Meet The Little-Known Brother Of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Highlights

• The Anoa’i and Johnson wrestling family has a rich history in wrestling before The Rock’s fame.
• The Rock helped elevate his family’s wrestling legacy even higher with his superstar status.
• Curtis Bowles Johnson, The Rock’s older half-brother, has chosen to stay out of the spotlight and away from wrestling.

The Rock is one of the most famous men in the world. Particularly as it pertains to the world of professional wrestling, he’s royalty. He was one of the biggest stars who helped fuel the Attitude Era—second only to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in terms of wrestling stardom (and some would argue The Great One even exceeded him in 2000, when Austin was on the shelf). Moreover, The Rock is undeniably wrestling’s biggest crossover star. He became a household name while still under the WWE banner, but grew even more famous after he crossed over to Hollywood. While the foundations of his celebrity remain with wrestling, and he has returned to the fold multiple times, it has nonetheless become quite legitimately possible for people born in the last twenty years to know him better as an actor than as a wrestler. For such a major celebrity, it’s interesting that he has an older half-brother, Curtis Bowles Johnson, who has remained mostly outside the public eye.

UPDATE: 2024/05/03 17:00 EST BY MICHAEL CHIN

The Rock’s Little Known Half-Brother Has Stayed Out Of The Spotlight

The Rock returning to the WWE ring with a vengeance has sparked revived interest in him and his family. As The Great One himself highlighted during the WrestleMania 40 press conference in Las Vegas, his family’s breadth and depth of impact on wrestling is beyond compare. Each time fans learn of another person with links to the Anoa’i or Johnson clan, it raises questions about what their role in wrestling might be.

Curtis Bowles Johnson is an exception to the rule. While there’s some speculation he may have quietly done some work with the business years back, he has by all indications intentionally stayed out of the spotlight. Although wrestling fans can never say never, it’s unlikely they’ll see him highlighted on WWE television at this point.

The Rock Came From An Expansive Wrestling Family

The Anoa’i And Johnson Wrestling Family Has Only Grown More Influential In The Wrestling Business

• The Rock’s family was already legendary in wrestling before he made a name for himself.
• The Rock elevated his family to new heights with his super stardom.
• Stars like Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa have furthered their family’s place in wrestling history.

The Rock is a part of the legendary Anoa’i family, which has contributed a high volume of talent to the wrestling business across generations. There’s little question The Rock took the family to new heights—which is saying something after his older cousin Yokozuna was a WWE Champion. Meanwhile, today, there’s an argument that the Rock’s younger cousin, Roman Reigns, has met The Rock’s level as an all-time important star to WWE, and there’s no shortage of speculation that when his reign atop the company ends, he may transition to his own career in acting.

Indeed, a big part of how The Rock was initially pushed in WWE was as a third-generation star. WWE wound up downplaying his family lineage for a while as Rock took on a better-defined identity for himself as a brash young star. Nonetheless, it’s telling that inducting his father and grandfather into the WWE Hall of Fame was what drew him back from Hollywood for at least one night in 2008, before he got back in the ring three and a half years later. The family has always been a part of Rock’s identity in wrestling–not to mention the even higher profile it has taken on in modern wrestling with Reigns and The Bloodline–making it all the more interesting he has a brother with little-to-no connection to the business.

Curtis Bowles Johnson Was Born During Rocky Johnson’s First Marriage

The Rock And Curtis Bowles Johnson Are Half Brothers With The Same Father

• Rocky Johnson had his first children in his first marriage with Una Sparks.
• Rocky Johnson had an affair which led to a marriage with Ata Fitisemanu Maivia.
• Curtis Bowles Johnson was a child of Rocky Johnson’s first marriage, while The Rock was a child of the second marriage.

As discussed in his book, Soulman, Rocky Johnson was not entirely faithful in his personal life. He was married to a woman named Una Sparks and had two children with her. However, it was during this first marriage that he became linked to Ata Fitisemanu Maivia. She was the daughter of wrestler Peter Maivia, who became the first of the two generations of wrestlers who led to The Rock’s emergence as a third-generation star.

Johnson suggested that he and Sparks divorced on amicable terms, recognizing his life on the road as a wrestler was not a fit for their marriage (he did not make it clear if she knew of his infidelity, or that this coupling had yielded a child of its own—Dwayne). Regardless, it seems clear that Curtis and Dwayne, being on different sides of Rocky’s relationship, were not directly in one another’s lives in their youth. Indeed, it’s not even clear they necessarily knew one another existed.

What Fans Know About Curtis Bowles Johnson

Curtis Bowles Johnson Has Stayed Out Of The Spotlight

• There’s speculation Curtis Bowles Johnson dabbled in wrestling, but he never made a name for himself in the business.
• Rocky Johnson mentioned his son Curtis in his WWE Hall of Fame induction speech.
• Curtis Bowles Johnson cited his father, Rocky Johnson, as a source of inspiration upon his passing.

Curtis Bowles Johnson did not get involved in the wrestling business, though according to TheThings, there is some speculation he may have dabbled in wrestling via the Hart family’s business in Calgary.

Curtis did get a mention in his father’s WWE Hall of Fame induction speech and later got some attention when gave a comment to the CBC upon Rocky’s passing in 2020. In doing so, Curtis referenced that larger-than-life figures like his father served as an inspiration to him in pursuit of his career as a businessman.

Will WWE Fans Ever See Curtis Bowles Johnson In WWE?

Wrestling Fans Have Learned To Never Say Never

• At Curtis Bowles Johnson’s age, it would be highly unusual for him to get involved in wrestling at a high level now.
• The Rock’s resurgence in WWE does leave a small possibility of putting together a deal for his half-brother.
• It seems Curtis Bowles Johnson has intentionally chosen a quieter life, so it seems unlikely he’d even want to sign with WWE in any capacity.

Naturally, when fans learn that a major star from the world of wrestling has a sibling, they tend to leap to speculation about whether that family might ever cross over and enter the WWE fray themselves. In particular, given The Rock’s WWE resurgence in 2024, it might add a little extra interest in seeing such a surprise debut take place.

In actuality, it seems incredibly unlikely Curtis Bowles Johnson will ever become a part of WWE programming. While the intrigue is there–and if the Anoa’i-Johnson family has taught us anything, it’s to never say never about one of them getting in the ring–it’s difficult to imagine a person of his age just getting his start in wrestling on the national level at this point. If this ever were to come to pass, it could conceivably be with Bowles Johnson playing a short-term role to sell family drama or play the victim to an attack. Given that he hasn’t been in the public eye, though, and the average wrestling fan doesn’t necessarily know he ever existed, it’s probably just as well he continue to live his life on his own terms away from the business.

In the end, Curtis Bowles Johnson is that rare figure closely, biologically related to The Rock who has not become a celebrity in his own right. That seems to be a matter of his own choice, though, as he has quietly built a life of his own outside of wrestling. It goes to show that there is plenty of room to blaze one’s own trail outside the family—albeit that Curtis remains a figure of intrigue for just how famous and successful his younger half-brother has become.