10 Most Inspirational Wrestling Stars Of All Time
1. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson
Speaking of 'rock bottom'…
Dwayne Johnson’s drive and ambition are at least on a par with CM Punk’s gimlet-eyed focus, and he does it all with a gently unstoppable charm and charisma that makes Punk look like a sulky teenager.
His achievements speak for themselves. He’s one of the few professional wrestlers in the history of the business that can legitimately call himself a household name, and was recently named the highest paid film star in the world, with a reputation for reviving faltering movie franchises just by becoming attached to them. It seems that everything he touches turns to awesome.
But it’s about more than just being successful. Ever since retiring from full time in-ring competition to focus on his Hollywood career, The Rock has carefully constructed an entire life and career around being the best person he can possibly be, and encouraging others to step their game up as well.
His social media accounts, followed by millions (and millions) of devoted fans, reflect his expansive, self-deprecating, cheerfully upbeat persona. Barely a day goes by without Johnson posting a photo to Instagram with some uplifting anecdote or motivational spiel, or tweeting a call to action.
Not for him, the vague thumbs-up of a John Cena #Respect or #NeverGiveUp hashtag: The Rock posts pep talks, seeks out posts from fans to personally respond to, talks up his co-stars, retweets and comments on news and current events. There’s no celebrity more switched on or engaged with the world and the people in it than Rocky, and he does all this while maintaining a working schedule that makes Cena look like a sleepy toddler.
He gets up at 4am to work out and start his day, and recently released an app - the Rock Clock™ - that allows you to set alarms for personal goals attached to encouraging soundbites from the man himself. The Rock’s motto is 'Be hungry, be humble and always be the hardest worker in the room’ - in fairness, not a difficult thing to accomplish when everyone else is still fast asleep and you’re Instagramming yourself pumping iron and making beast faces.
In 2016, the only conceivable way in which a celebrity could possibly be more inspirational than Dwayne Johnson would be if Jesus Christ himself was cast in the next Avengers movie - and you know if Jesus was on Twitter, he’d be retweeting The G*ddamn Rock.