Dwayne Johnson Announces He’s Inducting His Grandmother Into the WWE Hall of Fame: ‘She Was a Trailblazer’

Lia Maivia was one of the first-ever female promoters in wrestling before her death in 2008

Dwayne Johnson.

Dwayne Johnson is celebrating the life and legacy of his grandmother, Lia Maivia, as he officially announces her induction into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Johnson, 51, shared a powerful video tribute to his late grandmother, who passed away in 2008, detailing her success as one of the first-ever female promoters in professional wrestling.

The tribute opens with a shot of Johnson visiting his grandparents’ grave at Diamond Head Memorial Park in Honolulu, Hawaii. The wrestling star sings, “I dream about you every night and every day,” in the opening moments of the video.

A shot from the cemetery shows that the words, “The ukulele has ended, but your melody lingers on. For life is not forever, love is,” are written on Johnson’s grandparents’ gravestone.

“My grandmother was a pioneer in our business of professional wrestling,” Johnson says in a voiceover.

“She took over my grandfather’s wrestling company here in Hawaii, and she made a promise to my grandfather when he was dying on his death bed,” he added, explaining that Maivia told her husband she planned to “take over the company” and fulfill her husband’s dream for his company, Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling.

Maivia went on to produce the “highest attended and highest grossing” wrestling event of the 1980s in Hawaii, Johnson explains.

In his caption, Johnson wrote, “I’m honored to announce, that I will be inducting my grandmother, Lia Maivia, into the @WWE Hall of Fame, class of 2024,” on Instagram.

He added, “One of the first-ever female promoters of professional wrestling. She was a trail blazer. She was a protector of our family. She was the real Final Boss.”

Dwayne Johnson.

In 2022, Johnson said his grandmother was forced into homelessness in 1991 after the FBI indicted her on extortion charges. She was later acquitted.

However, “The FBI came back around on illegal alien charges, froze what little assets she had and wound up deporting her back to SAMOA,” Johnson wrote in a Facebook tribute to her.

“By 1991 my grandma was homeless. In 1992 I was able to identify a legal loophole and get her back — legally — into the U.S. I was also able to secure social security for her — legally — and moved her into a little one room apartment in Tampa, Florida.”

Johnson added that when he “started making some decent money in WWE,” he was able to purchase a condo for her “where she would live happily for the rest of her life.”

“My grandma passed away in 2008. I miss her,” he wrote.

Maivia will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in a ceremony on Friday, April 5 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.