The Rock Reflects on His Relationship with His Dad Rocky Johnson – The Rock entered the wrestling business in 1996, following in the footsteps of his father Rocky Johnson. The Rock was heavily touted upon debuting in WWE at Survivor Series 1996, but it wasn’t until he turned heel and joined the Nation of Domination in 1997 that he shot into superstardom.
Speaking to Joel Madden on Artist Friendly, The Rock reflected on his relationship with his dad and how they clashed.
“There was that dynamic of young buck son getting into the business, how is he going to do. I told him, ‘I think I want to do this. I think I have some talent. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll suck, but I feel I have a passion for this.’ He was so adamantly against me getting into pro wrestling. He’s like, ‘You don’t know if you have anything to offer. I don’t want you to live like this. I live in an apartment that I can’t afford in Tampa, Florida for $500 a month. I don’t want this for you.’ We [clashed]. At that time, I didn’t have the emotional tools to realize ‘That’s love, Dad. Thank you, I love you. I still have to make my path.’ I didn’t have that. I was like, ‘What the fuck are you talking about? It’s my life.’ We just [clashed] for a long time. I wish I reconciled. We got into this huge fight Christmas 2019. It was awful, one of the biggest fights we ever got into about some stupid shit. About a month later, he passed away. We weren’t talking,” said Rock. “When my dad passed away, I felt like, all the dumb shit we were arguing about, it didn’t matter.”
Rock said he now better understands his dad’s capacity to love, being a father himself and knowing what his father went through.
The Rock Reflects on His Relationship with His Dad Rocky Johnson
