Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson paid tribute to his late father, WWE Hall Of Famer Rocky Johnson on Thursday.
And by Sunday the action star shared what his father died of: a heart attack.
‘As you know, I lost my old man a few days ago. I lost him just like that, didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to him,’ said the Jumaji actor. ‘I’d give anything right now to give him a big ole hug and a big ole kiss before he crossed over and just say thank you and I love you and I respect you. But I didn’t get a chance to say that, but such is life, as many of you know.’
A last goodbye: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson paid tribute to his late father, WWE Hall Of Famer Rocky Johnson on Thursday. And by Sunday the action star shared what his father died of: a heart attack
His video began: ‘Hey everybody I just wanted to stop in on this very blessed Sunday to say thank you so much. Thank you. My heart is so full of gratitude. You’ve lifted my spirits in ways that I hope you can imagine.’
Johnson also said: ‘A lot of you guys wanted to know what happened to my dad. He had not been feeling well, had been battling a cold and infection and on Tuesday he had what’s called a deep vein thrombosis, which is essentially a clot in the leg.
‘It was a big ole blood clot that broke free, traveled up his body, and went right to his lung, clotted his lung and he died very quickly from a massive heart attack, just like that.’
He added his father ‘went quick.’
‘My hero’: The Rock expressed appreciation for his father in the moving tribute post (pictured with his parents in 2015)
Milestone achievement: The wrestler was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2008 by his own son
‘That did give me great comfort in knowing that it wasn’t prolonged,’ as he said his dad, who was a wrestler, ‘had been in a lot of pain for a very, very long time.’
His message was heartfelt too.
‘I’ve written a lot of speeches for myself over the years but I have no idea where to start with this one. But I do have my tequila and I can hear him now, ‘Good that’s the way you gotta do it,’ and I can also hear him now ‘Make sure you put me over in the speech – say good stuff about me,’’ Johnson said.
He added a laugh.
‘For those of you who knows my dad you know that he would say, “You tell them I taught you everything you know, but I didn’t teach you everything I know.”‘
He then chuckled and said: ‘That’s right dad. That’s why you will always be better than me. And i love it and i love you and i love you guys.’
The Rock shared memories of his dad in a heart-felt Instagram post he shared Friday, just one day after it emerged the wrestler had passed away at age 75.
The tribute featured video of Rocky, known as the ‘Soul Man’, in the ring, along with a moving message expressing his appreciation for his father.
Paying tribute: Johnson paid tribute to his late father, WWE Hall Of Famer Rocky Johnson, on Friday
‘I love you. You broke color barriers, became a ring legend and trail blazed your way thru this world. I was the boy sitting in the seats, watching and adoring you, my hero from afar,’ Dwayne wrote.
‘The boy you raised to always be proud of our cultures and proud of who and what I am. The boy you raised with the toughest of love. The intense work. The hard hand.
‘The adoring boy who wanted to know only your best qualities. Who then grew to become a man realizing you had other deep complex sides that needed to be held and understood.
‘Son to father. Man to man. That’s when my adoration turned to respect. And my empathy turned to gratitude. Grateful that you gave me life. Grateful you gave me life’s invaluable lessons.
There he is! In video accompanying the message, Johnson was in the ring as the announcer introduced him to the crowd
Beloved: A commentator noted just before the fight began that Rocky was ‘one of the long-time favorites in the world wrestling federation’
‘Dad, I wish I had one more shot to tell you, I love you, before you crossed over to the other side. But you were ripped away from me so fast without warning. Gone in an instant and no coming back. Im in pain. But we both know it’s just pain and it’ll pass.
‘Now I’ll carry your mana and work ethic with me, as it’s time to move on because I have my family to feed and work to accomplish. Finally, I want you to rest your trailblazing soul, Soulman. Pain free, regret free, satisfied and at ease.
‘You lived a very full, very hard, barrier breaking life and left it all in the ring. I love you dad and I’ll always be your proud and grateful son. Go rest high.’
Show of strength: Johnson, known as Soul Man, began his wrestling career in the mid 1960s
In video accompanying the message, Johnson was in the ring as the announcer introduced him to the crowd.
‘From Washington DC, weighing 250 pounds, Rocky Johnson!’ the announcer said.
A separate commentator noted, ‘Rocky Johnson, without a doubt, one of the long-time favorites in the world wrestling federation, and he and Tony Atlas are targets somewhat indeed for any number of tag team combinations wishing to challenge him for the tag team title.’
The WWE confirmed Johnson had passed away at age 75 on Thursday.
Johnson – born Wayde Douglas Bowles – began his wrestling career in the mid-1960s, according to THR.com, but only found fame a couple of decades later when he joined the WWE in 1983.
He was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame by his son in 2008.
Moving: The actor posted a lengthy and heart-felt message in honor of his father on Friday
