Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is finally breaking his silence on the passing of his father, Rocky “Soulman” Johnson.
The elder Johnson and wrestling trailblazer was remembered this week with a heartfelt Instagram post penned by the Jumanji actor.
“I love you,” Dwayne began. “You broke color barriers, became a ring legend and trail blazed your way thru (sic) this world.”
“I was the boy sitting in the seats, watching and adoring you, my hero from afar. The boy you raised to always be proud of our cultures and proud of who and what I am,” he said, hinting at his Black and Samoan ethnicity. “The boy you raised with the toughest of love. The intense work. The hard hand. The adoring boy who wanted to know only your best qualities. Who then grew to become a man realizing you had other deeply complicated sides that needed to be held and understood.”
It appears that his father’s passing was sudden since Dwayne wrote in the caption that Rocky was “ripped away from me so fast without warning. Gone in an instant and no coming back.”
Rocky passed away last week at the age of 75. Born Wayde Douglas Bowles, the professional wrestler broke boundaries as a member of The Soul Patrol, which became the first Black World Tag Team Champions in WWE history.
Dwayne continued on Instagram that he’s in pain but “it’ll pass.”
“You lived a very full, very hard, barrier-breaking life and left it all in the ring. I love you dad and I’ll always be your proud and grateful son. Go rest high,” he concluded.
