Dwayne Johnson Had Just $7 In His Pocket Before Signing With World Wrestling Federation

Today Dwayne Johnson is one of Hollywood's highest earning stars, but things could have turned out very differently for the former wrestler who was cut from the Canadian Football League (CFL) with just $7 (£5.07) in his pocket.

Johnson, who turns 49 today, set a record in 2018 after he made more money in a year than any other actor ever, with Forbes reporting he made a whopping $124 million (£89,747,765) in a single year.

But the actor has always been honest about his humble beginnings, so much so that he even named his production company Seven Bucks Productions as a reminder of where he came from.

Johnson played college football and had dreams of signing with the National Football League (NFL) back in 1995, but went undrafted, eventually joining the Calgary Stampeders from the CFL.

However, he was cut from the team in the first season and although this hit him hard, it was what led him to pursue a career as a professional wrestler.

And not just any professional wrestler, but one of the greatest and most successful of all time.

From there, he decided upon a career in acting and, well... we all know the rest, don't we?

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The actor opened up about being cut from the CFL in an Instagram post back in 2018, describing it as 'the best thing that never happened' to him.

He wrote: "Cheers to dreams not coming true.

"Not an easy concept to process, but the idea that sometimes our biggest and most important dreams that DON'T COME TRUE are often times the BEST THING that never happened."

He went on: "Playing ball, I was always the 'hardest worker in the room' and did everything I could to make the CFL and then hopefully, make it to the NFL where I dreamed of having an All Pro/Super Bowl Champion football career.

Instagram/@therock

"Instead, I was cut from the team, told I wasn't good enough - and sent home with $7 to my name.

"After years of blood, sweat, guts and tears, my dream was over.

"Fell into depression, didn't know what to do or where to turn.

"Eventually, I picked myself back up again, said, 'f*** this' and refocused and committed myself to a different path.

"The rest is history."

You can say that again - happy birthday, pal.

Topics: Celebrity, Inspirational, Dwayne Johnson

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19