Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Shares Video of Emotional Eulogy He Delivered at Dad's Funeral
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson shared a video of the heartfelt and emotional eulogy he gave at his father Rocky Johnson’s funeral last month.
Rocky “Soul Man” Johnson was considered to be one of the most formidable and dynamic wrestling champions of his era. The WWE Hall of Famer died last month of a heart attack at age 75.
Dwayne Johnson, 47, gave a beautiful and heart-wrenching tribute to his father in front of a large crowd of loved ones, including his father’s friends, family and members of the wrestling community.
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Johnson struggled to compose himself as he stood on stage to deliver the eulogy that he said was very difficult to write.
“Man, I wish I had — I wish I had one more shot,” the actor began. “I wish I had one more shot to say goodbye — to say I love you, to say thank you, I respect you, but I have a feeling he’s watching. He’s listening.”
Johnson explained that he found out about his father’s death on Jan. 15, right as he had arrived at work for a day of filming. His father had suffered a massive heart attack and was gone in the blink of an eye.
Unsure of whether or not to forge ahead with the production schedule as planned, Johnson said he heard a voice that he believed was his dad, telling him what to do: “The show must go on,” Johnson said, an echo of what his professional wrestling father would say.
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Johnson spoke of his father as a “trailblazer” throughout his wrestling career, breaking through barriers of racial stigma and tension with his incredible work ethic and unbeatable performances in competition.
“And for my dad, when he broke into the business in the mid-’60s and throughout the late ’60s and into the ’70s in the United States where racial tension and divide was very strong and in the ’60s and the ’70s you have a black man coming in, it’s an all-white audience and all these small little towns that eventually I would go on to wrestle in — but at that time he changed the audience’s behavior and actually had them cheer for this black man,” Johnson said.
“And not when he was wrestling against other black men, ’cause he was usually the only black guy in the territory, he was wrestling against other white wrestlers.” Johnson continued. “I thought that was really unique, and I thought that was really powerful, and I thought that it deserved to be said. And that’s what this man did.”
Johnson talked about how his father’s reputation became synonymous with hard work and discipline, values he passed down to his family.
“My dad fought for racial equality at a time where it was needed,” Johnson said.
Throughout the eulogy, Johnson found himself so overcome with emotion that he had to pause, compose himself, and finish the speech.
In light of loss, Johnson took solace in knowing that his father’s death would make his family even more tight-knit.
“Because through processes like this, we’ve all lost loved ones, but guaranteed when we walk out of these doors, we’re going to hold each other a bit tighter, we’re going to hug each other a bit harder, we’re going to kiss each other and we’re going to say, ‘I love you,’ and we’re going to be a bit more present,” he said.
Johnson posted the video to Instagram with a sentimental caption.
“I’ll see you down the road, Soulman. Till we meet again,” he wrote.
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