The journey of Dwayne Johnson from failed football prospect to the biggest movie star in the business – by way of a professional wrestling career that was legendary as it was brief in retrospect – is befitting of a biopic one of these days, should they be able to find anyone jacked and charismatic enough to play the role.
After missing out on his chance at making it in the NFL, the young Johnson decided he’d follow in his father’s footsteps by taking his natural athletic gifts to the squared circle. Even though he was only a full-time performer with WWE for less than eight years, that was all he needed to go down as one of the biggest icons the grap game had ever seen.
There were plenty of integral figures along the way who shaped and molded the second-generation star into the man he’d ultimately become, and one of them was Jerry Jarrett. Widely regarded as a monolithic figure within the industry in terms of influence, the 80 year-old passed away on Tuesday, with The Rock taking to social media to pay tribute.
Dwayne and his father Rocky Johnson both had strong ties to the Memphis territory, of which Jarrett was a massive part for decades. As you can see from his caption, the late promoter’s inspiration on the family stretched over decades, and with his own son Jeff also being a long-tenured wrestler himself, it’s a crushing heartache the 50 year-old can sympathize with after his old man passed away in January of 2020.