The single most powerful thing I can be is to be myself. - Dwayne Johnson About Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor, businessman, and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential professional wrestlers of all time, Johnson wrestled for WWE for eight years prior to pursuing an acting career and during his wrestling career, he was integral to the development and success of the WWE during the Attitude Era, an industry boom period in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Johnson was born in Hayward, California on May 2, 1972, the son of Ata Johnson (née Maivia; born 1948)and former professional wrestler Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; 1944–2020). Growing up, Johnson lived briefly in Grey Lynn in Auckland with his mother's family, where he played rugby[35] and attended Richmond Road Primary School before returning to the U.S. Professional wrestling career After being cut by Calgary, Johnson began his professional wrestling career the following year, in 1996. Veteran wrestler Pat Patterson secured several tryout matches for Johnson with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1996. Wrestling at first under his real name, Johnson defeated The Brooklyn Brawler at a house show on March 10 and lost matches to Chris Candido and Owen Hart. One of the top draws in wrestling history as well as one of the all-time greatest professional wrestlers is The Rock. Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and John Cena are just a few of the wrestlers that have ranked The Rock among their "Mount Rushmore of Pro Wrestling." The Rock was said to as "for a long time, the WWE's biggest star and possibly possessed the largest international appeal" in "Cable Visions: Television Beyond Broadcasting." In his book "The WrestleCrap Book of Lists," R. D. Reynolds claimed that The Rock was "the biggest celebrity for WWE from 1999 through 2004."