Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name the Rock, is an American actor, professional wrestler, seasonal singer and businessman. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time,[6][7] Johnson was integral to the development and success of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) during the Attitude Era.
He wrestled for the WWF full-time for eight years before pursuing an acting career. His films have grossed over $3.5 billion in North America and over $12.5 billion worldwide,[8] making him one of the world’s highest-grossing and highest-paid actors.[9][10][11] He is a co-owner of the United Football League,[12][13][14] a member of the board of directors of
TKO Group Holdings—the parent company of UFC and WWE[15][16][17]—and co-founder of Seven Bucks Productions.[18] After accepting an athletic scholarship to play football at the University of Miami, Johnson was a member of the 1991 national championship team but was largely a backup player.[19] Despite aspirations to professional football, he went undrafted in the 1995 NFL draft, and briefly signed with the Calgary Stampeders before being cut in his first season.
[20] In 1996, his father assisted in helping him secure a contract with the WWF.[1] Johnson quickly rose to global prominence, aided by a gimmick he employed as a charismatic trash talker. Johnson left the WWE in 2004; he returned in 2011 as a part-time performer until 2013 and made sporadic appearances from thereon until his retirement in 2019;[21] in 2023, he returned once again on a part-time basis. A 10-time world champion—including the promotion’s first of African-American descent[22]—he is also a two-time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time Tag Team Champion, the 2000 Royal Rumble winner, and WWE’s sixth Triple Crown champion. Johnson headlined multiple pay-per-view events, including WWE’s flagship event WrestleMania six times (15, 16, 17, 28, 29 and 40) which includes the most-bought professional wrestling pay-per-view (WrestleMania 28) and main evented the most watched episodes of WWE’s flagship television series (Raw and SmackDown).[23][24]