13 Times That The Rock Has Won At Life
He's a former wrestling champion, star of a hit television series on HBO Ballers, a doting father, son and a producer.
One has to wonder if there is honestly anything that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson can't do.
From his beginnings as Rocky Maivia, few would have thought that the former charismatic WWE Superstar with the curly hair, People's Eyebrow, colorful shirts and hilarious catch phrases, would be one of the highest paying stars in Hollywood.
With such films as the upcoming Baywatch, San Andreas and playing a key role in the Fast and the Furious franchise, we decided here at The Talko to celebrate The Great One's belated birthday by showcasing just how many times that Rock has won at life!
Admit it, Mr. Johnson's life doesn't suck one bit. He recently celebrated his birthday by launching an app. Wouldn't you want to see what The Rock's cooking? We do!
13 That App Though
Oh yes, the Great One on his birthday launched an app! Entitled “The Rock Clock” the app is designed for setting goals along with a date for each one. Developed for both Android and IOS, the app features 25 different alarm tones curated and voiced by Johnson. People can hear phrases such as “Open your eyes and get your candy ass out of bed,” “Jabroni” and simply “Ring, Ring.” According to Creativity Online, the app is the latest offering from The Rock's lifestyle collection entitled Planet Rock which launched in March with an official bag.
12 He Makes Dreams Come True
Get your tissues ready. In a recent video that appeared on The Rock's Instagram account, the superstar met with two special needs children on the set of his recent film Baywatch for Make-A-Wish. One of the children, named Ashley Rodriguez, touched the Big Guy's heart so much that he nearly cried saying on IG, “but everyone was watching, so I held it together cause I'm tough as nails.” The two bonded over pizza and spiders. When asked by Johnson what the best part of her day was, little Ashley replied, “Everything.” If that doesn't tug at your heart, I don't know what will.
11 He's A Mama's Boy And Proud Of It
In one of the sweetest things ever to be put on Instagram, Johnson told the story of how as a teen, he watched as the only car his mother had was repossessed. For Christmas in 2012, Johnson now on the Forbes list for being the highest paying wrestler, (he's worth an estimated $70 million dollars), bought his mother, Ata, a Cadillac Escalade. The look on her face was priceless and full of pride. I have a feeling that she won't ever have to want for anything ever again.
10 Daddy's Girls
Johnson has two daughters, 14 year-old Simone Alexandra, by his first wife Dany Garcia and new daughter, Jasmine with longtime girlfriend Lauren Hashian. When Jasmine was born, the former WWE star said on his Instagram page, "Christmas came early! Within minutes of being born she was laying on daddy's chest. And being a grateful man takes on a whole new meaning… ” Days later, he also posted a cute video introducing everyone to Jasmine.
9 Loyal To A Fault
Johnson never has forgotten where he came from. His family's lineage in wrestling is legendary. From his grandfather Chief Peter Maivia to his father, Rocky Johnson, fighting and determination is in his blood. Still after all these years, The Rock has maintained an excellent relationship with the man who helped jumpstart his career, WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon. Johnson not only still supports the WWE by appearing on their programming at major PPV's such as WrestleMania and Summerslam, but he also has been known from time to time to put the spandex back on, going against talent like former champions Hulk Hogan and John Cena. Would he ever go against his cousin, the current WWE World Champion, Roman Reigns? Time will tell.
8 Social Media King
In 2012, The Rock was awarded the title of Must-Follow Actor or Actress on Social Media which was voted by readers at the annual Mashable Awards. To date, Johnson has 56 million “likes” on Facebook, over 10 million followers on twitter and a whopping 53.6 million followers on his Instagram page. Recently, besides his app, The Great One has gone one step further and added a Snapchat account. You can follow his stories on TheRock of course. I can't wait to see what else the King of the catchphrases comes up with next.
7 He Officiates Weddings Too
So you decide to get married. You get flowers, the venue, and music, invite guests. But then you have to find someone to officiate the wedding right?
Well, last May, Nick Mundy who is a producer of the popular show Screen Junkies got the surprise of his life when The Rock came in and officiated his wedding during a press junket for his film San Andreas.
Johnson, who is a friend of the Mundy's replied, ““I am officially ordained by the state of California. I go all out, because you're my bestie.” Is there anything he can't do?
6 Cover Boy
Essence, Rolling Stone and Muscle and Fitness are just some of the dozens of magazine covers that Dwayne Johnson has graced. In fact, in 2015, Muscle and Fitness named Johnson “Man of the Century.” When told about the huge honor, Rock replied from his Instagram account, “315lbs. 3 sets. 25 reps. After 75 yrs of publication and the honor of being named #ManOfTheCentury, I told my strength and conditioning coach @hanyrambod I'm takin' it to the next level - push me and scream "light weight" to which I will respond "what the f are you talking about? It's 315lbs for 25 reps".
5 Breaking The Stigma
No one would think that someone like Dwayne Johnson suffered from Depression. In an episode of Oprah's Masterclass, Dwayne talked about his struggles in his twenties when he was cut from the Calgary Stampede and the NFL passing him over. During this dark time, he moved back in with his parents and described his depression as, “You feel like you're alone. You feel like it's only you. You're in your bubble.” Johnson eventually recovered and moved away from wanting a professional football career to following in his family's footsteps into a professional wrestling career. His advice to anyone suffering from depression, ““I found that, with depression, one of the most important things you could realize is that you're not alone,” Johnson said in the episode. “You're not the first to go through it; you're not going to be the last to go through it.”
4 Takes Surgery Like A Boss
In 2013, After a WrestleMania match with John Cena, a then 40 year old Johnson needed emergency hernia surgery. The Rock told Entertainment Tonight that, "About midway through the match, I tore my abductor tendon, as well as my rectus tendon, completely off my pelvis, and then I found out that I had three wonderful hernia tears."
As a result, the star missed the premiere of his film Pain and Gain which also starred Mark Wahlberg and some promotional stops for the Fast and Furious 6. The upside at the time was spending time with his then 11 year old daughter, Simone after the successful surgery. The Rock said that despite the pain, it was good to slow down and most likely someone's way of telling him to do just that.
3 The Ultimate Gym Rat
Attention All Men! If you want to have a body like The Rock's take a look at his work out during his Hercules training.
To look like the Son of Zeus, Johnson worked out 6 days a week with one day off for 6 months to bulk up for the 2014 film. He would also do 50 minutes worth of cardio before working on a specific body part that day. Oh by the way, he started out his workout day according to bodybuilding.com at 4 a.m. For the former champion, training is his way of meditation. It clears his mind and gives him focus for the day ahead.
2 The SNL Jumpstart
On March 18, 2000, The Rock made his debut on Saturday Night Live. The musical guest was AC/DC. This show also featured cameos from The Big Show, Triple H and Mick Foley. In one of Johnson's most memorable skits, he portrayed Clark Kent in hilarious fashion by pretty much giving himself away at every turn. This wouldn't be the last we saw of the wrestler on SNL, during his career, he'd come back to host the famed variety series four more times. What is one of the most popular SNL characters he's done? Rock Obama!
1 Hero Of Hollywood
He's gone from one of WWE's best performers to one of Hollywood's most bankable action stars. From The Scorpion King, San Andreas to comedies like The Tooth Fairy and The Rundown. The franchise that truly solidified Johnson's action hero status was the Fast Film franchise when he joined at Agent Hobbs in 2011. Soon, we'll see The Rock in a remake in Jumanji, Baywatch and it was announced recently that he would be playing Doc Savage. He is also set to reprise his role as Hobbs in Fast 8. It's no wonder that he was number #81 on the Forbes list for The World's Most Highest Paid Celebrities in 2015.