Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is remembering his late father, wrestler Rocky Johnson, in a touching post.
Rocky died at age 75, World Wrestling Entertainment announced on Wednesday. He’s best known for becoming the first black tag team champion in WWE history with partner Tony Atlas as The Soul Patrol in 1983.
On Friday, The Rock took to Instagram to share his lengthy tribute to his dad along with a video clip from Rocky’s wrestling days with a young Dwayne watching him.
“I love you. You broke color barriers, became a ring legend and trail blazed your way thru 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. The boy you raised with the toughest of love,” he wrote.
He continued, “Dad, I wish I had one more shot to tell you, I love you, before you crossed over to the other side. But you were ripped away from me so fast without warning. Gone in an instant and no coming back. Im in pain. But we both know it’s just pain and it’ll pass.”
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I love you. You broke color barriers, became a ring legend and trail blazed your way thru 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. 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 deep complex sides that needed to be held and understood. Son to father. Man to man. That’s when my adoration turned to respect. And my empathy turned to gratitude. Grateful that you gave me life. Grateful you gave me life’s invaluable lessons. Dad, I wish I had one more shot to tell you, I love you, before you crossed over to the other side. But you were ripped away from me so fast without warning. Gone in an instant and no coming back. Im in pain. But we both know it’s just pain and it’ll pass. Now I’ll carry your mana and work ethic with me, as it’s time to move on because I have my family to feed and work to accomplish. Finally, I want you to rest your trailblazing soul, Soulman. Pain free, regret free, satisfied and at ease. 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. #ripsoulman #rockyjohnson ?
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“Finally, I want you to rest your trailblazing soul, Soulman. Pain free, regret free, satisfied and at ease,” he concluded the emotional post. “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.”
Dwayne’s followers took to the comment section to share their condolences.
Terry Crews shared multiple praying hands and a heart emoji and wrote, “LOVE AND CONDOLENCES”
Kevin Hart wrote, “Love you bro.” with more praying hands emojis.
Former “Hamilton” star Obi Ugoala wrote, “Deepest condolences. Words fail in moments like this. Love to you and the family. Be kind to yourself.”
Rocky – born in Nova Scotia, Canada, as Wayde Douglas Bowles – started his professional wrestling career in 1964 with the National Wrestling Alliance, but he achieved much success after joining the WWE in 1983.
Rocky retired from wrestling in 1991, but his family’s prized wrestling legacy continued after Johnson followed in his famous father’s footsteps as “The Rock” before going on to become one of the highest-paid actors ever.
Contributing: Cydney Henderson
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