before he became the rock Dwayne Johnson
was a failed football player with seven
bucks in his pocket how did he go from a
penniless jabroni
to the most electrifying man in
entertainment this is the evolution of
Dwayne Johnson before he fought Steve
Austin scorpions and skyscrapers Dwayne
the rock Johnson was fighting for his
life during the early years on May 2nd
1972 Dwayne Douglas Johnson was born
into a wrestling dynasty his Symone
grandfather competed as the high chief
Peter Maivia while his father soul man
Rocky Johnson was one half of WWE's
first black tag team champions
Dwayne or Dewey as his mom called him
spent much of his youth on the road as a
result of his dad's career his family
moved at least 13 times that they
struggled to make ends meet and as a
result of the instability Dwayne found
himself in constant hot water as a team
like taking part in a theft ring hitting
up luxury stores and getting expelled
from high school after his first and
last real fight after being evicted from
their Hawaii apartment when Dwayne was
just 14 his mother eita
attempted suicide she walked out into
the middle of highway traffic but
luckily her son was there to pull her to
safety after the incident Dwayne was
determined to provide a better life for
his family and he figured the best way
to do that was he get big and strong and
play football in the NFL fortunately for
him that never quite worked out because
for Dwayne Johnson fate had a different
plan Johnson received a football
scholarship to the University of Miami
but his dreams of NFL glory were
shattered when a knee injury placed him
on the sidelines Dwayne was passed over
for the draft and had to settle for the
Canadian Football League where he made a
measly $250 a week he was forced to
share a two-bedroom apartment with three
other players eating ramen noodles and
sleeping on a filthy mattress
he found ditched outside a
pay-by-the-hour motel the age of 23
Dwayne was cut from the team a return
home with only seven dollars in his
pocket a figure that would stick with
him for life and inspire the name of his
later business venture seven bucks
productions instead of spending the rest
of his life has a down-on-his-luck
jabroni Johnson decided to follow in his
family tradition of pro wrestling and
while his father was initially reluctant
the sole man agreed as long as he could
personally show his
the ropes after his training was
complete Dwayne was scouted by WWE in
1996 he debuted on TV as a
happy-go-lucky good guy in Rocky Maivia
a combination of his father and
grandfather's ring name a smiling
cheerful baby face might have gone over
well in the 80s but the 90s crowds
demanded a little more attitude they
chanted rocky sucks and died rocky died
[Applause]
we took their hatred and turned it into
the arrogant heel character that made
him a megastar not only was the rock a
stellar in-ring athlete but his
charismatic promos and knack for coining
catchphrases skyrocketed to the top of
WWE during their greatest boom period
after conquering the world of pro
wrestling the rock was eager to share
his talent with an even bigger audience
but in his first forays in Hollywood the
Brahma bull was a box-office bomb the
rock first dipped his toes into acting
during his original WWE run hosting SNL
on the eve of Wrestlemania 2000 playing
his father on an episode of That 70's
Show and an intergalactic gladiator who
suplex seven of nine on Star Trek his
first major role was in The Mummy
Returns where he played the villainous
Scorpion King things were looking great
for the great one he was paid five
million dollars for a Scorpion King
spinoff but his next few action movies
like walking tall doom and the run-down
build to set the box-office on fire by
the late 2000s he was stuck in a string
of cheesy family films playing the Tooth
Fairy was probably the last straw
there's got to be a way to postpone this
like like jury duty
I'm sure up here you have Larry do to
you so Rock had a meeting with his
agents and said I want you to make me
Will Smith only bigger
they couldn't smell what The Rock was
cooking so he snagged some new
representation landed him a
career-making role in Fast Five
after the shake-up Johnson's career took
off like a lightning bolt but he never
forgot his roots the same year his
presence helped revitalize the Fast &
Furious franchise The Rock returned to
the ring for a dream match against John
Cena at WrestleMania 28
the bout was billed as
once-in-a-lifetime so naturally they had
to rematch the very next year and not
only did the ROC lose his WWE title
he suffered a brutal groin injury during
the match forcing him to bump back
shooting his starring role in Hercules
like two months costing the production
millions that's why even though he's not
officially retired
I wouldn't expect to see him back in the
squared circle anytime soon at this
point he can't risk D railing a
billion-dollar blockbuster the Contin is
the highest-paid highest-grossing actor
in Hollywood after all whose global fame
has solidified his status as the
People's Champ after San Andreas
established Johnson as a solo star who
could carry his own franchise his team
ups with Kevin Hart provided him with
the perfect comedic foil
Galloway and his hit HBO show ballers
brought him back to the small screen the
entire entertainment industry smells
what The Rock is cooking today Johnson
makes so many movies that even his duds
like Baywatch are completely forgotten
among massive hits like Jumanji but in
between filming movies surprising his
fans and clanging and banging in the
iron paradise Dwayne still finds time to
spend with his partner Lauren hash Ian
and his three daughters
Simone jasmine and tiana jeah The Rock's
charisma dedication and boundless energy
has made Dwayne Johnson one of
Hollywood's few remaining mega stars
someone who could sell you a movie
ticket just by having their name on the
poster in the Smackdown hotel to the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
Dwayne Johnson has overcome hardship and
heartbreak and truly earned the title of
the great one thanks for watching the
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