Dwayne Johnson Says He Regrets Not Making Amends With Trailblazing Father Before He Died

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently opened up about one of the regrets he has.

The actor shared a video on Instagram of his father accepting a WWE belt for making pro-wrestling history in 1983 when he and Tony Atlas became the first-ever Black Heavyweight Tag Team champions. In the social media post, a young Johnson can be seen sitting in the audience after the match, celebrating his father’s win.

“Just delivering flowers to heaven to my old man, Rocky ‘Soulman’ Johnson,” the former wrestler began his lengthy caption. “He came up the hard way, and trail-blazed for all of us men of color – in any sport & level of entertainment. But it was also very important to him to pave the way for all men, any color – it didn’t matter.”

He continued, “My regret in this life is that I never had a chance to say goodbye to him, because he died suddenly. I regret not reconciling our complicated father/son shit before I lost him. Raised me with tough fatherly love and an even tougher hand. The more I live life, the more grateful I am for it. See you down the road, Soulman.”

Johnson’s father died in 2020, and since then, the former wrestler has been candid about his regrets surrounding their relationship. In a Father’s Day post last year, he explained that he and his father had gotten into an argument about a month before his death and hadn’t made up when he died unexpectedly.

“To my guys out there, if your old man is still around – consider it a blessing,” he wrote last summer. “Even if you and your dad are working thru some complicated shit. I’ve been there and I understand. But do your best to reconcile and get that drama behind you and get right with your dad.”