Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's Father WWE Legend Rocky Johnson Dies at Age 75

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's father, Rocky Johnson has passed away aged 75. Rocky was also a WWE wrestler and Hall of Famer and the sports-entertainment network confirmed the news on social media on Thursday.

"WWE is saddened to learn that Rocky “Soul Man” Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles), a WWE Hall of Famer, former World Tag Team Champion, and father of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, has passed away at age 75," the organization said.

As per wwe.com, Rocky Johnson’s sports-entertainment career began in the mid-1960s. He spent the bulk of his career in the National Wrestling Alliance and later joined the then-World Wrestling Federation in the 1980s. He formed a tag team with Atlas known as 'Soul Patrol' and became of one the popular teams of the era. Rocky retired in the early 1990s, but helped introduce his son Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson to officials at WWE.

Rocky's son Dwayne adopted the Rocky moniker from him. Rocky came to his son's aid after a match at WrestleMania in 1997. The Rock inducted his father into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.

Former professional wrestler Brian Blair, another 1980s WWE star, was friends with Rocky for decades and they still went to church together in the Tampa, Florida area. Brian told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Rocky had complained of an unspecified illness of late and had missed church that he attended with Brian and other former wrestlers. Brain said Rocky’s wife, Sheila, was distraught over her husband’s death.

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