Dwayne Johnson got emotional while remembering his father on his posthumous birthday. The versatile star shared the occasion on social media with a special emotional post dedicated to his “Soulman.” On Saturday, August 24, Dwayne, 52, shared several photos from different eras of his life with his father, late WWE wrestler Rocky “Soulman” Johnson, on his 80th birthday.
“My old dad was a true trailblazer as a professional wrestler in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s,” the Moana actor wrote in the caption. “As a black athlete he changed so many people’s racial attitudes over the years with his talent in the ring and his insane work in the gym.”
Reflecting back on the father-son relationship, he recalled learning “good and not so good” lessons from him. Although their relationship was “complicated”, ultimately it was all “love”. One of the photos was of his father as a young man training in the gym, another of him with his championship belt, a third of him posing with young Dwayne and one of them was from a few decades later.
In the years following his father’s death in 2020, the Jumanji actor has spoken candidly on multiple occasions about the complicated dynamic he shared with his father, revealing they were not on speaking terms at the time of his death.
In March, Dwayne reflected on his late father’s life, legacy, and record-breaking accomplishments in the world of WWE in a post on Instagram. “He took the hard road and paved the way for all of us men of color – at any level of sports and entertainment. But it was also very important for him to pave the way for all men, any men of color – no matter what,” he said.
In the same post, he expressed that the biggest regret of his life is that he didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to his father, who died suddenly. He said, “I regret that I didn’t sort out our complicated father/son relationship before I lost him.” Rocky raised him with a tough fatherly love, which he feels grateful for later in his life.
