The Rock Dwayne Douglas Johnson ( May 2 , 1972 ) , also known — and sometimes credited — by his ring name The Rock , is an American actor and occasional professional wrestler who works for WWE , where in his return year in 2012 , won the WWE Championship for an eighth time . Johnson was a college football player . In 1991 , he was on the University of Miami ' s national championship team . He later played for the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League , and was cut two months into the 1995 season . This led him to become a professional wrestler like his grandfather , Peter Maivia , and his father , Rocky Johnson . He gained mainstream fame as a wrestler in the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) from 1996 to 2004 , and was the first third - generation wrestler in the company ' s history . He was quickly pushed as a face in the WWF , originally billed as " Rocky Maivia " , then as " The Rock " . He turned heel as a member of the Nation of Domination in 1997 . Two years after he joined the WWF , he won the WWF Championship and became one of the most popular wrestlers ever , primarily for his charismatic interviews and promos . Johnson is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time . He has had 17 championship reigns in WWE , including 10 as a world heavyweight champion ( the WWF / E Championship eight times and the WCW / World Championship twice ) , the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice and the WWF Tag Team Championship five times . He is the sixth WWF / E Triple Crown Champion , and the winner of the 2000 Royal Rumble . Johnson ' s autobiography " The Rock Says . . . " ( co - written with Joe Layden ) was published in 2000 . It debuted at # 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list and remained on the list for several weeks . Johnson ' s first leading film role was in " The Scorpion King " in 2002 . For this role , he was paid US $ 5 . 5 million , a world record for an actor in his first starring role . He has since appeared in several successful movies , including " The Mummy Returns " , " The Rundown " , " Be Cool " , " Walking Tall " , " Gridiron Gang " , " The Game Plan " , " Get Smart " , " Race to Witch Mountain " , " Planet 51 " , " Tooth Fairy " , " Doom " , " The Other Guys " , " Faster " , " Fast Five " , " G . I . Joe , " " Fast & Furious 6 " and " Central Intelligence " . High school and college . High school in the Lehigh Valley . As he entered 11th grade , Johnson ' s father ' s job required his relocation to Bethlehem , Pennsylvania , in the state ' s rugged Lehigh Valley region . For Johnson , the Lehigh Valley proved a huge cultural shift from what he had known and seen in the San Francisco Bay Area in his early youth . But Johnson welcomed the change and assimilated quickly in the new area . In Bethlehem , Johnson began to cultivate an intense athleticism , following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather . He began playing football at Bethlehem ' s Freedom High School , a member of what was then known as the East Penn Conference ( recently renamed the Lehigh Valley Conference ) . The conference was - and continues to be - one of the highest quality high school football and wrestling conferences in the United States . In football , the conference has produced a considerable amount of high - level Division I collegiate and NFL football talent . Known for its blue collar ruggedness , the Lehigh Valley proved a hand - in - glove match for Johnson , who fit in well with the area ' s street toughness . That toughness carried to his football play , where Johnson began , for the first time , to face high quality players and began to excel amidst the area ' s extraordinary athletic competitiveness . He would later credit the high level of athletic competitiveness he encountered in the Lehigh Valley with building the foundation for his lifelong passion for winning and embracing challenge . In addition to playing football at Freedom High School , he also was a member of the high school ' s track and field team . Johnson has said one of his most enduring athletic memories was his participation on the Freedom High School football team when they beat cross - town rival Liberty High School in his senior year , saying : " I can still remember holding that trophy up in the air , running a lap with it . We had an awful year my senior year , but as long as we beat Liberty , nothing else mattered " . University of Miami . Johnson received collegiate football scholarship offers from several universities and settled on the University of Miami in Coral Gables , Florida , one of the top football programs in the nation . While the University of Miami football program did not openly recruit Johnson , he entered try - outs as a " walk on " for the program and made the team , playing defensive tackle . In 1991 , he was part of the Miami Hurricanes ' National Championship team . After an injury kept him sidelined , Johnson was replaced by Warren Sapp , who went on to be drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is now with the Oakland Raiders . Baltimore Ravens Linebacker and former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Ray Lewis also played with Johnson on the 1991 Miami Hurricanes . After his graduation from the University of Miami , Johnson , who was drafted by the NFL , signed a three - year contract with the Denver Broncos of the NFL , but was cut from the team 3 months later , without playing a game . ( Note : some sources indicate he may have dressed for a CFL regular season game . ) While a student at the University of Miami , Johnson met his future wife Dany Garcia , who also was a University of Miami student at the time . Garcia , who graduated from the University of Miami in 1992 , is the founder of a Miami - based wealth management firm . The two have remained close to their alma mater , giving a $ 2 million donation in 2006 to build a living room at the university ' s alumni center for visiting alumni . Additionally , Dany is a member of the University of Miami ' s Board of Trustees . Johnson graduated from the University of Miami in 1995 with dual degrees in criminology and physiology . Wrestling . World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment . Along with his father and grandfather , several members of Johnson ' s family are current and former professional wrestlers , including his uncles , the Wild Samoans ( Afa and Sika Anoai ) , and cousins such as former WWF Champion Yokozuna , former WWF Tag Team Champion Rikishi and current wrestler Umaga ( formerly known as Jamal ) . When he declared his intention to join the family business , his father resisted , but agreed to train his son himself , warning him that he would not go easy on him . With help from former WWF executive and veteran wrestler Pat Patterson , Johnson secured a tryout with the WWF . Impressed by his talent and charisma , he was signed to a WWF deal after a short stint for " seasoning " in Jerry Lawler ' s USWA , where he wrestled under the ring names of Flex Kavana and Pidlaoan Rock . 1996 - 1997 . Johnson first wrestled in the WWF as Rocky Maivia , a combination of his father and grandfather ' s ring names . The WWF played up his connection to his father and grandfather , calling him the company ' s first third - generation wrestler . He made his wrestling debut for the WWF at the Survivor Series , becoming the sole survivor on his team . Johnson was first portrayed as a clean - cut babyface , and gained early success , winning the Intercontinental Championship after only three months . However , fans quickly grew sick of the one - dimensional good guy character , thanks in part to the exploded popularity of Stone Cold Steve Austin . Despite often being loudly booed and jeered with chants of " Die Rocky , Die ! " and " Rocky Sucks ! " from the crowd , Johnson was forced to go to the ring and smile , as if the crowd were cheering as they were " supposed to " . After losing the Intercontinental title to Owen Hart and returning from an injury , Johnson was allowed to turn heel and join the Nation of Domination . Johnson spewed venom at the fans in promos that were influenced by Johnson ' s real - life feelings toward the WWF audience . Contrary to Rocky Maivia ' s super - nice guy personality , Johnson described his new character , The Rock , as himself with " the volume turned way up " . 1998 . The Rock was a charismatic bully , eventually driving out the Nation ' s leader Faarooq . He spent the end of 1997 and the beginning of 1998 feuding with both Steve Austin and Ken Shamrock . At , Austin , then reigning Intercontinental Champion , defeated the Rock in less than six minutes to retain the title . The following night , Austin was ordered by Vince McMahon to defend the title in a rematch . Austin refused to do so , and simply handed the title to The Rock before stunning him with the Stone Cold Stunner . At WrestleMania XIV , Gennifer Flowers was made a special guest interviewer , interviewing The Rock . The Rock was posed a question about how he would conduct affairs as the President of the United States . He responded by stating to her that the title “ Ruler ” would sound better than “ President ” and he would transform the White House into a palace . The Rock became wildly popular , establishing several much - quoted catchphrases including " " If / Do you smell what The Rock is cookin ' " " , " " Lay the Smackdown " " , " " Take that ( object ) shine it up real nice , turn that sum - bitch sideways , and stick it straight up your candy ass ! " " , " " It doesn ' t matter what you think ! " " ( immediately after asking for the interviewer ' s opinion ) , " " It doesn ' t matter what your name is ! " " ( immediately after asking for the persons name ) , " " Know your role , and shut your mouth ! " " , " " Don ' t give me all that monkey crap ! , " Who is this roody pooh " , " " , " " Jabroni " " and " " Just bring it ! " " ( After which titles # 2 through # 4 of the five Sony PlayStation SmackDown ! video games have been subtitled ( , WWF SmackDown ! Just Bring It , and WWE SmackDown ! Shut Your Mouth ) . In essence , it was a reversal of his Rocky Maivia character , where he was cheered instead of being booed as he was " supposed to be " . The Rock also became famous for referring to himself in the third person , starting many sentences with " The Rock says . . . " , " Finally . . . The Rock has come back to . . ( city name ) " , and occasionally following up statements with " . . . or so The Rock has heard . " Johnson ' s popularity as The Rock propelled him to the WWF Championship at the 1998 Survivor Series at age 26 , thus becoming the first World Champion of African - American descent in WWF history and at the time the youngest WWF world champion ever . During the championship win , however , The Rock turned heel again and siding with Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon as the crown jewel of their " Corporation " stable . 1999 . The Rock began to feud with Mankind over the WWF Championship in which the title changed back and forth between the two , first during the main event of the January 4 , 1999 episode of " RAW " , when Mankind pinned The Rock with the help of Steve Austin . The Rock once again captured the WWF Title in a bloody " I Quit " match at the Royal Rumble that saw The Rock hit Mankind in the head with a chair ten or eleven times as opposed to the agreed upon three times , knocking him unconscious and using a tape recording of Mankind saying " I quit " to trick the referee . This latest reign did not last long , however . In a match that counter - programmed the Super Bowl halftime show on January 31 , 1999 , Mankind pinned The Rock using a forklift in a Empty Arena Match which saw the competitors use everything from bags of popcorn to fruit to punish each other . This feud lasted until the February 15 , 1999 edition of Raw , where The Rock regained the WWF Title in a Ladder Match after The Big Show chokeslammed Mankind off a ladder . With Mankind out of the way , The Rock had to defend his World Wrestling Federation Championship at WrestleMania XV , against Steve Austin . The Rock lost the WWF Title to Austin at that event , and continued his feud with Austin until May 1999 . WWF fans began to cheer The Rock despite being a bad guy , due to his comedic interviews and segments which mocked wrestlers and announcers . Johnson eventually made his second face turn after being kicked out of the Corporation by Shane McMahon for failing to win back the WWF title from Steve Austin and established a feud with the , then heel , The Undertaker and the Corporate Ministry , and would sometimes find himself fighting alongside Steve Austin . His feud with the Undertaker ended with a defeat at the King of the Ring . The Rock , now a face , feuded with Mr . Ass over the summer of 1999 , including an infamous " Kiss My Ass " match at that year ' s SummerSlam . In the fall , the Rock found himself in several WWF Championship opportunities , both in singles and tag . He teamed with now former enemy Mankind to create the " " Rock ' n ' Sock Connection " " and won the WWF Tag Team Titles . Aside from the championships , the team was regarded as one of the most entertaining teams in recent memory , where Mankind would imitate The Rock , while The Rock would mostly ignore Mankind . The team was also involved in a segment which occurred on " RAW " called " " This Is Your Life " " , in which Mankind brought out people from The Rock ' s past , such as his high school girlfriend and gym teacher . The segment is to this day the single highest rated segment in terms of viewership in " RAW " history . As a singles competitor , The Rock participated in a six - pack challenge match at Unforgiven . 2000 . In January 2000 , The Rock entered in the WWF ' s annual Royal Rumble match and lasted until he and the Big Show were the final two men . In a scripted move , the Big Show was going to seemingly dump the Rock over the top rope in a running powerslam - like position , and when they got to the apron , the Rock reversed it on the Big Show , sending the Big Show to the outside floor and then coming back up with the rest of his body . Those watching the event on PPV did not see The Rock ' s feet hit the floor . The Big Show attempted to prove to the audience and to others , like Triple H , that the Rock ' s feet , not his , touched the mat first . He did manage to prove it , by providing video footage showing that he was the rightful winner . The decision that The Rock had won the Rumble match could not be reversed , so a number one contendership match at No Way Out was held , which saw the Big Show come out on top after Shane McMahon interfered , knocking The Rock in the head with a steel chair as he attempted to finish off his opponent with the Rock Bottom . The Rock later defeated The Big Show on March 13 , 2000 to regain the right to face the WWF Champion at WrestleMania 2000 . The Rock , The Big Show , Mick Foley and Triple H competed in a fatal four - way elimination match for the WWF Championship at " WrestleMania 2000 " . Each competitor had a McMahon in their corner — for Triple H , his on - screen wife ( and off - screen then girlfriend ) Stephanie McMahon ; for Mick Foley , the matriarch Linda McMahon ; for The Rock , Vince McMahon ; and in Big Show ' s corner , Shane McMahon . Triple H retained the title when Vince turned on The Rock , giving him two vicious chair shots , allowing Triple H to pin The Rock for the three - count . A month later at Backlash , The Rock captured the WWF Championship from Triple H after Steve Austin made a brief return and intervened on The Rock ' s behalf . Over the next couple of months The Rock feuded with Triple H over the Championship , and going on to having several classic matches , such as an Iron Man match against The Game at WWF Judgment Day , which starred Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee and saw the return of The Undertaker , The Rock would lose the title as a result of Undertaker ' s interference attacking Triple H . The following night on Raw , The Rock would get his revenge , and along with The Undertaker , took out the entire McMahon - Helmsley regime . The Rock would later win the WWF Championship again at King of The Ring 2000 against Triple H in a Tag Team matching pitting himself , Kane , and Undertaker versus Vince McMahon , Shane McMahon and Triple H . The Rock would go on to defend the Championship against Superstars such as Chris Benoit , Kurt Angle , Triple H , Kane , The Undertaker , and Shane McMahon . The Rock later lost the WWF Championship to Kurt Angle at No Mercy in October . During this time , he feuded with Rikishi ( after he made accusations that The Rock called him to run over Steve Austin in November 1999 ) and defeated him at Survivor Series . He also participated in the 6 Man Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon event for the WWF Championship , in which he was unsuccessful . It is also notable that The Rock was the only man " not " to climb to the top of the cell in this match . 2001 . In 2001 , The Rock feuded with Kurt Angle over the WWF Championship , and the feud was settled at No Way Out . In a battle that saw The Rock kick out of the Olympic Slam and Kurt kicking out of the Rock Bottom and The People ' s Elbow ( at different times ) , The Rock finally came out on top , delivering a second Rock Bottom to regain the WWF Championship . Afterwards , The Rock feuded with the Royal Rumble winner Steve Austin . The Rock went into WrestleMania X - Seven as the WWF Champion , but was defeated again by Austin , after a shocking turn from the rattlesnake , who used Vince McMahon to win the title . Jim Ross is famously quoted as saying " Austin has sold his soul to the devil to get back to the top " . After losing to Austin in a rematch on the following night ' s " RAW " , he went on hiatus to film the movie " " The Scorpion King " " after a kayfabe suspension from Mr . McMahon . The Rock would return in July 2001 and would decide which side of the WWF / Alliance wars he would align himself with . After Vince McMahon , on the WWF side , urged the Rock to " give the people what they want , " the Rock delivered a Rock Bottom to Vince . The Rock seemed to have joined the Alliance , and smiled , shaking Shane McMahon ' s hand , but quickly drew him in for a Rock Bottom and a People ' s Elbow . At SummerSlam , The Rock defeated Booker T to win the WCW Championship . He would later lose the WCW title to Chris Jericho at No Mercy of the same year , only to win it back a few weeks later on Raw . The Rock was also involved in a match at Survivor Series which saw him defeat Steve Austin in a Classic Survivor Series match to end The Alliance once and for all . The Rock closed out the year losing the WCW Championship to Chris Jericho at Vengeance , who would go on later to become the first WWF Undisputed Champion . 2002 . As 2002 came along , Vince McMahon introduced the nWo , and The Rock began a feud with Hollywood Hulk Hogan , which ended with a victory at WrestleMania X8 . This match , one of the most memorable matches of all time pitting " Icon vs . Icon " , saw the Toronto fans audibly cheer for Hogan , who was the heel after every move ( including heelish moves like " the back rake of doom " ) . The fans also clearly booed The Rock , the supposed face in the match , despite the WWF ' s best efforts to make Hogan a despicable character before the match . On July 21 , 2002 , The Rock would win his record - breaking seventh and final WWE Championship . He defeated Kurt Angle and The Undertaker in a classic match at Vengeance , after he hit the Rock Bottom on Kurt Angle . He would lose it to Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam , in a match that saw the fans turn on The Rock again and cheer for Lesnar . This was his last title reign , it lasted for a month . 2003 . The Rock ' s last heel turn began on " SmackDown ! " in February 2003 , where he publicly criticized Hulk Hogan . Their WrestleMania X8 rematch at No Way Out ended with The Rock claiming victory again , with assistance from Vince McMahon and Sylvain Grenier . It is widely speculated that this heel turn was due to The Rock ' s growing Hollywood stardom , giving the appearance of having " " sold out " " his wrestling roots . The Rock later drafted himself to " RAW " and started a feud with The Hurricane and other babyfaces . He also had a comical gimmick , where he played the guitar and sang songs mocking the host city for the event , which culminated in a " " Rock concert " " which took place during the main event of the March 24 , 2003 edition of " RAW " , where The Rock mocked host city Sacramento because of the Sacramento Kings ' inability to beat the Los Angeles Lakers . After putting down the city of Sacramento and singing about how he intended to leave as soon as possible , he concluded the song with , " I ' ll be sure to come back when the Lakers beat the Kings in May ! " The crowd booed him vociferously . The Rock also slammed Canada in a song as well , saying " Canadians have no class / That ' s why they can kiss the People ' s Ass . " When Steve Austin returned , they once again feuded , with the Rock defeating Austin at WrestleMania XIX ; this was the first time the Rock defeated Austin at WrestleMania , and Austin ' s last major appearance in a wrestling role . The Rock then had a feud with former WCW star Bill Goldberg , losing at Backlash in this match , both superstars received a mixed reaction from the fans . After that , The Rock turned face once more by betraying Chris Jericho and Christian . After The Rock declared Christian his favorite wrestler , Christian began calling himself the " New People ' s champion " and labeling his fans as " his peeps " . As a culmination of the feud , The Rock and Booker T defeated Chris Jericho and Christian . Sporadic appearances . The Rock made occasional wrestling appearances up to 2004 ' s WrestleMania XX , with the storyline revolving around Mick Foley bringing him in to help in his war with Evolution and Randy Orton . One humorous bit involved Rock hosting his own version of " This is Your Life " for Foley on an edition of Raw . Rock and Foley went on to lose to Orton , Ric Flair , and Batista at Wrestlemania when Orton pinned Foley . This was his last appearance in a wrestling role . He made sporadic appearances in the WWE following Wrestlemania , including standing up for Eugene and helping Foley turn back La Resistance . His last appearance to date in WWE was hosting a " Pie - Eating Contest " during the 2004 WWE Diva Search . He ended the segment by giving Jonathan Coachman a rock - bottom and People ' s Elbow . In several interviews , Dwayne Johnson had reported that he is no longer under contract with WWE and that his contract had expired in 2004 . Johnson himself reported that the reason he was able to continue using the name " The Rock " was part of a dual ownership between him and WWE . On March 12 , 2007 , The Rock returned to World Wrestling Entertainment after a near three - year absence when he appeared on RAW via Titantron and predicted Bobby Lashley would defeat Umaga in the Battle of the Billionaires match at WrestleMania 23 . On March 29 , 2008 , The Rock inducted his father , Rocky Johnson , and his grandfather , Peter Maivia into the WWE Hall of Fame . Return to WWE . Feud with John Cena ( 2011 – 2012 ) . On the February 14 , 2011 episode of " Raw " , The Rock was revealed as the host of WrestleMania XXVII , appearing live on " Raw " for the first time in almost seven years . During a lengthy promo , he addressed the fans , Michael Cole , The Miz and John Cena , calling Cena a " big fat bowl of Fruity Pebbles " , as a response to a shoot interview Cena did on The Rock a couple of years ago . The Rock claimed to love wrestling , having has been born into the business , a claim Cena argued . After numerous appearances via satellite , The Rock appeared live on the " Raw " before WrestleMania XXVII to confront Cena , with whom he had been feuding with through Twitter . He made fun of Cena ' s clothing , calling him a " homeless Power Ranger " and " Vanilla Ice " . After he and Cena exchanged insults , The Miz and Alex Riley appeared and attacked The Rock . He fended off Miz and Riley , then Cena blindsided him with the Attitude Adjustment . On April 3 , at WrestleMania XXVII , The Rock opened the show by cutting a promo . After appearing in numerous backstage segments , The Rock came to ringside to restart the main event between Cena and The Miz as a No Disqualification match , after it had ended in a draw . As revenge for the Attitude Adjustment Cena had given him on " Raw " , The Rock hit Cena with the Rock Bottom , allowing The Miz to pin him and retain the WWE Championship . He then hit The Miz with the People ' s Elbow . The next night on " Raw " , Cena challenged The Rock to a match at WrestleMania XXVIII on April 1 , 2012 . The Rock accepted the challenge . They then worked together to fend off an attack by The Corre , which at the time consisted of Wade Barrett , Heath Slater , Justin Gabriel , and Ezekiel Jackson . The Rock appeared live on " Raw " in his hometown of Miami on May 2 , to celebrate his 39th birthday . On September 16 , WWE announced The Rock would wrestle in a traditional 5 - on - 5 Survivor Series tag team match , teaming with Cena at Survivor Series on November 20 . On the October 24 episode of " Raw " , Cena instead asked for The Rock to be his partner in a standard tag team match against Awesome Truth ( The Miz and R - Truth ) . The next week , The Rock granted Cena ' s request . On the November 14 episode of " Raw " , The Rock appeared live , delivering Rock Bottoms to both members of Awesome Truth and Mick Foley . Foley had been hosting a " This Is Your Life " - style segment for Cena . At Survivor Series , despite their rivalry , The Rock and Cena defeated Awesome Truth when The Rock pinned The Miz after the People ' s Elbow . After the match , The Rock gave Cena a Rock Bottom . Leading up to Wrestlemania , The Rock and Cena had several verbal confrontations on " Raw " . On the March 12 episode , The Rock hosted his first " Rock Concert " segment since 2004 , mocking Cena in his songs . He opined that , having beaten Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin at previous Wrestlemanias , beating Cena would make him the greatest wrestler of all time . At WrestleMania XXVIII , The Rock faced Cena in a main event hyped for a year and billed with the tagline " Once in a Lifetime " . When an overconfident Cena attempted the People ' s Elbow on The Rock , he countered with a Rock Bottom for the pin . The next night on " Raw " , The Rock praised Cena for putting up a good fight , calling their match " an honor " . He then vowed to once again become WWE Champion . WWE Champion ( 2012 – 2013 ) . On July 23 , 2012 , at " Raw 1000 " , The Rock announced he would face the WWE Champion at the Royal Rumble . During the show , he encountered WWE Champion CM Punk , Daniel Bryan , and John Cena , all of whom expressed a desire to face him . He later saved Cena from an assault by Big Show , only to be laid out by CM Punk . On the January 7 , 2013 " Raw " , The Rock returned to WWE to confront his Rumble opponent , the reigning champion CM Punk . He also made his first " SmackDown " appearance in ten years on the January 9 episode , attacking Team Rhodes Scholars with a " Rock Bottom " to Damien Sandow and a " People ' s Elbow " to Cody Rhodes . The Rock closed out the 20th anniversary episode of " Raw " on January 14 with one of his famous " Rock concerts " , leading to a brawl with CM Punk . The following week on " Raw " , The Rock was attacked by The Shield . Vince McMahon then asserted that if The Shield attacked The Rock in his title match with CM Punk , Punk would be stripped of the WWE Championship . On January 27 at the Royal Rumble , Punk defeated The Rock after The Shield interfered . McMahon was about to strip Punk of the championship , however , at The Rock ' s request , he instead restarted the match . This culminated in The Rock defeating Punk to win his eighth WWE Championship , a win which marked The Rock ' s first WWE Championship reign in over ten years . Punk received a title rematch with The Rock at Elimination Chamber , with the added stipulation that if The Rock was disqualified or counted out , he would lose the title , but Rock pinned Punk to retain the championship . The following night on " Raw " , The Rock unveiled the new WWE Championship during his championship celebration , with an entirely new center plate and his signature Brahma Bull logo on the side plates . The Rock then resumed his rivalry with John Cena , with Cena blaming his personal and professional troubles on his loss to The Rock the previous year . On April 7 at WrestleMania 29 , Rock lost the WWE Championship to Cena , ending his reign at 70 days . Despite being advertised for the " Raw " after WrestleMania , where it was stated by then SmackDown General Manager Booker T that The Rock was still entitled a re - match for the WWE Championship , The Rock did not appear due to a legitimate injury sustained during WrestleMania , in which his abdominal and adductor tendons tore from his pelvis . In August 2013 , The Rock said that " if [ he would ] never wrestle again , [ he would ] be very content with that " , but ultimately did not rule out a return . Return to Wrestlemania XXX . The Rock returned at WrestleMania XXX along with Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin . He had said that John Cena would fight in the name of Hustle , Loyalty and Respect , unless someone 29 years ago , vowed to eat their vitamins and say their prayers , referring to Hulk Hogan ' s motto . He had also said that Daniel Bryan would rise against the authority , but that wouldn ' t happen unless a certain bald - headed SOB had the guts to not only cross the boss but whip his candy ass , referring to Stone Cold ' s legendary rivalry with Mr . McMahon . The three then said their catchphrases , Hogan and Rock hugged , and to end their conversation , they celebrated with Stone Cold ' s trademark beer toast to Wrestlemania . Hollywood . Fueled by the star power of The Rock and other stars such as Steve Austin , Mankind , Triple H , The Undertaker and Kane , the WWE experienced a massive surge in popularity not seen since Hulk Hogan ' s reign in the ' 80s . In particular , Johnson ' s well - liked interviews and storylines made WWF programming a popular person for wrestling fans . From 1998 to 2002 , The Rock feuded against the WWF ' s top stars , winning the WWE Championship seven times during his career , and eventually crossed over into mainstream popularity , such as with a guest appearance on hip hop musician Wyclef Jean ' s track " It Doesn ' t Matter " and the accompanying video . While still wrestling full - time , Johnson made an appearance as host of the popular sketch comedy TV series " Saturday Night Live " . The episode was very popular , and it showcased Johnson ' s acting and comedic ability favorably . After this , Johnson started to get offers from Hollywood for a multitude of different projects . He was a guest star on " Star Trek : Voyager " and " That ' 70s Show " ; in the latter , he played the role of his father . The Rock ' s first role in a major film was a limited appearance as The Scorpion King in " The Mummy Returns " , and his natural charisma translated well to the silver screen . The success of this movie , to which his performance contributed , led to his first leading role starring in the follow - up to The Mummy Returns , titled " The Scorpion King " . Since his last in - ring appearance in the WWE in 2004 , he has focused solely on acting , and starred in several popular movies such as " The Rundown " , " Be Cool " and " Gridiron Gang " . He has stated several times , when asked on talk shows and in the media , that he is done with wrestling . Personal life . Johnson married Dany Garcia on May 3 , 1997 , a day after his 25th birthday . Their daughter , Simone Alexandra , was born August 14 , 2001 . On June 1 , 2007 , they announced they were splitting up amicably and intended to spend the rest of their lives together as best friends . Johnson co - wrote an autobiography with Joe Layden , titled " The Rock Says . . . " . It was published in 2000 , debuting at # 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list and remaining on the list for several weeks . Johnson is a good friend of actor and former Governor of California , Arnold Schwarzenegger . Public activities . Johnson attended the 2000 Republican National Convention and the 2000 Democratic National Convention , and gave a speech at the former . Both appearances were part of the WWE ' s non - partisan " Smackdown Your Vote " campaign , which aimed to influence young people to vote . Because his mother , Ata Fitisemanu Maivia , has royal blood , and in recognition of his service to the Samoan people , Samoan King Malietoa Tanumafili II bestowed upon Johnson the noble title of " Seiuli " during his visit there in July 2004 . He is a supporter of the Samoa national rugby union team . During the run - up to the 2007 Rugby World Cup , the team ' s website had a picture of him holding a personalized Manu Samoa jersey with " The Rock " emblazoned on the back . He received a partial Samoan pe ' a tattoo in 2003 . Philanthropy . In 2006 , Johnson founded " The Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation " , a charity working with at - risk and terminally ill children . On October 2 , 2007 , he and his ex - wife donated $ 1 million to the University of Miami to support the renovation of its football facilities ; it was noted as the largest donation ever given to the university ' s athletics department by former students . The University of Miami renamed the Hurricanes ' locker room in Johnson ' s honor .