DWAYNE ‘The Rock’ Johnson has revealed his father’s cause of death in an emotional Instagram video posted today.
The wrestling star turned actor said that his father, Rocky Johnson, passed away from a massive heart attack and thanked his fans for ‘the outpouring of love, the support, the well wishes, the condolences”.
The Hobbs & Shaw actor took to Instagram to announce his father’s cause of death while also thanking his fans for the support.
He said in the seven-minute-long video: “You have lifted my spirits in ways that I hope you can imagine.
“As you may know, I lost my old man a few days ago. I lost him without saying goodbye.
“I’d give anything right now to give him a big ol’ hug and a big ol’ kiss before he crossed over, and just say ‘thank you, I love you, I respect you.'”
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He continued: “He had not been feeling well and had been battling a cold, an infection.
“On Tuesday, he had what’s called deep vein thrombosis, which is essentially a blood clot in the leg.
“It broke free, traveled up his body and went right to his lung and clotted his lung and he died very quickly from a massive heart attack, just like that.
“My question [to the medical examiner] was: ‘Was he in pain?’ and he said that he went very fast.
“That was my old man, he was always quick.”
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He further to talk about his father’s health, who had also been a pro-wrestler his whole life.
He said: “He had been in lot of pain for a very long time and that’s the life of a pro wrestler. He always told me, ‘A day without pain is like a day without sunshine.’
“He would tell me that when I was 10. That’s a lot of years of being in pain.”
The 47-year-old asked his fans to contact their loved ones because they never know when they might lose them.
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He also revealed that they will be burying his father on Tuesday and that he will be doing his father’s eulogy.
The actor was relieved by knowing he was doing exactly what his dad would have wanted to do when he passed.
After his father’s passing, The Rock took to Instagram to pay tribute to the pro-wrestler, who was part of the first African-American World Tag Team Champions in WWE history in 1983.
He posted a video of his dad winning the title with the words: “You broke color barriers, became a ring legend and trail blazed your way through this world.
“I was the boy sitting in the seats, watching and adoring you, my hero from afar.
“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.”
He continued: “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.”
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A statement on the WWE website read: “WWE is saddened to learn that Rocky ‘Soul Man’ Johnson, a WWE Hall of Famer, former World Tag Team Champion, and father of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, has passed away at age 75.
“In 2008, Johnson achieved the highest honor in sports-entertainment when he was inducted by The Rock into the WWE Hall of Fame where he will be forever enshrined as one of sports-entertainment’s most influential performers.
“WWE extends its condolences to Johnson’s family, friends and fans.”
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After retiring in 1991, Johnson trained his son Dwayne to wrestle.
The Rock went onto become one of the most loved and best wrestlers ever, before becoming a huge Hollywood star.
At the start of The Rock’s career, Johnson would appear alongside his son and help him in matches.
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