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Dwayne Johnson reflects on his 2 retirements from the WWE

1:21
Dwayne Johnson sings 'You’re Welcome' while washing hands with daughter
Vera Anderson/WireImage/Getty Images, FILE
ByDanielle Long
Video byFaith Bernstein
May 18, 2020, 2:08 PM

These days Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson keeps himself busy as a bonafide movie star, but before that he was a WWE wrestler.

When he left the arena, many fans were left wondering why. Well, now, years later, he's finally getting around to giving fans the closure they've been waiting for.

In a video posted to Johnson's Instagram account on Sunday, he explained why he retired from the company that made a name for him, not once but twice. "I retired from the WWE in 2004 at the age of 32," he said in the almost 14-minute-long video.

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The 48-year-old revealed that the two reasons behind his decision were because his contract had expired and because he wanted to become globally successful outside of the WWE brand so that he could come back "as a greater asset" to the business as his way of giving back.

"Almost 10yrs later in 2012, I returned to the industry that’s in my blood," Johnson wrote in the caption. "I returned to the [WWE] to give back. To bring value and impact the bottom line."

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The father of three's return "set all time box office and [Pay Per View] records that will never be broken," proving that he had accomplished exactly what he set out to do. His final match was in 2014 with John Cena, "at WrestleMania in New York at a sold out MetLife Stadium." Johnson proudly detailed.

"I went out the right way. The respectful way ... Grateful to the bone. And on my shield," Johnson concluded, proving that he had accomplished his goal of giving back in a meaningful way.

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His explanation doesn't necessarily mean that fans will never see him in the ring again. When thinking about if he would ever go back Johnson said, "Never say never."

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