Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s Biggest WWE and Hollywood Moments Through the Years: Vin Diesel Feud, More

Credit: Getty Images; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s Biggest WWE and Hollywood Moments Through the Years: Vin Diesel Feud, More

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has laid the smackdown on the WWE and Hollywood for nearly 30 years. The 10-time WWE Champion blazed a trail through Hollywood that many of his wrestling contemporaries — such as John Cena and Dave Bautista — have followed over the years, all while maintaining his connection to pro wrestling. As the son and grandson of legendary pro wrestlers, Johnson has continued to step into the squared circle when he wasn’t feuding with Fast & Furious costar Vin Diesel or lending his voice to the Academy Award-nominated Disney movie Moana. Keep scrolling for a look back at the life and career of one of Hollywood’s most bankable action stars:

Credit: Getty Images; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s Biggest WWE and Hollywood Moments Through the Years: Vin Diesel Feud, More

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has laid the smackdown on the WWE and Hollywood for nearly 30 years. The 10-time WWE Champion blazed a trail through Hollywood that many of his wrestling contemporaries — such as John Cena and Dave Bautista — have followed over the years, all while maintaining his connection to pro wrestling. As the son and grandson of legendary pro wrestlers, Johnson has continued to step into the squared circle when he wasn’t feuding with Fast & Furious costar Vin Diesel or lending his voice to the Academy Award-nominated Disney movie Moana. Keep scrolling for a look back at the life and career of one of Hollywood’s most bankable action stars:

Credit: Courtesy of YouTube; Courtesy of WWE

Family

Born May 2, 1972, the future WWE icon comes from a family lineage rooted in professional wrestling. Johnson’s grandfather, “The High Chief” Peter Maivia, was a top wrestling star all over the world in the 1970s, and his grandmother, Lia Maivia, was one of the first female professional wrestling promoters.

Dwayne’s father, “Soul Man” Rocky Johnson, wrestled for 40 years, including holding the WWE Tag Team Championship with “Mr. USA” Tony Atlas in the 1980s. Dwayne’s extensive family in pro wrestling includes current WWE stars such as “The Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns, tag team legends Jimmy and Jey Uso and The Rock’s own daughter, Simone Johnson (a.k.a. Ava).

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Football Career

The future “Rock” initially strayed from his family’s pro wrestling lineage when he was granted a full scholarship to play football at the University of Miami.'

He was later part of the Miami Hurricanes’ 1991 National Championship team. Johnson had a full-circle moment in 2009 when he was invited back to his alma mater to deliver the University of Miami’s commencement speech in front of 800 graduates.

“What makes this really special is that like all of you graduates and like many of you in this arena, I am and will forever be a Miami Hurricane,” Johnson told students. “This university was the breeding ground of some of the most important lessons that helped shape my life and guide me for success.”

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First Marriage

Johnson met his future first wife and business partner, Dany Garcia, when they were students at the University of Miami. They tied the knot in May 1997 and welcomed daughter Simone in August 2001.

The couple announced they were divorcing in June 2007 but continued working together. Dany and her brother, Hiram Garcia, became the cofounders of Johnson’s production company, Seven Bucks Productions, in 2012.

Garcia and Johnson were interviewed together about their professional ties on Good Morning America in 2019, where the WWE legend insisted that “therapy” helped them move past their divorce.

Credit: Courtesy of YouTube; Courtesy of WWE

Early WWE Years

When Johnson went undrafted by the NFL, he pivoted to the family business by training to become a pro wrestler. Johnson started wrestling on the Memphis circuit for the United States Wrestling Association in 1995, under the name “Flex Kavana.”

It took less than a year before Johnson signed with WWE, though then-WWE boss Vince McMahon opted to change his ring name once again to“Rocky Maivia” in honor of both his grandfather and father. Rocky Maivia debuted onscreen at Madison Square Garden in New York City at Survivor Series in November 1996.

Johnson quickly won the company’s Intercontinental Championship but faced harsh reactions from WWE crowds. Initially cast as the All-American “good guy,” Johnson was aghast to endre frequent boos and chants of “Rocky Sucks” from harsh WWE audiences.

In 2009, Johnson was quoted as saying he knew early on that his WWE character needed to change because it wasn’t “authentic” to his true personality.

"It wasn't me personally that they didn't like," Johnson said at the time. "It's that I wasn't being me. I wasn't being real. I wasn't being authentic. Who is this guy in wrestling who's smiling when he's getting beat?"

A pivotal career turning point took place in April 1997 when the WWE upstart suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for months. While rehabbing his knee, Johnson developed a character shift in direct response to the fan backlash.

Credit: Everett Collection

WWE Peak

When Johnson returned to WWE in August 1997, he quickly turned to the dark side by joining a villainous group called the Nation of Domination.

It was in this time period that Johnson rechristened himself as “The Rock” and coined many of his most iconic catchphrases, such as sarcastically referring to himself as “The People’s Champion” and frequently threatening to “lay the smack down” on his WWE opponents.

The Rock won his first WWE Championship when he was victorious in a 14-man tournament for the vacant title in November 1998. He would go on to win world championships nine more times throughout his wrestling career.

Johnson rode the wave of WWE’s boom period, including hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time in 2000.

During a 2025 appearance on the “Patrick Bet David” podcast, Johnson reflected on how he went from making “$150,000 a year” while wrestling “250 dates a year” to becoming one of WWE’s highest paid stars.

“As I became The Rock, [then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon] wanted to renegotiate my contract two to three years in," Johnson remembered. "He said, 'Are you going to have an agent? Are you looking for an agent?' 'I'm not. I'd like to negotiate with you directly. How we met was with a handshake, and I believe how we're going to do this is with a handshake.' Handshakes are very important to me.”

He went on, “I always say my handshake is better than anything I ever sign. [Vince] said, 'Great. I love that. I respect it. What are you thinking?' I said, 'Who is the highest paid, if you don't mind me asking. Between us, who is the highest paid on the roster?' He said, 'Stone Cold Steve Austin.' 'What's his guarantee?' 'One million dollars.' 'I want two.' 'Two million?' 'Yes.' 'Guaranteed?' 'Yes.'"

Credit: Universal Pictures; Courtesy Everett Collect

Early Hollywood Success

Johnson’s transition away from WWE and towards Hollywood started with a supporting role as The Scorpion King in 2001’s The Mummy Returns. His performance proved so popular that he was given a Scorpion King spinoff movie the following year.

His next few years in Hollywood were a combination of high-profile successes and notorious failures. The low point came in 2010 when family comedy The Tooth Fairy bombed with critics (despite making an impressive $112.5 million at the worldwide box office.)

“After Tooth Fairy, we recognized that Johnson was moving away from his core of who he was,” Garcia later admitted to The Hollywood Reporter.

Johnson replaced his Hollywood agents and publicists at the time, in hopes of rebranding himself as an action star.

“It was incredibly difficult because you develop a friendship over the years,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2014. “But it just dawned on me: Change has to happen.”

Credit: Frank Masi; Courtesy Universal; Courtesy Everett Collection

‘Fast & Furious’

After struggling for a few years in Hollywood, Johnson found his footing when he was cast as United States Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Agent Luke Hobbs in 2011’s Fast Five. The fifth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise allowed Johnson to square off with another action movie superstar, Vin Diesel, for the first time on the big screen.

Johnson told Screen Rant in 2011 that he relished the chance to go toe-to-toe with Diesel in some smash mouth Fast & Furious fight scenes.

“I’ve known Vin for a long time and we’ve always talked about doing something together, but as long as it was right and wasn’t forced,” he said at the time. “This felt like the right opportunity to create a formidable adversary for him and one that was believable and that we could get on screen and rumble and dance and have some fun.”

His character Hobbs became an integral part of the Fast & Furious franchise and eventually was given his own spinoff film, Hobbs & Shaw, in 2019.

Credit: Jaimie Trueblood; Courtesy Universal Pictures

Vin Diesel Feud

In August 2016, Johnson aired his grievances with Diesel with an Instagram post where he complained about his costar’s work ethic (without directly naming him).

“Some [male costars] conduct themselves as stand up men and true professionals, while others don't," Johnson wrote. "The ones that don't are too chicken s*** to do anything about it anyway. Candy asses. When you watch this [Fast & Furious] movie next April and it seems like I'm not acting in some of these scenes and my blood is legit boiling — you're right."

Diesel responded in 2017 by telling USA Today that the public had blown his dispute with Johnson out of proportion.

“I don’t think the world really realizes how close we are, in a weird way," Diesel insisted. "I think some things may be blown out of proportion. I don't think that was his intention. I know he appreciates how much I work this franchise. In my house, he’s Uncle Dwayne."

The actor then said, “I protect the franchise. I protect everybody, including Dwayne. I protected Dwayne more than he’ll ever know. And it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t have to know. But he appreciates it. He knows it. Dwayne has only got one Vin in his life. Dwayne Johnson only has one big brother in this film world and that’s me."

The feud seemingly blew over after the release of 2019’s Hobbs & Shaw until Diesel told Men’s Health in 2021 that he’d used “tough love” to motivate his costar on set.

“My approach at the time was a lot of tough love to assist in getting that performance where it needed to be,” he said. “As a producer to say, ‘OK, we’re going to take Dwayne Johnson, who’s associated with wrestling, and we’re going to force this cinematic world, audience members, to regard his character as someone that they don’t know’ — Hobbs hits you like a ton of bricks.”

When Diesel expressed hopes that Hobbs would be re-integrated into the main Fast & Furious films following his 2019 spinoff, Johnson publicly declined the invitation.

“I wished them well,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021. “I wish them well on Fast 9. And I wish them the best of luck on Fast 10 and Fast 11 and the rest of the Fast & Furious movies they do that will be without me.”

Despite his vow, Johnson did reprise his role as Hobbs for an uncredited mid-credits cameo in Fast X in 2023. Fast X director Louis Leterrier took credit for Johnson and Diesel’s reconciliation.

“The peace treaty … I kind of [brokered it]. We all did. Ultimately, the movie did,” Leterrier told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. “We sort of looked at each other from across the room and winked a few months back, saying, ‘We should work together.’ And then I had this idea and I presented it to the producers and the studio. And then we reached out to Dwayne and his team, and said, ‘Just come and watch the movie. You have to love the movie first.’ So, he came to see the movie and really loved it, and then we started talking. It was very smooth."

Johnson said via an Instagram video in 2023 that it was “incredibly personally gratifying and satisfying and exciting” to see Fast & Furious fans excited by his return.

“First of all the secret of Hobbs being back … that was a secret that was impossible to keep,” he said. “Despite us having our differences, me and Vin, we’ve been like brothers for years, and despite our differences, when you lead with — number one, resolve — but also you think about the future and plans that are much bigger than ourselves. Those bigger plans are the buildouts. They are the North Star.”

Credit: Jeff Daly; Courtesy HBO; Courtesy Everett Collection

‘Ballers’

Johnson ventured into TV for the HBO series Ballers, in which he played a retired NFL player who became a financial manager for other athletes. The sports-comedy show lasted five seasons before concluding in October 2019.

Ahead of Ballers’ final season airing, Johnson credited himself with making it more appealing for other A-list movie stars to make the jump to TV.

“Five years ago when they came to me with this idea for Ballers, at that time there were really no movie actors or movie stars really doing television,” he told Instagram followers. “At that time, I really didn’t want to concern myself with what was happening traditionally, I didn’t want to trailblaze, but I certainly wanted to disrupt.”

Johnson added, “[Ballers] was an opportunity to not only embrace culture, not only embrace ambition, not only embrace success — which we do in the show — but also embrace the failures, which is a key and critical thing in life, to learn from them.”

Credit: Frank Masi; Courtesy Columbia Pictures; Courtesy Everett Collection

‘Jumanji’

Johnson teamed up with close friend Kevin Hart to revive the Jumanji franchise with 2017 blockbuster Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which made nearly $1 billion at the box office.

The star told fans at Los Angeles Comic Con in 2017 that his Jumanji movie was a tribute to the late Robin Williams, who starred in the 1995 original.

“It was the opportunity that we had to introduce Jumanji to a whole new generation," he said. "Also, too, it was my personal way of really paying homage and respect to the one man who created the Jumanji magic to begin with, Mr Robin Williams."

Johnson returned for 2019’s Jumanji: The Next Level and is attached to a 2026 sequel.

Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Second Marriage

Johnson started dating his future second wife, Lauren Hashian, in 2007 after meeting on the set of his movie The Game Plan. The couple tied the knot in Hawaii in August 2019 and are parents to two daughters, Jasmine (born December 2015) and Tiana (born April 2018).

Speaking to WSJ. Magazine in 2019, Johnson admitted he was hesitant about marrying Hashian because of the lingering impact of his first marriage ending.

“My divorce did a number on me," Johnson confessed. "I wasn’t fearful of getting married again, there was just some hesitancy. But Lauren was incredibly patient: 'I love you, you love me, we have this amazing life together — no presh.'"

The WWE icon also shed some light on how he connected with Hashian so soon after splitting from Garcia.

“At the time, I was going through my breakup with Dany and [Lauren] was just coming off a big breakup, too,” he said. “Ironically, when you’re not looking for something, the power of the universe kind of takes over."

Credit: Courtesy Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures; Courtesy Everett Collection

‘Moana’

Disney’s 2016 animated musical gave Johnson the role he was born to play as the singing demigod Maui. Moana came from legendary Disney directing duo John Musker and Ron Clements and featured music from Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Johnson confided in ABC News in 2016 that he broke down into tears when he learned Maui’s character design and hairstyle were based on his grandfather, “The High Chief” Peter Maivia.

“I have never cried consistently ... through a movie more than I have with this movie," Johnson said. "Just to be clear, they’re all manly tears though."

Johnson took on a greater creative role as an executive producer on Disney’s 2024 hit Moana 2, in addition to casting his daughters Jasmine and Tiana to voice minor characters. He is producing and starring in Disney’s 2026 live-action remake of the original Moana, where he’ll share the screen with newcomer Catherine Lagaʻaia (who has the title role).

Credit: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

WWE Return

In January 2024, Johnson had a full-circle moment when he joined the board of directors of WWE’s corporate owners, TKO Group Holdings. As part of the deal, Johnson gained the rights to his trademarked ring name, “The Rock,” from WWE.

The Rock stepped back into the ring for WrestleMania 40 in April 2024, where he teamed up with his cousin, Reigns, to defeat “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Johnson has continued making regular appearances on WWE TV since his in-ring return, now referring to himself as “The Final Boss” of WWE.