On Wednesday (January 15), the WWE lost one of its legends…Rocky Johnson.
Rocky wrestled for nearly 30 years before retiring from the WWE in 1991. Following his retirement, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame, both in 2008.
He passed his love for the sport on to his son, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who also became a WWE star. Now, The Rock is one of the highest-paid actors in the world.
Father and son clearly shared a close relationship. In a post to Instagram on Father’s Day 2018, The Rock wrote, “Years later as a man and father of three girls, I know that tough love, is a helluva lot better than no love at all. I’ll take it. It’s made me who I am today. Grateful to the original Rock.”
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As of press time, The Rock has not released a statement about his father’s death.
It was the WWE that confirmed Rocky’s passing on January 15 at the age of 75. A statement from the WWE read “WWE is saddened to learn that WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson has passed away.”
WWE is saddened to learn that WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson has passed away. https://t.co/9uxrICJKxb
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2020
After news broke about Rocky’s death, fans rushed to send their condolences to The Rock. He also received a note of support from a famous friend, Duane “Dog” Chapman.
The Dog the Bounty Hunter star took to Instagram to share some love for The Rock in his time of grief. Having lost his wife, Beth Chapman, to cancer last year, Dog knows all too well how much pain The Rock must be in right now.
“our thoughts and prayers go out to @therock and his family and loved ones as his dad, WWE legend Rocky Johnson passed away today,” Dog wrote alongside an image that depicts a news story about Rocky’s passing.
He ended his message by writing “we are thinking of you.”
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It must mean a lot to The Rock to read these notes of support from Dog and his fans. It’s clear he loved and respected his father, and he must be missing him terribly.
Our hearts go out to the Johnson family during this sad time. May Rocky rest in peace.