What Die-Hard Fans Don't Even Know About The Rock

We all know that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is the Great One, as well as People's Sexiest
Man Alive for 2016.
But there's a lot more to Johnson than meets the eye.
Here's what you don't know about the man who brought the People's Elbow.
Rock-y start
He may rule Hollywood today, but Johnson didn't always have it so easy.
He revealed to Muscle and Fitness that, at fourteen years old, he , quote, "started getting
arrested — for fighting, theft, all kinds of stupid s--- that I shouldn't have been
doing…I got arrested 8 or 9 times I think by the time I was 17."
He was basically in his own version of Bling Ring, saying, "[We stole] high-end clothes
and jewelry.
In Waikiki...There are a lot of tourists that come into Waikiki, and there's a lot of money...We
would target the money, we would target the high-end clothes and we would target the jewelry
— turn around and sell it, best we could."
Johnson's teenage years were also plagued by financial troubles.
He told CinemaBlend, "We were evicted...We came home and it had a padlock on the door.
I saw my mom crying...There was nothing we could do."
He said, "I wanted to become a success somehow so we'd never get locked out again...So in
my mind at that time...the men who were successful were Stallone and Schwarzenegger and guys
like that...I was like, 'Okay, they're successful, they're not getting evicted, they built their
bodies — I'm gonna go build my body.'"
"Very first time I worked out in a gym I was with my dad.
I would get on the wrestling mats with him and he'd bend my body in pretzels until I
tapped out."
The family biz
The Rock is a third generation pro wrestler.
His father, Rocky Johnson, was a pro, as was his maternal grandfather, the "High Chief"
Peter Maivia.
His maternal grandmother, Lia Maivia, was a professional wrestling promoter and one
of the first women in the business.
The sport is so prolific in his family that they've been dubbed "The Samoan Dynasty."
But Johnson also had other athletic ambitions...
Warren Sapp took his job
Johnson played college ball for the University of Miami, but as ESPN reported, he was soon
replaced by future NFL star Warren Sapp.
Sapp recalled, "When [Johnson] was [first] there, I was a tight end in high school and
I got [to University of Miami] as a tight end and linebacker, and they moved me over
to D-line...So I came into the D-line room and sat down, and Dwayne Johnson walks in
and says, 'What are you doing here?'
I said, 'I'm here for your job.'...I said it jokingly, but, I was there for his job."
Yikes.
And that wouldn't be the last time Johnson would experience some professional rivalries
in the world of sports.
"I will beat you like a Cherokee drum!"
WWEnemies
Johnson and fellow WWE star John Cena are friends now, but leading up to their Wrestlemania
match-ups in 2012 and 2013, their feud was very real.
Johnson told Muscle and Fitness, "John had said some things in an interview that I took
exception to.
He felt they were okay, I felt that they weren't okay….It got really uncomfortable for a
lot of people."
But he banked on their beef, saying, "In this case it worked out very well and through all
that edge and attitude and bite that we had, and nearly coming to blows backstage, and
one night in the ring — literally we were nose-to-nose, it was any second.
And through that in a crazy, weird, completely unexplained way, we became great buds."
That's all fortunate, because as we all know, conflicts in the ring don't always work out
so well…
"You're gonna be wearing a body bag when I'm through with you."
"Yeah?
Well you can't have sex with anyone without having a 'talk' first, 'cause of your herpes."
Vince McMahon reject
Although he's become arguably the most famous wrestler of our generation, Johnson wasn't
an overnight success.
"I don't get in shape.
I stay in shape.
Come on, gimme some!"
He told Esquire, "I get a call once from the WWE, saying, 'Vince [McMahon] would like to
see you in Stamford.
I went to his office and he says, 'I really think you have a lot of potential, but you're
not ready for the WWE.
You should go to Memphis, Tennessee.
That's where I want you to learn the business.'"
Johnson paid those dues, saying, "I think wrestling for $40 a night and eating at the
Waffle House three times a day, wrestling every weekend at a flea market, then at a
state fair, or a car dealership or in barns...[means I earned my success]."
Built for Hollywood
It may be hard to believe, but even the impeccably-shredded Johnson was told by Hollywood to slim down.
The Rock's ex-wife and manager, Dany Garcia, told Forbes, "When he was wrestling, he was
at 270 pounds and the ruler of the world.
When he went into movies he dropped to 230 pounds and they told him to stop talking about
wrestling."
Johnson noted, "It reached a point where I felt that instead of me trying to conform
to Hollywood, I needed to have Hollywood conform to me and embrace my past."
Guinness guy
In 2015, Johnson set a world record.
And not for "most insane cheat day meal" According to Guinness World Records, he took "the most
[selfies] in three minutes."
105 selfies to be exact, all while working the red carpet at the San Andreas world premiere
in London.
Of course, this wouldn't be the last time Johnson went a little overboard with social
media...
Insta-shade
In August 2016, Johnson slammed an unnamed Fate of the Furious star on Instagram, saying,
"My female co-stars are always amazing and I love 'em.
My male co-stars however are a different story.
Some conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don't….my
blood is legit boiling."
Rumors soon swirled that the co-star in question was Vin Diesel, especially after Diesel posted
his own Facebook video in which he alluded to a "crazy week."
A source told Page Six, "[Diesel] was constantly late…He acted like a diva and has held up
productions before, so it's not surprising that he's the one The Rock is calling out."
"Are you Vin Diesel?"
"No, I'm bigger and better-looking."
"Vin, come on, stop playing with him.
Yes, this is Vin Diesel.
I'm Bruce Willis!"
Making bank
The Rock was named Forbes' highest paid actor in 2016, taking home a cool $64.5 million
— more than twice what he earned the year before, courtesy of large upfront fees for
Moana and Central Intelligence, as well as 2017's Fate of the Furious, Baywatch, and
Jumanji.
When the news broke, he tweeted, "Want to say two things about this.
I started w/ $7 bucks.
If I can overcome, so can you.
Waffle House on me!!"
Now that's a milestone worth celebrating.
"I had no choice, but to get down, down, down, down… dance!"
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What Die-Hard Fans Don't Even Know About The Rock

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