Earlier on Wednesday, Jan. 15, it was revealed that WWE Hall of Fame wrestler and father of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Rocky “Soul Man” Johnson, had passed away at the age of 75-years-old. According to TMZ, the cause of death for the famed athlete, born Wayde Douglas Bowles, has yet to be announced.
Bowles began his professional wrestling career in the mid-1960s as a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Despite the difficulties of being an African-American wrestler throughout the South in the ’60s and ’70s, he was able to earn the NWA Georgia Champion and the NWA Southern Heavyweight Memphis Championship belts for his performances.
In 1982, Rocky “Soul Man” Johnson joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) where and his tag-team partner, Tony Atlas, became the promotion’s first Black-American Tag Team Champions known as The Soul Patrol. In 1991, the Soul Man officially retired from in-ring action and took on a significant role training his son, Dwayne, for a pro-wrestling career.
With his son following in his footsteps and becoming one of wrestling’s most electrifying personalities and a world-renowned blockbuster movie star, Bowles set the example for Dwayne Johnson to become who he is today. With Johnson juggling so many projects and preparing for more on-screen endeavors in the near future, this has to be a numbing hardship for the Jumanji frontman to experience at the pinnacle of his career.
With that said, stick with HNHH as details unfold in regards to the death of Rocky Johnson and check out a recent post about the Soul Man posted by none other than his biggest fan and son below.
