Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Reveals He ‘Quietly Retired From Wrestling’: Report

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Reveals He ‘Quietly Retired From Wrestling’: Report
Dwayne Johnson attends the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Rampage" on April 4, 2018, in Los Angeles, California. Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Tiffany Meier
Updated:

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed in a new interview that he has officially retired from wrestling.

“I miss wrestling, I love wrestling,” he said during a promotion for his latest movie “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” while on the show “Live With Kelly and Ryan.”

“I quietly retired from wrestling because I was lucky enough to have just a really wonderful career and accomplish what I wanted to accomplish, but there’s nothing like a live crowd, a live audience, a live microphone as you both know,” he continued.

Dwayne Johnson dominated the wrestling ring in the 1990s and early 2000s, earning such names as “The Great One, The People’s Champion, and The Most Electrifying Man in All of Entertainment,” according to WWE’s official site.

Wrestling runs in his blood as his father was WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson, according to the site.

During the interview, Dwayne Johnson spoke about his wrestling background.

“I grew up in wrestling. For a lot of you guys that don’t know, my grandfather wrestled, my dad as well, my whole family,” he said. “And I actually had my very first match ever in the WWE, was in Madison Square Garden and it was a big pay-per-view, and it was funny because I credit my time and my journey in pro wrestling to getting me to where I am at today.”

In 2013, Dwayne Johnson returned to the ring during WWE WrestleMania XXVIII, where he faced off against John Cena, according to the official WWE website.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson attends a press conference to announce that MetLife Stadium will host WWE Wrestlemania in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Feb. 16, 2012. (Michael N. Todaro/Getty Images)
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson attends a press conference to announce that MetLife Stadium will host WWE Wrestlemania in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Feb. 16, 2012. Michael N. Todaro/Getty Images

Following his WWE contract ending in 2004, Dwayne Johnson chose to pursue his acting career.

Since his first film role in “The Mummy Returns” in 2001, he has appeared in several blockbusters, including “Moana” (2016), “Baywatch” (2017), “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” (2017), and several of the “Fast & Furious” franchise films, according to IMDb.

His latest film, “Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw” was released in theaters on Aug. 2.

In the “Fast & Furious” spin off, “lawman Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and outcast Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), two former enemies, form an unlikely alliance when a cyber-genetically enhanced villain threatens the future of humanity,” according to IMDb.

“Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw” has already achieved the highest audience score on Rotten Tomatoes out of all the “Fast & Furious” films.

Verified moviegoers gave the latest “Fast & Furious” spinoff a score of 90% approval from audiences, according to Rotten Tomatoes.

“Fast & Furious 6” (2013) comes in second at 84%.

Dwayne Johnson took to social media to express his gratitude.

“Wow. Huge thank you to the fans for making HOBBS & SHAW the highest audience score in the history of the Fast & Furious franchise,” he wrote on Instagram.