Dwayne Johnson Biography / Pictures

Dwayne Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler, currently signed with World Wrestling Entertainment. He is occasionally credited as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Biography

Dwayne was a college football player and, in 1991, he was part of the University of Miami's national championship team. The Rock later played for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League, but was cut two months into the season. This led to his decision to become a professional wrestler like his grandfather, Peter Maivia, and his father, Rocky Johnson. The Rock gained mainstream fame as a wrestler in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), originally known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), from 1996 to 2004, and was the first third-generation superstar in the company's history. Dwayne was quickly given a push in the WWF, first as "Rocky Maivia", and then as "The Rock", a member of the Nation of Domination. Two years after he joined the WWF, Dwayne won the WWF Championship, and became one of the most popular wrestlers within the company's history for his engaging interviews and promos. In 2001, he began acting and occasionally returned to the ring. His primary focus, as of 2011, is his acting career.

Dwayne won sixteen total championships in WWF/E, including nine world heavyweight championships, winning two WCW/World Championships and seven WWF/E Championships. In addition to these, Dwayne has won the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice and a five time WWF Tag Team Champion. The Rock is the sixth WWF/E Triple Crown champion and the winner of the 2000 Royal Rumble.

In 2000, Dwayne made his literary debut by publishing his autobiography, The Rock Says. It debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list and remained on the list for several weeks. Dwayne is also an actor, and his first leading role, in 2002, was in The Scorpion King. For this film, he received the highest salary for an actor in his first starring role, earning $5.5 million. The Rock has since appeared in movies such as The Rundown, Be Cool, Walking Tall, Gridiron Gang, The Game Plan, Get Smart, Race to Witch Mountain, Planet 51, Tooth Fairy, Doom, Why Did I Get Married Too? , The Other Guys, and Faster.