Dwayne Johnson Explains Why He 'Quietly Retired' From the WWE

The action star admits he misses the ring.

The Rock
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Image via Getty/Raymond Hall/GC Images

The Rock

It's official: Dwayne Johnson's wrestling days are over.

The 47-year-old actor confirmed the news this week, during an appearance on Live With Kelly and Ryan. Johnson, who was promoting his new film Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, reflected on his days as The Rock and credited the WWE for all his success. 

"I miss wrestling, I love wrestling. Yes, I do," he said. "I quietly retired from wrestling because I was lucky enough to have just a really wonderful career and accomplish what I wanted to accomplish, but there’s nothing like a live crowd, a live audience, a live microphone as you both know. Plus, I grew up in wrestling. For a lot of you guys that don’t know, my grandfather wrestled, my dad as well, my whole family. And I actually had my very first match ever in the WWE, was in Madison Square Garden and it was a big pay-per-view, and it was funny because I credit my time and my journey in pro wrestling to getting me to where I am at today."

You can hear Johnson's full comments below. 

Though he's made several WWE appearances over the years, Johnson has been pretty much absent from the ring for years. He has since starred in big-budget action films, such as San Andreas, Rampage, and Skyscraper, as well as several installments of The Fast and the Furious franchise.

Earlier this week, Johnson was named 2019's highest-paid actor by Forbes, racking in a record-breaking $124 million.

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