The wrestling world has been mourning the death of a pioneering legend this week, following the passing of Rocky Johnson.

'Soulman' passed away on January 15 at the age of 75, and he left behind a legacy which formed the path for mixed race wrestlers to succeed in professional wrestling.

He became the first black champion in WWF history when he won the World Tag Team Championships with Tony Atlas in 1983, and last wrestled for the company in 1985.

Following his retirement in 1991, he trained his son to become a wrestler and appeared at ringside for some of his matches in 1996 and 1997 - that was before he took on the moniker known as 'The Rock'.

The WWE Hall of Famer will live long in the memory of all wrestling fans of a certain age, and tributes poured in for Soulman, from the likes of Vince McMahon, Ric Flair and his former tag team partner Atlas.

Understandably, The Rock himself has stayed off social media to presumably spend time with his grieving family.

But he yesterday posted on Instagram for the first time since his father's passing, and he's issued a heartwarming tribute.

He labelled his father as his hero, and in his tribute he noted that he wished he had one last chance to say he loved him because he was taken so suddenly, which indicates that none of his family expected it to happen.

You can find The Rock's full tribute in the post above, but you may need a tissue as it's rather emotional!

The legacy for black sports stars that Johnson created will be celebrated all around the world, and he helped create perhaps the biggest star of the Attitude Era - that in itself is something to applaud!

Rest in paradise, Rocky!