Dwayne Johnson

College career

As he did in high school, Johnson continued to play defensive tackle at the University of Miami, where he was a member of the Miami Hurricanes 1991 team, which won that year's national championship. Despite playing four years there, however, Johnson found himself behind elite players on the depth chart, including future NFL star and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Warren Sapp, and appeared mostly in backup roles. In his time at Miami, Johnson played in 39 games with one start. He recorded 4.5 sacks and 77 tackles.

In 1995, Johnson graduated with a Bachelor of General Studies and a dual major in criminology and physiology. He was also one of the university's most prolific student speakers in the Miami-area community, frequently delivering positive messages about his own struggles and encouraging students to remain in school and avoid the dangers of drug use.

Nation of Domination (1997–1998)

Upon returning in August, Maivia turned heel by lashing out at fans who had been booing him and joining Faarooq, D'Lo Brown and Kama in the stable called the Nation of Domination. He then refused to acknowledge the Rocky Maivia name, instead referring to himself in the third person as the Rock, though he would still be billed as "the Rock" Rocky Maivia until 1998. The Rock would then regularly insult the audience, WWF performers, and interviewers in his promos.

At D-Generation X: In Your House on December 7, 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 title 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. On January 19, 1998, at the Royal Rumble, the Rock defeated Shamrock by disqualification to retain the Intercontinental Championship. Later that night, the Rock entered the Royal Rumble match and lasted until the final two before he was eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin. On March 29, at WrestleMania XIV, the Rock defeated Shamrock by disqualification once again to retain the title. The next night, on Raw is War, the Rock debuted a new Intercontinental Championship design and would later overthrow Faarooq as leader of the Nation of Domination to spark a feud between the two. He then successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship against Faarooq at Over the Edge: In Your House on May 31. The stable would then refer to themselves as simply "The Nation".

The Rock and the Nation then feuded with Triple H and D-Generation X (DX), with the two stable leaders first meeting in the quarter-final of the 1998 King of the Ring tournament, which the Rock won. At King of the Ring on June 28, the Rock defeated Dan Severn in the semi-final match and lost to rival Ken Shamrock in the final. The Rock then resumed his feud with Triple H, as the two had a two out of three falls match at Fully Loaded: In Your House on July 26 for the Intercontinental Championship, which the Rock retained in controversial fashion. This led to a ladder match at SummerSlam on August 30, where the Rock lost the title to Triple H.

In the latter half of 1998, the Rock saw a big uptick in fan support. The Rock also started consolidating his famous persona during this time, which would last until 2000. The Rock's popularity caused him to be booked in a feud with fellow Nation members Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown, turning babyface in the process. Henry defeated the Rock at Judgment Day: In Your House on October 18 after interference from Brown, effectively breaking up the stable.

WWF Champion and rise to superstardom (1998–2000)

The Rock was then entered into the "Deadly Game" tournament for the vacant WWF Championship. The finals occurred at Survivor Series on November 15, where the Rock defeated Vince McMahon's associate, Mankind, to win his first WWF Championship. A "double turn" then occurred as the Rock turned heel again after allying with Vince and Shane McMahon as the crown jewel of their stable, the Corporation, after the McMahons betrayed Mankind. On December 13, at the pay-per-view named after 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 to the Mandible Claw submission move, but Vince McMahon ruled that since the Rock did not tap out, he retained his title.

In the main event of the January 4, 1999, episode of Raw Is War, Mankind defeated the Rock for the championship after interference from Stone Cold Steve Austin. Then at the Royal Rumble on January 24, the Rock regained the title in an "I Quit" match, a type of submission match that only ends if one of the combatants says "I quit" on a microphone. Intended to show a vicious streak in the Rock's character, the Rock hit Mankind in the head with a steel chair 11 times instead of the scripted five, five shots already being risky (most wrestling matches in the Attitude Era involving steel chairs had at most 2 or 3 shots to the head). After the fifth shot, Mankind was still ringside instead of two-thirds up the entrance ramp where he was supposed to be, and after the eleventh shot, which knocked Mankind out, a recording of Mankind saying "I Quit" from an earlier interview was played over the public address system. On January 31, during an episode of Sunday Night Heat, the Rock and Mankind participated in an Empty Arena match, a match that took place in an arena with 22,000 empty seats where any part of the facility could be used to contest the match. After 20 minutes of chaotic brawling in the ring, the stands, a kitchen, the catering area, an office, the arena corridors and finally a basement loading area, Mankind pinned the Rock using a forklift truck to win the WWF Championship. The two faced off again, at St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House on February 14, in a Last Man Standing match which ended in a draw, meaning Mankind retained the title. Their feud ended on the February 15 Raw Is War, when the Rock won his third WWF Championship in a Ladder Match after a debuting Big Show interfered on his behalf. The Rock then lost the WWF Championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania XV on March 28.

The Rock's popularity continued to grow and audiences still cheered for him even though he was a heel. The Rock then lost the title rematch against Stone Cold Steve Austin at Backlash on April 25. The next night on Raw is War, the Rock was fired from the Corporation after he was betrayed by Shane McMahon, turning him face again and starting a feud with Triple H, the Undertaker and the Corporate Ministry. On April 29, 1999, WWF aired the pilot episode of SmackDown!, a term derived from one of the Rock's catchphrases. In the episode, the Rock continued his feud with the Corporate Ministry. This led to a match with Triple H, at Over the Edge on May 23, which the Rock won, and a match for the WWF Championship against the Undertaker, at King of the Ring on June 27, which the Rock lost. The Rock then lost a number one contender's match to Triple H, at Fully Loaded on July 25, after interference from "Mr. Ass" Billy Gunn. The Rock then defeated Gunn in a Kiss My Ass match at SummerSlam on August 22. The Rock was also given the privilege of having his own signature match, like the Undertaker with the Buried Alive match, Kane with the Inferno Match and Mankind with the Boiler Room Brawl: the Brahma Bullrope match, a variant of a strap match was a normal singles match where the components are tied together with a rope used for cattle farming, and the rope and its attached cowbell could both be used as weapons. The Rock contested this match twice, both times in Texas (vs. Triple H in Dallas, and vs. Al Snow in Houston).

Shortly after SummerSlam, the Rock began teaming with former opponent Mankind and the two became known as the Rock 'n' Sock Connection. They became WWF Tag Team Champions for the first time after defeating the Undertaker and Big Show for the titles on the August 30 episode of Raw is War. The two performed a number of critically acclaimed comedic skits together, including one called "This Is Your Life", which saw Mankind bring parody versions of people from the Rock's past on television, such as his high school girlfriend and his high school football coach, only to have the Rock insult them. The segment earned an 8.4 Nielsen rating, one of the highest ratings ever for a Raw segment. The two lost the titles back to the Undertaker and Big Show on the September 9 episode of SmackDown! and won them back from them on the September 20 episode of Raw is War. The Rock and Mankind then lost the titles to the New Age Outlaws on the very next episode of SmackDown!. The Rock and Mankind would win the WWF Tag Team Championship for the third and final time after beating the New Age Outlaws on the October 14 episode of SmackDown! before losing the titles to the Holly Cousins on the October 18 episode of Raw is War.

At the 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. In an attempt at a "false finish", Big Show intended to throw the Rock over the top rope in a running powerslam-like position, before the Rock countered the move on the ring apron, sending Big Show to the floor before reentering the ring as the winner. But the Rock's feet accidentally hit the floor during the reversal attempt, though those watching the event on television did not see that. This was played up in the storyline as Big Show provided additional video footage showing it and claimed to be the rightful winner. The Rock's number one contendership for the WWF Championship was then put on the line against Big Show at No Way Out on February 27, which Big Show won after Shane McMahon interfered. The Rock then defeated Big Show on the March 13 episode of Raw Is War, to regain the right to face the WWF Champion, Triple H, at WrestleMania 2000 on April 2, 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. The Rock lasted until the final two but was eliminated by Triple H after Vince betrayed him by hitting him with a chair.

Due to his image at the time, a Magic: The Gathering deck archetype was named after him.

Record-breaking world champion (2000–2002)

In the following weeks, the Rock continued his feud with Triple H and eventually won his fourth WWF Championship, which he won on April 30, at Backlash, after Stone Cold Steve Austin intervened on his behalf. The following night on Raw is War, the Rock successfully defended his title against Shane McMahon in a Steel Cage match. On May 21, at Judgment Day, the Rock faced Triple H in 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, thus giving Triple H the 6–5 win and the title. The Rock won the WWF Championship for a fifth time at King of the Ring on June 25 by scoring the winning pin in a six-man tag team match, teaming with Kane and the Undertaker against Shane McMahon, Triple H and Vince McMahon, whom he pinned. The Rock successfully defended the championship against Chris Benoit on July 23 at Fully Loaded. The next month, he successfully defended his title against Kurt Angle and Triple H at SummerSlam on August 27. The Rock had another successful title defense against Benoit, Kane and the Undertaker on September 24 at Unforgiven.

The Rock then lost the WWF Championship to Kurt Angle at No Mercy on October 22, 2000. The next month, the Rock feuded with Rikishi and defeated him at Survivor Series on November 19. The Rock wrestled a six-man Hell in a Cell match for the WWF Championship at Armageddon on December 10, which Angle won to retain the title. On the December 18 episode of Raw is War, the Rock won the WWF Tag Team Championship with the Undertaker, defeating Edge and Christian, before losing the titles back to Edge and Christian the next night at a SmackDown! taping. The Rock continued to feud with Angle over the WWF Championship, culminating at No Way Out on February 25, 2001, where he pinned Angle to win the WWF Championship for a sixth time. The Rock then feuded with the Royal Rumble winner, Stone Cold Steve Austin, whom he lost the title to at WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1 after Austin allied with Vince McMahon, who interfered on his behalf. On the next night's Raw is War, during a steel cage title rematch, Triple H attacked the Rock, allying with McMahon and Austin and helping Austin retain the championship. Austin and Triple H then formed a tag team called the Power Trip, while the Rock was indefinitely suspended in storyline. Johnson used this time off to act in The Scorpion King.

The Rock returned in late July when the WWF was feuding with rival promotions World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during what is known as the Invasion storyline. In reality, WCW was purchased by Vince McMahon and the WWF, and ECW had gone out of business in early 2001. Many former WCW and ECW wrestlers were then brought onto WWF television and formed the Alliance to compete with the WWF in storyline. The Alliance and Vince McMahon then both attempted to persuade the Rock to join their team. The Rock then aligned with McMahon and the WWF. The next month, the Rock defeated Booker T at SummerSlam on August 19 to win the WCW Championship for the first time. The Rock later lost the title to Chris Jericho at No Mercy on October 21. The next night on Raw, the Rock teamed with Jericho to win the WWF Tag Team Championship from the Dudley Boyz. The Rock and Jericho then lost the tag titles to Booker T and Test on the November 1, 2001, episode of SmackDown!. The Rock defeated Jericho on the 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" five-on-five elimination tag team match at Survivor Series on November 18 where the losing team's company would be dissolved in storyline. The Rock was a member of Team WWF along with Chris Jericho, the Undertaker, Kane, and Big Show. The Alliance's team consisted of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, and Shane McMahon. In the end, it came down to a one-on-one between the Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. the Rock seemed to have the upper hand, until his teammate Jericho entered the ring and attacked the Rock. Austin tried to capitalize on this by pinning the Rock, but Kurt Angle revealed his true allegiance by attacking Austin. The Rock then pinned Austin, giving Team WWF the victory and forcing the Alliance to disband. The Rock's WCW Championship was renamed the unbranded "World Championship" following the Alliance's loss. At the next pay-per-view, Vengeance on December 9, the Rock lost the World Championship to Jericho, who would then unify the WWF and World titles later that night. The Rock then unsuccessfully challenged Jericho for the now Undisputed WWF Championship at Royal Rumble on January 20, 2002.

At the next pay-per-view, No Way Out on February 17, the Rock defeated the Undertaker in a singles match. No Way Out also saw the WWF debut of the famed WCW faction New World Order (nWo), which at the time consisted of "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall. This later led to a match between the Rock and Hogan at WrestleMania X8 on March 17. The match was billed as "icon versus icon", with both men representing the top tier of two generations of wrestling; ultimately the Rock pinned Hogan at WrestleMania X8 to win the match. Despite the Rock portraying a heroic character and Hogan a villain, a portion of the crowd attending the SkyDome was rooting heavily for Hogan. In an interview in 2013, Hogan said he and the Rock changed the style of the match on the fly based on the crowd's response. After the introduction of the first-ever brand extension, the WWF held a "draft lottery" on the March 25, 2002, episode of Raw. The Rock was the number one overall pick, going to the SmackDown! brand before taking a sabbatical from wrestling.

The Rock made a surprise return on a June episode of Raw before going to his assigned brand of SmackDown!. There, the Rock was named the number one contender for the WWE Undisputed Championship, which he won for a record-setting seventh time at Vengeance on July 21, by defeating Kurt Angle and then-champion the Undertaker in a Triple Threat match. The Rock successfully defended the title at the Global Warning event on August 10 against Triple H and Brock Lesnar after pinning Triple H. On August 25, at SummerSlam, the Rock lost the WWE Undisputed Championship to Lesnar along with the record for the youngest WWE Champion, which he had set in 1998. In 2018, writing for ESPN.com, Sean Coyle noted in a retrospective review of the event, that following his victory over Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8, the Rock "started to see a dip in fan support" and "that dip turned into a plunge" by the time the Rock had his match with Lesnar at SummerSlam because fans knew he was leaving WWE to pursue an acting career, as evidenced by the negative crowd response during his match with Lesnar. After SummerSlam ended, the Rock was visibly angry at the crowd reaction. When he tried to do a post-show speech for the crowd, the fans booed him. He eventually cut a short promo, declaring that "sing-along with the Rock is over!" The Rock then took time off to kickstart his acting career.

Hollywood Rock (2003)

The Rock returned on the January 30, 2003, episode of SmackDown! to set up another match with Hulk Hogan at No Way Out on February 23. Because of negative fan reaction during previous matches as a result of his budding acting career, the Rock turned h

Business career

In March 2020, Johnson launched Teremana Tequila, which sold 600,000 nine-litre cases in its first year and is valued at approximately $3.5 billion.

In August 2020, Johnson along with several partners and investors—including RedBird Capital Partners—purchased the XFL for $15 million. Within months, Johnson announced plans for the relaunch of the league in spring 2022. While the launch was delayed a year, the first games of 2023 kicked off on time. After a successful 2023 season, the XFL and United States Football League announced their intent to merge into a single league. On December 31, 2023, it was announced that the new merged league would be called the United Football League (UFL). The league would feature 8 teams and start on March 30, 2024. Johnson, along with Dany Garcia, and RedBird Capital Partners own 50% of the UFL together under XFL Properties LLC.

On January 23, 2024, Johnson joined the TKO Group Holdings board of directors. In the process, he obtained full ownership over his trademarked name "The Rock", which was owned by WWE. As part of the settlement, Johnson signed a new services and merchandising agreement with WWE.

Relationships

Johnson first met Dany Garcia when they were both University of Miami students in the early 1990s. They married on May 3, 1997. She is a businesswoman, International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation professional bodybuilder, and producer. They have one child, Simone, a daughter, who was born August 14, 2001, in Davie, Florida. On June 1, 2007, Johnson and Garcia announced they were separating amicably. The divorce was finalized in May 2008.

In 2007, Johnson began dating Lauren Hashian, the daughter of Sib Hashian, the drummer for the band Boston. They met in 2006 while Johnson was filming The Game Plan. On August 18, 2019, Johnson and Hashian married in Hawaii. They have two daughters, Jasmine and Tiana, and live in Los Angeles. They also maintain a farm in Virginia and a home in Southwest Ranches, Florida. Alongside Johnson, Jasmine and Tiana provided voices for Moana 2.

In February 2020, WWE announced that Johnson's daughter Simone had started training at the WWE Performance Center, making her the first fourth-generation WWE wrestler. On May 16, Johnson announced she had signed a contract with WWE, and announced in May 2022 that her ring name would be Ava Raine. She appeared with the NXT brand until January 2026 when she opted not to renew her WWE contract.