Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s dad dies
TRIBUTES have flooded in for wrestling legend Rocky Johnson, the father of WWE icon Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, after he died aged 75.
Wrestling reporter Dave Meltzer tweeted the sad news on Thursday morning.
What horrible news, Rocky Johnson passed away, Dwayne's father. Our best to Dwayne, Ricky, Ata and the entire family.
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) January 15, 2020
Rocky started his professional career with the National Wrestling Alliance in 1964 and became a household name when he starred in the WWE in the 1980s.
He retired in 1991 but made a cameo to help his son Dwayne overcome The Sultan and The Iron Sheik at WrestleMania 13 in 1997.
Rocky was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008 and the wrestling promotion said in a statement he will "will be forever enshrined as one of sports-entertainment's most influential performers".
Plenty of fans and admirers took the social media to pay tribute to Rocky.
Saddened to hear about the passing of Rocky Johnson. Rocky was always extremely friendly & kind to me every time I interacted with him over the years. My condolences & thoughts go out to his family.
— Matt Hardy in LIMBO (@MATTHARDYBRAND) January 15, 2020
Damn. RIP Rocky Johnson.
— Logan Sama (@djlogansama) January 15, 2020
One of my very first wrestling memories was watching
— jamie stuart (@N12jamiestuart) January 15, 2020
Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas defeat The Wild Samoans for the WWF tag team titles.#riprockyjohnson @WWE @TheRock pic.twitter.com/8dPOWU7eHT
The National Wrestling Alliance is saddened to hear of the passing of Rocky Johnson.
— NWA (@nwa) January 15, 2020
His legacy stretches across every promotion. He was a champion everywhere he went including holding the NWA Georgia Championship.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his entire family. pic.twitter.com/KTqHZns6Hb
Got a chance to talk to Rocky Johnson multiple times last year and he was so fired up to be moving his horse farm up to Lutz. Great guy, really sad to hear he’s gone.
— KC Joyner (@KCJoynerTFS) January 15, 2020
More to come …
