3Facts
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- Their daughter, Simone Alexandra was born on August 14, 2001. Dwayne and Dany split in 2007 but remained good friends and are often seen together with their daughter.
- After he did not succeed as a football player, he decided to dedicate his life to professional wrestling like his father. At first, Rocky was against it but later did agree to train his son.
- Looking at his non-blood relatives it was clear that this is the business made for the family. His cousins Solofa (Rikishi), Rodney (Yokozuna), Eddie (Umaga) and his uncles Afa and Sika Anoai (The Wild Samoans) were all in wrestling.
- It didn’t take him long to get his first tryout matches, and with the help of Pat Patterson, a veteran of the sport, he got to perform three times. He managed to win in a duel with The Brooklyn Brawler but lost against Chris Candido and Owen Hart.
- Originally he used his real name when wrestling, but later on, when he was in United States Wrestling Association changed it to Flex Cavana.
- Dwayne won World Tag Team Championship two times with Bart Sawyer, and soon after that, he signed WWF contract.
- The first name that Dwayne used in WWF was Rocky Maivia combining father’s and grandfather’s names that they used while in the ring. Johnson didn’t like it all that much, but he received huge push as a face from the company even he was quite inexperienced.
- November 1996 and the Survivor Series was the time and place of his debut where he managed to win in eight-man battle. It was clear that the fans didn’t really like his character.
- A win against Hunter Hearst Helmsley at the Monday Night Raw event got him the WWF Intercontinental Championship. Even he was a face and managed to defend his title in the next few duels he got booed by the fans, and we could hear them chanting “Die, Rocky Die” and “Rocky Sucks.”
- After he lost his belt on April 28, 1997, to Owen Hart, he injured his knee which forced him to take a break for some time. A situation like this usually isn’t good for an athlete, but it did wonders for Dwayne as he returned as a bad guy, as a heel, to the ring.
- This bad guy also had a different name, and he performed as The Rock which he used to call himself in the third person.
MIAMI GARDENS, FL – APRIL 1: Dwayne ”The Rock” Johnson looks on during his match against John Cena during WrestleMania XXVIII at Sun Life Stadium on April 1, 2012 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Ron Elkman/Sports Imagery/Getty Images)
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