " rocky maivia " name , instead referring to himself in the third person as " the rock " . he insulted the audience in his promos , as well as wwf television interviewers , once calling kevin kelly an " ugly hermaphrodite " . at d - generation x : in your house , stone cold steve austin defeated the rock in under six minutes to retain the intercontinental championship . the next night , on raw is war , austin was ordered by mr. mcmahon to defend the title in a rematch , but forfeited it to the rock instead , handing him the belt before hitting him with the stone cold stunner . the rock feuded with austin and ken shamrock through the end of 1997 and beginning of 1998 . in march 1998 , the rock overthrew faarooq as leader of the nation of domination , sparking a feud . he successfully defended the intercontinental title against faarooq at over the edge : in your house on may 31 , 1998 . he and the nation then feuded with triple h and d - generation x ( dx ) . the two stable leaders first had a two out of three falls match at fully loaded : in your house for the intercontinental title , which the rock retained in controversial fashion . this led to a ladder match at summerslam , in which triple h won the title . at breakdown : in your house , the rock defeated ken shamrock and mankind in a triple threat steel cage match to become the number one contender for the wwf championship . he then feuded with fellow nation member mark henry , effectively breaking up the stable . the corporation ( 1998 – 1999 ) the rock 's entertaining promos and ensuing popularity led to a face turn , in which he called himself " the people 's champion " . this led to a feud with mr. mcmahon , who said he had " a problem with the people " and would thus target " the people 's champion " . a double turn occurred at survivor series , when the rock defeated mcmahon 's associate , mankind , in the finals of the " deadly game " tournament for the vacant wwf championship in a fashion reminiscent of the montreal screwjob . the rock allied with vince and shane mcmahon as the crown jewel of their stable , the corporation . on december 13 , 1998 , at the pay - per - view named for him , rock bottom : in your house , the rock had a rematch with mankind for the wwf championship . mankind appeared to win the match when the rock passed out in the mandible claw submission move , but mr. mcmahon ruled that since the rock did not tap out , he retained his title . the rock continued to feud with mankind over the wwf championship , which was traded back and forth between them . first , in the main event of january 4 , 1999 raw is war , mankind defeated the rock after interference from steve austin . then , in an " i quit " match at royal rumble on january 24 , the rock regained the title , when a recording of mankind saying " i quit " from an earlier interview was played over the pa system . on halftime heat ( an episode of sunday night heat aired in the same timeslot as the super bowl xxxiii halftime show ) on january 31 , mankind pinned the rock using a forklift truck in an empty arena match . the two faced off again , at st. valentine 's day massacre : in your house , in a last man standing match . the bout ended in a draw , meaning mankind retained the title . their feud ended on february 15 raw is war , when the rock won his third wwf championship in a ladder match after big show chokeslammed mankind off the ladder . the rock lost the wwf championship to steve austin at wrestlemania xv . he also lost the title rematch at backlash : in your house . though he was a heel , his amusing verbal skills led many fans to cheer the rock . he turned face again after shane mcmahon betrayed him , and began a feud with triple h , the undertaker , and the corporate ministry . he defeated triple h at over the edge , then lost to the wwf champion , the undertaker , at king of the ring . he lost a number one contender 's match to triple h at fully loaded , after interference from mr. ass . this sparked a feud with mr. ass , culminating in a " kiss my ass " match at summerslam , which the rock won . the people 's champion ( 1999 – 2001 ) toward the latter part of 1999 , the rock had several singles and tag team championship opportunities . he teamed with former enemy mankind as the rock ' n ' sock connection , after he challenged wwf tag team champions the undertaker and big show , and mankind offered his help . they won the title for the first of three times . the two performed numerous comedic skits together , including one on raw is war called " this is your life " ( based on the tv show ) , in which mankind produced people from the rock 's past , such as his high school girlfriend and his high school football coach . the segment earned an 8 . 4 nielsen rating , one of the highest ratings ever for a raw segment . at royal rumble on january 23 , 2000 , the rock entered the royal rumble match and was one of the final two remaining , along with big show ; show seemingly intended to throw the rock over the top rope in a running powerslam - like position , but rock countered the move on the ring apron , sending big show to the floor before re - entering the ring as the winner . however , the rock 's feet hit the floor first , although those watching the event on tv did not see that , until big show proved this with additional video footage , and claimed to be the rightful winner . despite this proof , the original decision could not be reversed , so a number one contender 's match for the wwf championship was held at no way out , which big show won after shane mcmahon interfered and hit the rock in the head with a steel chair as he attempted to execute a people 's elbow . the rock defeated big show on march 13 episode of raw is war to regain the right to face the wwf champion , triple h , at wrestlemania 2000 in a fatal four - way elimination match , also including big show and mick foley . each wrestler had a mcmahon in his corner ; triple h had his wife , stephanie , foley had linda , the rock had vince , and big show had shane . triple h retained the title after vince betrayed the rock by hitting him with a chair . over the next few months , the rock feuded with triple h over the wwf championship . on april 30 , at backlash , the rock defeated triple h for his fourth wwf championship reign , after steve austin intervened on the rock 's behalf . on 21 may , at judgment day , the two had an iron man match , with shawn michaels as the special guest referee . with the score tied at five falls each , and with seconds left on the time limit , the rock was disqualified when the undertaker attacked triple h , giving triple h the 6 – 5 win and the title . the next night on raw is war , the rock got his revenge , taking out the entire mcmahon - helmsley faction with the undertaker 's help . he won the wwf championship for a fifth time at king of the ring on june 25 , by scoring the winning pin in a tag team match , teamed with kane and the undertaker against vince mcmahon , shane mcmahon , and triple h. he successfully defended the championship against chris benoit at fully loaded , kurt angle and triple h at summerslam , and benoit , kane , and the undertaker at unforgiven . the rock lost the wwf championship to angle at no mercy in october . around this time , he feuded with rikishi , and defeated him at survivor series . he wrestled a six - man hell in a cell match for the wwf championship at armageddon , which kurt angle won to retain the title . on december 18 on raw , the rock won the wwf tag team championship with the undertaker , defeating edge and christian , then losing it back to them the next night at a smackdown ! taping . in 2001 , the rock continued to feud with angle over the wwf championship , culminating at no way out in february , where he pinned angle to win the wwf championship for a sixth time . he then feuded with the royal rumble winner , steve austin . the rock lost the title to austin at wrestlemania x - seven after austin allied with mr. mcmahon , who interfered on his behalf . on the next night 's raw is war , during a steel cage title rematch , triple h came to the ring with a sledgehammer and it seemed he would help the rock , because of the rivalry between austin and triple h ( and an argument with mcmahon earlier in the night ) , but he attacked him instead , allying with mcmahon and austin . austin and triple h formed a tag team called the power trip , while the rock was indefinitely suspended . johnson used this time off to act in the movie the mummy returns . the invasion ( 2001 – 2002 ) the rock returned to the wwf in late july 2001 , and had to decide whether to join the wwf or the alliance ( a group of former wcw and ecw wrestlers ) during the invasion , eventually siding with the wwf . at summerslam , the rock defeated booker t to win the wcw championship . he lost the title to chris jericho at no mercy . the next night on raw , he teamed with jericho to win the wwf tag team championship from the dudley boyz . the rock defeated jericho on november 5 episode of raw for his second wcw championship . as part of the wwf 's battle against the alliance , the rock wrestled in a " winner takes all " ten - man elimination match at survivor series . in the end , it came down to a one - on - one with steve austin ( who had recently joined the alliance ) . the rock seemed to have the upper hand , until jericho ( a member of team wwf , who was eliminated a few minutes earlier ) , entered the ring and attacked the rock . austin tried to capitalize on this by pinning the rock , but kurt angle , a team alliance member , revealed his true allegiance by hitting austin in the head with a title belt . the rock then pinned austin , forcing the alliance to disband . the rock closed out 2001 by losing the wcw championship at vengeance to chris jericho , who would unify the wwf and wcw titles later that night . the rock unsuccessfully challenged jericho for both titles , now the undisputed wwf championship , at royal rumble , ending their feud . the rock defeated the undertaker at no way out . three weeks before wrestlemania , the rock headlined wwe 's asian tour to japan , singapore and malaysia . the first show was in arena and had sold 18 , 000 tickets in sixty minutes . jericho , who was booked to face him for all three shows , said he brought out the best in him and described his reaction as " one of the loudest i 'd ever heard in my career . it was as if elvis had joined the beatles and all of them were wearing godzilla costumes . " he then feuded with the new world order , after challenging hollywood hulk hogan to a match at wrestlemania x8 . the match was billed as icon versus icon , with both men representing the top tier of two generations of wrestling ; ultimately rock pinned hogan at wrestlemania x8 . after the nwo turned on hogan for losing the match , the rock allied with him and then took a short sabbatical from wrestling . hollywood gimmick ( 2002 – 2003 ) when he returned , the rock won his ( then ) record - breaking seventh wwf championship ( which had been renamed the undisputed wwe championship ) at vengeance , defeating kurt angle and the undertaker in a triple threat match . he successfully defended the title at global warning against triple h and brock lesnar by pinning triple h. after the match , lesnar attacked the rock , until triple h saved him . at summerslam , after interference from lesnar 's manager , paul heyman , and the use of a steel chair , rock lost the wwe championship to lesnar along with the record for the youngest wwe champion , which rock had set in 1998 . following the loss against lesnar , the rock publicly declared that whether or not the crowd booed him he would always be the people 's champion , criticizing the fans in the arena and again taking a sabbatical from wrestling in order to focus on his film career . the rock returned on january 30 , 2003 episode of smackdown ! to publicly criticize hulk hogan and make it clear that because of the success of his hollywood career , wwe was no longer a priority . this reestablished him as a heel . the rock defeated hogan again at no way out and drafted himself to the raw brand where he had various feuds , including one with the hurricane . he also performed " rock concerts " , segments in which he played the guitar and mocked the show 's host city . after failing to win number one contendership for the world heavyweight championship , the rock turned his attention to steve austin who , to the rock 's chagrin , had been chosen as " superstar of the decade " . this led to a match at wrestlemania xix , which called back to their previous two wrestlemania encounters , both of which austin had won . the rock won after delivering three consecutive rock bottoms , ending their long - running feud in what turned out to be austin 's final match . the next night , raw was billed as " the rock appreciation night " , in honour of his victory over austin . that night , he was attacked by a debuting goldberg . at backlash , goldberg defeated the rock , who then left wwe to focus on his film career . final feuds and departure ( 2003 – 2004 ) the rock then occasionally returned to wwe in non - wrestling roles , gradually turning face again by engaging in one night feuds against heels such as chris jericho and christian . the rock aided mick foley in his feud against evolution , leading to a reunion of the rock ' n ' sock connection . they faced ric flair , randy orton and batista in a handicap match at wrestlemania xx , losing when orton pinned foley after the rko . the rock appeared in wwe sporadically following wrestlemania xx . he stood up for eugene , made a cameo in his hometown of miami and helped mick foley turn back la résistance . in 2004 , he hosted a pie - eating contest , as part of the wwe diva search and ended the segment by giving jonathan coachman a spinebuster and a people 's elbow . after this , he stated in several interviews that he was no longer under contract to wwe . he stated that he would continue using the trademarked name " the rock " , per a dual ownership deal between him and wwe . sporadic appearances ( 2004 − 2009 ) on august 23 , 2004 episode of raw , the rock returned and took out jonathan coachman and la résistance . in october 2005 , the rock did a tell all interview with wwe.com , he talked his contract with wwe , movies and feelings on a dream match with shawn michaels . on march 12 , 2007 , the rock appeared on a wwe show after nearly three years , via a pre - taped promo shown during raw . he correctly predicted that bobby lashley would defeat umaga at wrestlemania 23 in donald trump and vince mcmahon 's " battle of the billionaires " match . on march 29 , 2008 , the rock inducted his father , rocky johnson , and his grandfather , peter maivia , into the wwe hall of fame . during his induction speech , he roasted wrestlers john cena , santino marella , chris jericho , mick foley , shawn michaels , and stone cold steve austin . in september 2009 , he appeared at a world xtreme wrestling ( wxw ) show to support the pro wrestling debut of sarona snuka , the daughter of his long - time friend and mentor jimmy snuka . on october 2 , 2009 , the ten - year anniversary of smackdown , the rock ( with his usual flattop hair shaved off ) cut a promo via pre - recorded video . return to wwe feud with john cena ( 2011 – 2012 ) on february 14 , 2011 , episode of raw , the rock was revealed as the host of wrestlemania xxvii , appearing live on raw for the first time in almost seven years . during a lengthy promo , he addressed the fans , michael cole , the miz and john cena , calling cena a " big fat bowl of fruity pebbles " , inspiring a popular crowd chant and sign . the rock claimed to love wrestling , having been born into the business , a claim cena argued . after numerous appearances via satellite , the rock appeared live on the raw before wrestlemania xxvii to confront cena , with whom he had been feuding through twitter , making fun of cena 's clothing and calling him a " homeless power ranger " and " vanilla ice " . after he and cena exchanged insults , the miz and alex riley appeared and attacked the rock ; he fended off miz and riley , only for cena to blindside him with an attitude adjustment . on april 3 at wrestlemania xxvii , the rock opened the show by cutting a promo . after appearing in numerous backstage segments , the rock came to ringside to restart the main event between cena and the miz as a no disqualification match , after it had ended in a draw . as revenge for the attitude adjustment cena had given him on raw , rock hit cena with the rock bottom , allowing the miz to pin him and retain the wwe championship . after the match , rock attacked miz and hit him with the people 's elbow . the following night on raw , cena challenged the rock to a match at wrestlemania xxviii the next year , which rock accepted . they then worked together to fend off an attack by the corre , which at the time consisted of wade barrett , heath slater , justin gabriel , and ezekiel jackson . the rock appeared live on raw in his hometown of miami on 2 may , to celebrate his 39th birthday . on september 16 , wwe announced the rock would wrestle in a traditional 5 - on - 5 survivor series tag team match , teaming with cena at survivor series in november . however , on october 24 episode of raw , cena instead chose the rock to be his partner in a standard tag team match against awesome truth ( the miz and r - truth ) , which rock which agreed to the following week via satellite . on november 14 , during the special raw gets rocked , the rock appeared live , delivering rock bottoms to mick foley , who had been hosting a " this is your life " -style segment for cena , and later both members of awesome truth . despite their , the rock and cena defeated awesome truth on november 20 at survivor series , when the rock pinned the miz with the people 's elbow . after the match , the rock gave cena a rock bottom . leading up to wrestlemania , the rock and cena had several verbal confrontations on raw . on march 12 , 2012 , episode , the rock hosted his first " rock concert " segment since 2004 , mocking cena in his songs . he opined that , having beaten hulk hogan and stone cold steve austin at previous , beating cena would make him the greatest wrestler of all time . on april 1 at wrestlemania xxviii , the rock faced cena in the main event hyped for a year and billed with the tagline " once in a lifetime " . when an overconfident cena attempted the people 's elbow on the rock , he countered with a rock bottom for the pin and the win . the following night on raw , the rock praised cena for putting up a good fight , calling their match " an honor " . he then vowed to once again become wwe champion . wwe champion ( 2012 – 2013 ) on july 23 at raw 1000 , the rock announced he would face the wwe champion at the royal rumble . during the show , he encountered wwe champion cm punk , daniel bryan , and john cena , all of whom expressed a desire to face him . he later saved cena from an assault by big show , only to be laid out by cm punk . on january 7 , 2013 raw , the rock returned to wwe to confront his rumble opponent , then reigning champion cm punk . he also made his first smackdown appearance in ten years on january 11 episode , attacking team rhodes scholars with a rock bottom to damien sandow and a people 's elbow to cody rhodes . the rock closed out the 20th anniversary episode of raw on january 14 with one of his famous " rock concerts " , leading to a brawl with cm punk . the following week on raw , the rock was attacked by the shield . vince mcmahon then asserted that if the shield attacked the rock in his title match with cm punk , punk would be stripped of the wwe championship . on january 27 at the royal rumble , punk defeated the rock after the shield interfered . mcmahon was about to strip punk of the championship , however , at the rock 's request , he instead restarted the match . this culminated in the rock defeating punk to win his eighth wwe championship , a win which marked the rock 's first wwe championship reign in over ten years , and ending punk 's long reign as champion at 434 days . punk received a title rematch with the rock at elimination chamber , with the added stipulation that if the rock was disqualified or counted out , he would lose the title , but rock pinned punk to retain the championship . the following night on raw , the rock unveiled the new wwe championship during his championship celebration , with an entirely new center plate and his signature brahma bull logo on the side plates . the rock then resumed his rivalry with john cena , with cena blaming his personal and professional troubles on his loss to the rock the previous year . on april 7 at wrestlemania 29 , rock lost the wwe championship to cena , ending his reign at 70 days . despite being advertised for the raw after wrestlemania , where it was stated by smackdown general manager booker t that the rock was still entitled a re - match for the wwe championship , the rock did not appear because of a legitimate injury sustained during wrestlemania , in which his abdominal and adductor tendons tore from his pelvis . johnson underwent surgery on april 23 to reattach the torn tendons . in august 2013 , the rock hinted at possible retirement , but ultimately did not rule out a return . part - time appearances ( 2014 – present ) in april 2014 , the rock appeared in the opening segment of wrestlemania xxx along with stone cold steve austin and hulk hogan . on october 6 episode of raw , the rock made a surprise appearance to confront rusev and lana ; this resulted in the rock clearing rusev from the ring . later that week , off - air footage from the night of a staredown between the rock and triple h aired on the 15th anniversary show of smackdown . the rock appeared at the 2015 royal rumble event during the main event match , where he helped roman reigns fend off big show and kane , and was booed ( " for the first time in forever " ( 2003 ) as described by dave scherer of ) for doing so . the rock endorsed reigns ' eventual victory , but the crowd still booed both him and reigns . the rock appeared at wrestlemania 31 alongside ronda rousey , getting into an in - ring altercation with triple h and stephanie mcmahon ( the authority ) . rock and rousey prevailed after he attacked triple h and she overpowered mcmahon . on june 27 , 2015 , the rock appeared at a live event in boston where he confronted bo dallas , giving him a rock bottom in the process . at wrestlemania 32 , the rock announced that wwe had broken the all time wrestlemania attendance record before being interrupted by the wyatt family . the rock defeated wyatt family member erick rowan in an impromptu match , giving him a rock bottom and pinning him in six seconds and setting the record for the fastest win in wrestlemania history . the rock was then aided by the returning john cena to fend off the remaining members of the wyatt family , bray wyatt and braun . mainstream popularity in wrestling the success of johnson 's wrestling character allowed him to cross over into mainstream pop culture . he appeared on wyclef jean 's 2000 single " it doesn 't matter " and in its music video . he also recorded " pie " with slick rick for wwf the music , vol . 5 . in 2000 , he hosted saturday night live . fellow wrestlers triple h , the big show , and mick foley also appeared on the show . johnson has stated the success of that episode is the reason he began receiving offers from hollywood studios . johnson had guest roles on star trek : voyager , as an alien wrestler that uses the rock 's famous moves , and on that ' 70s show , as his father , rocky johnson . in 1999 , the rock was listed # 5 on entertainment weekly 's top 12 entertainers of the year . in 2000 , on an access hollywood ’ s prime - time special , the rock was ranked number six in the top 10 celebrities of 2000 . rock was also listed in forbes celebrity 100 that year and people magazine 's 25 most intriguing people . the rock made a surprise appearance at the official xbox unveiling during bill gates ' keynote speech at the ongoing computer electronics show in 2001 . rock was also listed on e ! ' s 20 top entertainers and entertainment weekly 's 101 most influential people that year and the previous year ( 2000 ) . in 2002 , rock was listed on e ! ' s 25 toughest stars . in 2003 , rock was listed in vh1 's 200 greatest pop culture icons and # 13 on people magazine 's 50 favorite tv stars . johnson 's motion picture debut was a brief appearance as the scorpion king in the opening sequence of the mummy returns . the character appears in the movie 's climax in cgi form . the movie 's financial success led to his first leading role , in the spin - off the scorpion king . he was listed in the 2007 guinness world records as the highest - paid actor in his first starring role , receiving us $ 5 . 5 million for this movie . the mummy returns , featuring the rock , shattered a two - year record by earning $ 28 , 594 , 667 , making it the highest - grossing single day for any film in history . the rock has appeared on the cover of many magazines , including rolling stone , entertainment weekly , newsweek , and tv guide . legacy in wrestling the rock is widely considered as one of the all - time greatest professional wrestlers as well as one of the top box office draws in wrestling history . wwe legend hulk hogan called the rock " the biggest superstar in this business " , 15 - time world champion john cena described him as " the biggest superstar in the history of wwe " and " the most successful wwe superstar ever " . wcw icon diamond dallas page described him as " the biggest star in our business , of all time " . vince russo , the head writer of wwe 's most popular era the attitude era , stated : " i don 't think there 's ever going to be a star in the history of this business that is bigger than the rock " . many wwe legends and superstars placed the rock on their " mount rushmore of wrestling " including hulk hogan , ric flair , chris jericho and john cena . in " cable visions : television beyond broadcasting " , the rock was described as " for a long time , the wwe 's biggest star and probably held the greatest international appeal " . r.d. reynolds stated in his book " the book of lists " that the rock was " the biggest star for wwe from 1999 until 2004 . " he main evented the most bought pay - per - view ( ppv ) worldwide in wwe history ( wrestlemania xxviii ) , the most bought pay - per - view ( ppv ) domestically in wwe history ( wrestlemania xvii ) , the second highest attended event in the history of wwe ( wrestlemania 29 ) , the highest rated raw in history , and was part of the highest rated segment in raw history . in addition , the rock main evented the nine highest rated in history and 10 out of the 15 highest rated in history . his return in 2001 did a 7 . 1 rating which was the highest rated segment of the entire year . the rock was also part of the highest rated match of 2000 . his steel cage match with shane mcmahon on 1 may did a 8 . 3 rating on the regular time and a 9 . 1 on the overrun making this match the most watched professional wrestling match in the united states of this millennium . in 2011 , the rock 's return generated a lot of buzz , an average of 4 . 7 million people watched that episode of raw , but 7 . 4 million tuned in just during the rock ’ s promo . his return also led the following episode of raw on march 7 to be the highest rated episode of that year . in that same year , the rock wrestled his first match in years at 2011 survivor series in madison square garden . the event sold out in less than 90 minutes and was the highest attended survivor series in almost a decade ( since 2002 ) . the rock was also part of the highest rated raw segment in 2012 in a segment on raw 1000 with wwe superstars cm punk and daniel bryan which drew a 4 . 3 rating and was also part of the highest rated overrun of that year ( 4 . 4 ) the same night . the rock 's highly anticipated wwe title match at the 2013 royal rumble led the event to be the most bought non - wrestlemania ppv in 7 years . the night after the 2013 royal rumble on january 28 which saw the rock win the wwe championship for the first time in over a decade was the highest rated raw episode of that year . during that night , the rock 's segment with cm punk did a 4 . 03 rating which was the highest rated segment since raw 1000 . the rock would also be part of the highest rated segment of 2013 in his segment with john cena on old school raw which did a 4 . 1 rating . rock headlined five wrestlemanias ( xv , 2000 , x - seven , xxviii , and wrestlemania 29 ) , and wrestled in five additional wrestlemanias in non headlining matches . in 2011 , he became the first wrestler to ever host a wrestlemania ( wrestlemania xxvii ) . derived from one of his catchphrases " lay the smackdown " , wwe introduced its second flagship program smackdown ! which would later become television 's second longest - running weekly episodic program . the term " smackdown " also has been included in merriam - webster dictionaries since 2007 . the rock was the first wrestler to win the wwf / e championship six times then seven times . rock 's intercontinental championship 's reign in 1997 – 98 lasted 265 days and is the longest intercontinental title reign of the modern era ( the last 24 years ) . rock is the only wrestler to introduce a different design of both the intercontinental championship ( shortly after wrestlemania xiv ) and the wwe championship ( on february 18 , 2013 episode of raw ) . he was the youngest intercontinental champion as well as the youngest wwf champion of his time . rock was also the first wrestler to be part of a title match at five consecutive wrestlemanias , having competed for the intercontinental title at wrestlemania 13 and wrestlemania xiv , and for the wwf championship at wrestlemania xv , wrestlemania 2000 , and wrestlemania x - seven . he is one of three wrestlers ( along with shawn michaels and the undertaker ) to main event wrestlemania in three different decades , doing so in the 90s ( wrestlemania xv ) , the 2000s ( wrestlemania 2000 and wrestlemania x - seven ) and the 2010s ( wrestlemania xxviii and wrestlemania xxix ) . he is also one of three wrestlers ( along with hulk hogan and triple h ) to win the wwe title in three different decades doing so in the 90s , the 2000s and the 2010s . the rock also holds the record for most raw shows main evented in one year ( 38 in 2000 ) , most smackdown shows main evented in one year ( 36 in 2000 ) and tied with stone cold steve austin ( in 2001 ) for most ppv shows main evented in one year ( 12 in 2000 ) . overall the rock has headlined 35 ppv events in wwe ( including two royal rumble matches ) . rock was on the cover of the first three video games of the wwe games series including wwf smackdown ! 2 : know your role which ended up being the best - selling combat sports game on a single format ( playstation 2 ) with 3 . 2 million copies sold . wwe listed the rock as the funniest wwe superstar in history . acting career in a the may 2004 issue , vibe magazine stated " at six - foot - four , 245 pounds , dwayne " the rock " johnson , 31 , may be the biggest star to hit the big screen since arnold schwarzenegger . " johnson also continued to act on television , including in an episode of the disney channel show , cory in the house , entitled " never the dwayne shall meet " . while johnson was away from wwe , the company continued to sell " the rock " merchandise , and he continued to be featured prominently in the opening montages of their television shows . johnson broke into the mainstream with roles in the blockbuster action films the mummy returns in 2001 and the scorpion king in 2002 , the action comedy the rundown in 2003 and the remake of walking tall in 2004 . he played a supporting role in 2005 's be cool and was the primary antagonist in doom in 2006 . roles in the gridiron gang and reno 911 ! : miami soon followed . johnson played against type with the rundown co - star sean william scott in 2007 's southland tales . johnson played the cocky famous football player , joe kingman , in the game plan , and agent 23 in get smart . johnson presented the academy award for best visual effects at the 80th academy awards on february 24 , 2008 . he was nominated for the favorite movie actor award at the 2008 nickelodeon kids ' choice awards for his role in the game plan , but lost out to johnny depp in pirates of the caribbean : at world 's end . johnson hosted the 2009 nickelodeon kids ' choice awards on march 28 . he appeared on the wizards of waverly place episode , " art teacher " , as part of his stint with the walt disney company . he has made several guest appearances on saturday night live , reviving his character of " the rock obama " , a spoof of both president barack obama and the hulk . also in 2009 , johnson played ex - con cab driver jack bruno in las vegas in race to witch mountain . he provided the voice of capt. charles " chuck " baker in planet 51 . in 2010 , johnson starred in the family comedy , tooth fairy . he made an uncredited cameo in the 2010 film , why did i get married too ? as a psychiatrist who asks out the recently widowed patricia agnew ( janet jackson ) . he briefly appears in the other guys , as an action - seeking detective . he returned to action films with the 2010 film faster . in 2011 , johnson appeared in the fifth film of the fast and the furious film series , fast five , as luke hobbs , a diplomatic security service agent assigned to hunt down the series ' protagonists . johnson landed the role after series star vin diesel read comments and feedback from fans , one of whom wanted to see diesel and johnson in a movie together . johnson , a fan of the franchise , had wanted to work with universal again after they had given him his first film roles . fast five grossed over $ 86 million in its opening weekend , the biggest opening for a fast & furious film , the biggest opening for an april release , and the biggest opening for a johnson movie . in 2012 , johnson starred in journey 2 : the mysterious island . he starred in the 2013 true - story film snitch , which opened to mixed reviews ; however , johnson 's performance was praised . he became known to reinvigorate film franchises after portraying roadblock in g.i. joe : retaliation in 2013 , and reprised his role as luke hobbs , in fast & furious 6 , the same year . johnson starred in true - story films , pain & gain and empire state in 2013 . in addition to these films , johnson hosted and produced the reality competition / game show series the hero , on tnt . he won the favorite male award at the 2013 nickelodeon kid 's choice awards on march 23 , 2013 . in may 2013 , it was announced that he would executive produce and star in ballers , a hbo comedy - drama series about athletes living in miami . johnson starred in hercules ( 2014 ) , as the title character , and once again reprised his role of luke hobbs in furious 7 ( 2015 ) . he hosted another reality series for tnt in 2014 , entitled wake up call , which saw him " lending a helping hand to everyday people who were facing enormous challenges in their lives " alongside guest experts such as rocco , jillian michaels , and josh shipp . he would also executive produce and star in the horror film seal team 666 , and is set to play nick schuyler in the drama film not without hope . on december 16 , 2013 , forbes named johnson the top - grossing actor of 2013 , with his films bringing in $ 1 . 3 billion worldwide for the year . forbes credited the success of fast & furious 6 , which grossed $ 789 million globally , and johnson 's frequent acting work as primary reasons for him topping the list . in march 2014 , johnson confirmed that he would be working with dc entertainment for an untitled film project . in september 2014 , it was announced that he would play black adam , the villain , in a film about shazam as a part of the dc extended universe ; which he would also produce . in 2016 , johnson co - starred with kevin hart in the action - comedy central intelligence , and will have a voice role in the disney animated film moana , as the hawaiian demigod maui . after the continued success of the fast and the furious franchise , fast 8 was announced with a release date of april 14 , 2017 . johnson 's production company seven bucks productions will produce various film projects in which he will star , namely : baywatch ( 2017 ) , rampage ( 2017 ) and the jumanji remake . a sequel to the box - office hit san andreas was announced to be in the pre - production stage with director of the first film , brad peyton , signed to return ( marking their fourth collaboration following journey 2 , san andreas , and rampage respectively ) , along with the cast including johnson . johnson confirmed that he would star in the jumanji remake via his instagram social media page , something he has often done with previous project announcements . in an interview , johnson also discussed the possibility of an earlier release date than was originally announced for the dc extended universe film , shazam . johnson signed on to return in two additional sequels to warner bros. entertainment 's journey film series , as well as a jungle cruise feature film being developed by disney . in may 2016 johnson confirmed his attachment to the janson directive as paul janson . the film will be produced by universal studios pictures , with the intent to adapt more of robert ludlum 's work in the future in a larger project than just the announced first installment . later that same month , it was announced that he would star in legendary entertainment 's skyscraper movie which will be an action - thriller film with rawson marshall thurber signed on as director and writer of the film , as well as a rebooted version of the character doc savage in a film written and directed by shane black . johnson had previously mentioned that he was signed on to film a remake of big trouble in little china , and recently expressed that it is still currently in the development stages . in of 2016 , johnson announced another television series which he will be involved in named , muscle beach . johnson will be involved behind the scenes of the series for the time being . personal life johnson married dany garcia on may 3 , 1997 . their daughter , simone alexandra , was born august 14 , 2001 . on june 1 , 2007 , they announced they were splitting up amicably and intended to remain friends . soon after the divorce , johnson began dating lauren hashian , the daughter of boston drummer sib hashian . they first met in 2006 while johnson was filming the game plan , prompting rumors he left his marriage for hashian . their first child , a daughter named jasmine , was born in december 2015 . johnson co - wrote an autobiography with joe layden , titled the rock says .... it was published in 2000 , debuting at no. 1 on the new york times best seller list and remaining on the list for several weeks . johnson is a good friend of actor and former governor of california , arnold schwarzenegger . he has two nephews who play football : maiava played at usc and was drafted by the cleveland browns in 2009 , and his brother , kai maiava , currently plays at ucla . johnson attended the 2000 democratic national convention as part of wwe 's non - partisan " smackdown your vote " campaign , which aimed to influence young people to vote . because his mother , ata maivia , is a descendant of samoan chiefs , and in recognition of his service to the samoan people , malietoa ii bestowed upon johnson the noble title of during his visit there in july 2004 . he received a partial samoan pe 'a tattoo in 2003 . in 2006 , johnson founded the dwayne johnson rock foundation , a charity working with at - risk and terminally ill children . on october 2 , 2007 , he and his ex - wife donated $ 1 million to the university of miami to support the renovation of its football facilities ; it was noted as the largest donation ever given to the university 's athletics department by former students . the university of miami renamed the hurricanes ' locker room in johnson 's honor . on may 21 , 2015 , johnson set a guinness world record for most selfies in three minutes , taking 105 selfies with fans during the premiere of san andreas in london . on march 2016 , johnson partnered with the new juggernaut in american fitness apparel under armour to release " project rock " . the first item in his partnership with under armour , a gym bag , was met with ferocious demand and was sold out in a couple of days . his second item , a black t - shirt sporting the wrestler 's iconic " brahma bull " has sold out in record time for under armour after being worn at wrestlemania 32 . johnson also released an alarm clock app as part of " project rock " that received over one million downloads in its first week of release . filmography discography in wrestling finishing moves : people 's elbow / corporate elbow ( running delayed high - impact elbow drop , with theatrics ) – usually preceded by a spinebuster ; 1997 – present - innovated rock bottom ( falling side slam ) – 1997 – present running – 1996 signature moves : float - over ddt flowing snap ddt , sometimes followed by a kip - up jumping clothesline running swinging neckbreaker running thrust lariat samoan drop sharpshooter snap overhead belly - to - belly suplex , sometimes to an oncoming opponent spinebuster , usually followed by a people 's elbow managers : debra mr. mcmahon shane mcmahon nicknames : " the people 's champion " " the brahma bull " " the corporate champion " " the great one " " the most electrifying man in all of entertainment " " the most electrifying man in sports entertainment " " rocky " entrance themes : world wrestling federation / entertainment / wwe " destiny " by jim johnston ( 1996 – 1997 ) " power " by jim johnston ( 1997 – 1998 ) " you smell it ? " by jim johnston ( 1998 ) " the rock says " by jim johnston ( 1998 ) " do you smell it ? " by jim johnston ( 1998 – 1999 ) " know your role " by jim johnston ( 1999 – 2001 , 2004 , 2007 , 2008 , 2009 ) " if you smell ... " by jim johnston ( 2001 – 2003 ) " is cookin ' " by jim johnston ( 2003 – 2004 ) " electrifying " by jim johnston ( 2011 – present ) relatives in wrestling championships and accomplishments pro wrestling illustrated match of the year ( 1999 ) vs. mankind in an " i quit " match at royal rumble match of the year ( 2002 ) vs. hulk hogan at wrestlemania x8 most popular wrestler of the year ( 1999 , 2000 ) wrestler of the year ( 2000 ) ranked # 2 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the pwi 500 in 2000 ranked # 76 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the " pwi years " in 2003 united states wrestling association uswa world tag team championship ( 2 times ) – with bart sawyer world wrestling federation / entertainment / wwe wcw / world championship ( 2 times ) wwf / e ( undisputed ) championship ( 8 times ) 1 deadly games wwf championship tournament ( 1998 ) wwf intercontinental championship ( 2 times ) wwf tag team championship ( 5 times ) – with mankind ( 3 ) , the undertaker ( 1 ) , and chris jericho ( 1 ) royal rumble ( 2000 ) sixth triple crown champion slammy awards ( 8 times ) new sensation ( 1997 ) game changer of the year ( 2011 ) – with john cena guess who 's back or : return of the year ( 2011 ) lol ! moment of the year ( 2012 , 2013 ) – insulting john cena using the history of boston , massachusetts – rock concert on the 20th anniversary episode of raw match of the year ( 2013 ) – vs. john cena for the wwe championship at wrestlemania 29 best actor ( 2014 ) " tell me you didn 't just say that " insult of the year ( 2014 ) – rusev and lana wrestling observer newsletter best box office draw ( 2000 , 2011 , 2012 ) best gimmick ( 1999 ) best on interviews ( 1999 , 2000 ) most charismatic ( 1999 , 2000 , 2001 , 2002 , 2011 , 2012 ) most improved ( 1998 ) wrestling observer newsletter hall of fame ( class of 2007 ) 1 the rock 's seventh reign was as undisputed wwe champion . other awards and honors 1991 : ncaa national championship – as a member of the miami hurricanes 2001 : teen choice awards – choice movie villain 2012 : cinemacon action star of the year 2013 : kids choice awards – favorite male butt kicker 2016 : people 's choice award – favorite premium cable tv actor 2017 : star on the hollywood walk of fame