16 Standout Accomplishments from the Spectacular Career of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

Before he was “The Rock,” the young Johnson was a defensive lineman who helped the Miami Hurricanes beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers to win the 1991 NCAA Championship. Johnson was a rock-solid defensive lineman with 77 tackles in 39 games. After graduating with a degree in criminology, Johnson played pro ball for a few months in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders before an injury left him sidelined.

Frustrated in his career goals as a footballer, Johnson took up the pro wrestling mantle of his father and grandfather, making him the first third-generation wrestler in the WWF. He first appeared as good-guy Rocky Maivia (a name that honored both his father and grandfather’s wrestling personas) in a monumental first fight in the 1996 Survivor Series, at which he teamed with Barry Windham, Marc Mero, and Jake Roberts against Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Jerry “The King” Lawler, Goldust, and Crush. But it was only a matter of time until fans began to boo Maivia, and soon his bad-boy alter ego, “The Rock,” was born.

Billed at 6’5”, 260lbs, “The Rock” was a juggernaut in the wrestling world: In a WWF/WWE career that spanned 20 years he became widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers ever. “The Rock’s” time in the ring brought him 17 championship belts and an unprecedented fan following thanks to killer moves like The People’s Elbow and The Rock Bottom, as well as verbal skills that made a major impression. Catchphrases like “Can you smell what “The Rock” is cookin’?” and “Lay the smackdown!” became international sensations, and smackdown is now even included in the dictionary. “The Rock” deserves a championship belt for that alone.

In 1998 at the age of 26, “The Rock” became the youngest WWF World Champion ever when he beat the likes of Mankind and Stone Cold Steve Austin, among others, in that year’s Survivor Series. By this time he had perfected his heel image and sided with the McMahons’ Corporation stable.

In a May 1999 WWE Raw segment, “The Rock” teamed up with Steve Austin and Vince McMahon against Shane McMahon, Triple H, and the Undertaker for a six-man tag team match that made fans go wild, bringing the WWE its most viewers ever, an 8.1 Nielsen rating that has still not been topped. “The Rock” was already a huge success, but this night helped push him into superstardom.

With his wrestling career exploding, “The Rock” penned The Rock Says…: The Most Electrifying Man In Sports Entertainment, an autobiography that debuted at No.1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. The book gave fans of “The Rock” insights into his early life as the son of a star wrestler and a promising athlete in his own right. At this early point in what was to be a long career, the book made it clear that fans would be captivated by his electric personality outside the ring as much as they were excited by his prowess within it.

“The Rock” showed his political side the following year when he was asked to speak at the 2000 Republican National Convention. In response to Parents Television Council founder L. Brent Bozell’s critique that whomever had invited the WWF star to speak at the event must have been on drugs, “The Rock” said: “If freedom of expression is a drug, then I certainly suggest that Mr. Bozell should try some.” In his speech, “The Rock” urged everyone to vote, regardless of party affiliation. His popularity was demonstrated when an audience member raised a sign declaring “THE ROCK FOR PREZ”.

That same year, “The Rock” was invited to show his comedic chops as host of Saturday Night Live, playing Clark Kent as well as Mr. Peepers’ Father, a nutcase monkey who takes to gyrating on the leg of a lab-coated Will Ferrell. In his monologue, “The Rock” joked that the cast of SNL was “fragile” and was visited by fellow WWE superstars Mick Foley, Big Show, and Triple H. “The Rock” must have smacked down the laughs, because he would be invited back to host SNL four more times over the next 17 years, becoming one of only 19 five-time guest hosts in the show’s 42-year history.

Making his first major appearance on the big screen in 2001’s The Mummy Returns, “The Rock” reprised the role in The Scorpion King (2002). The films sold $433 million and $165 million, respectively, and The Scorpion King garnered “The Rock” $5.5 million for his first leading role, making him the highest-paid first-time leading man ever at the time.

In 2006, “The Rock” started the Dwayne Johnson ROCK Foundation, a nonprofit that works with terminally ill children. The organization brings resources and education to children diagnosed with, and at risk for, serious diseases, with a goal “to make every child smile”. Johnson has also worked extensively with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to bring the dreams of children with terminal illnesses to fruition. 

“The Rock” strengthened his reputation as a formidable Hollywood action star when he signed on to the Fast and Furious franchise as Luke Hobbs, a government agent originally tasked in Fast Five with hunting down Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Conner’s (Paul Walker) crew. But in Fast & Furious 6, Hobbs turns to Toretto and O’Conner for help taking down the real bad guy, Owen Shaw. Already one of the highest-grossing film franchises in history, Johnson’s part in Furious 7 (2015) helped make it the sixth highest-grossing film of all time.

Johnson gave anyone with lingering doubts about his acting ability a decisive Rock Bottom in 2013 when he beat out Robert Downey Jr. to become the world’s highest-grossing actor. “The Rock” had roles in six movies that year, an unbelievable workload for one actor to take on. His credits brought in roughly $1.3 billion in ticket sales, and included Fast and Furious 6, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and the Michael Bay flick Pain & Gain, about real-life criminals Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) and Paul Doyle (Johnson). Between them, Wahlberg and Johnson have enough muscle to pretty much fill the screen the whole time. No pain, no gain, indeed.

“The Rock” teamed up with HBO for the show Ballers—produced alongside his ex-wife Dany Garcia by Johnson’s own Seven Bucks Productions—which follows retired football superstar-cum-financial manager Spencer Strasmore (Johnson) through Miami as he builds a clientele of football stars. Here for the first time we see Johnson playing a character with (almost) as much money and business acumen as The Rock himself. With three seasons under his belt and a fourth slated for 2018, The Rock seems to have broken into television with the same power he’s brought to pro wrestling and the big screen.

Not only did Johnson win over the hearts of millions of viewers with his role as the demigod Maui in Disney’s Moana, but he won over their wallets as well. In 2016, Johnson became the word’s highest-paid actor, cashing out ahead of Jackie Chan and Matt Damon to earn a whopping $64 million. Between musical numbers in Moana and slapstick comedy in Central Intelligence with Kevin Hart, Johnson was laughing and singing all the way to the bank.

On Oct. 19, 2017, the city of Vancouver, B.C., under mayor Gregor Robertson issued an official proclamation, declaring that day “Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Day” as an expression of gratitude for “The Rock’s” decision to film Skyscraper (which he also produced) in the city, bringing in more than 3,000 jobs and plenty of good publicity. “The Rock” gained citizenship in Canada in 2009, and considers Vancouver part of his “DNA,” he said in an Instagram post on October 20.

“The Rock” has not only been appreciated in Canada on the political level, but in the U.S. too: as of late, media outlets as diverse as The Washington Post and ABC have been promoting the idea of a President Dwayne Johnson. Even Michael Moore is on board, telling Variety to “think about how safe we would be if “The Rock” was president”. He would certainly be The People’s Champion.

Upcoming projects for “The Rock” include a turn as Doc Savage in the Shane Black-directed film projected for 2018. Doc Savage is a 1930s superhero known as the main inspiration for Superman. That’s right, “The Rock” is billed to play a superhero more legendary than even Superman.

Which begs the question: What can Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson not do?