Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson touched hearts worldwide with an emotional tribute to his late father Rocky Johnson.
Rocky, a Canadian wrestler, died on Jan. 15 of a heart attack, the younger Johnson revealed, saying his impact on the wrestling world lives on.
In response to the outpouring of love he’s received from fans, The Rock decided to address his loyal following with a tear-jerking message.
READ MORE: The hardscrabble story behind Canadian wrestling legend Rocky ‘Soulman’ Johnson
“A lot of you guys wanted to know what happened to my dad. He had not been feeling well, had been battling a cold and infection, and on Tuesday, he had what’s called a deep vein thrombosis, which is essentially a blood clot in the leg,” the 47-year-old explained in a nearly eight-minute clip.
“It was a big ol’ clot that broke free, travelled 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.”
Johnson added that a medical examiner confirmed his dad “went fast” and didn’t suffer.
“That did give me great comfort in knowing that it wasn’t prolonged, and the reason why it gave me great comfort, even though I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to my old man that one last time, is that he had been in a lot of pain for a very, very long time, and that’s the life of a pro wrestler, especially at that age,” he continued in the video.
He finished off the tribute by encouraging his fan base to stay connected to their loved ones.
“Text them. Call them. Go see them if they’re close by, and if you can hug them, I want you to hug them,” he said. “You tell them that these are the marching orders from Dwayne Johnson who just lost his old man. But you hug them and you hug them hard.”
Johnson, also a former professional wrestler — and father to three kids, Simone, 18, Jasmine, 4, and one-year-old Tiana — is feeling the loss deeply and holding his family members, including wife Lauren Hashian, close.
“That’s what I’m doing with my family and my friends and the ones I love, I’m hugging them hard. You never know what’s around the corner, we just never know. Here today, gone tomorrow,” he said.
READ MORE: Movie in the works about N.S. wrestler Rocky Johnson, father of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
“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. Gone in an instant and no coming back. I’m in pain, but we both know it’s just pain and it’ll pass.”
He wrapped up his message by sharing that he was heading off to do a leg day at the gym, thanking his father for being the one who taught him how to work out in the first place.
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