Rocky Johnson
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| Rocky Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 24, 1939[1] Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Sweet Ebony Diamond[1] Drew Glasteau[1] "Soulman" Rocky Johnson[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Billed weight | 352 lb (160 kg; 25.1 st) |
| Billed from | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Trained by | Peter Maivia[1] Rocky Bollie[1] Kurt Von Steiger[1] |
| Debut | 1964[1] |
| Retired | 1991 |
Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Bowles on August 24, 1944)[1] is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. Quite popular in his own right in the 1970s and '80s, he is also known for being the father of actor and former wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.[2] During his wrestling career he became a 1-time NWA Georgia Champion and also became a 1-time NWA Southern Heavyweight Memphis Champion as well as winning many other championships.
Career
Rocky Johnson is Black Nova Scotian which is an ethnicity of Afro-Canadian descent.[3] Throughout his career, "Soulman" Rocky Johnson wrestled for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and many smaller and overseas promotions. He reached the high point of his career in the WWF in 1983, as WWF Tag Team Champions with Tony Atlas. Johnson and Atlas were notable not only for their popularity but also for being the first black WWF Tag Team Champions. Together, Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas were known as "The Soul Patrol".
Johnson was a top contender in the NWA in the 1970s, receiving title matches against then-World Champions Terry Funk and Harley Race. He was well-suited to tag team wrestling, winning several regional tag team championships in the NWA. In 1983, he was recruited by the WWF and paired with Tony Atlas, another popular black wrestler. They defeated the Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika Anoai) for the Tag Team Championship on November 15, 1983.[4] Johnson married into the prolific Samoan wrestling family, of which the Anoais were a part, by marrying "High Chief" Peter Maivia's daughter Ata. The couple had a son, Dwayne, in 1972. Ata met Rocky after Maivia and Johnson were tag team partners in a match on the independent scene. Maivia disapproved of the relationship - not because of anything personal against Johnson, but because of Johnson's chosen profession.[5]
After retiring in 1991, Johnson along with Pat Patterson, trained his son Dwayne to wrestle. While he initially resisted his son's entry into the business because he knew it was extremely difficult, he agreed to train his son on the condition that he would not go easy on him. Johnson was instrumental in getting Dwayne (later dubbed "Rocky Maivia" after both Rocky Johnson's and Peter Maivia's ring names) signed to a WWF developmental deal. Initially, Johnson had an on-camera presence at his son's matches, famously jumping into the ring on his son's behalf after he was attacked by several other wrestlers at WrestleMania 13. Johnson was not seen on-camera again after the Rocky Maivia character flopped, but this was actually a blessing, as his son achieved crossover popularity as a cocky heel, The Rock.
Johnson was hired as a trainer for the WWE developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling, in early 2003 but was let go in May of that year.
On February 25, 2008, Johnson was announced as an inductee for the 2008 class of the WWE Hall of Fame along with his father-in-law "High Chief" Peter Maivia. They were inducted into the Hall of Fame on March 29 2008 by his son and former professional wrestler, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Johnson wrestled his retirement match on March 22, 2008, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for Stranglehold Wrestling.
Personal life
He has lived in Davie, Florida with his wife, Ata, but they later divorced. Johnson remarried and still resides in Davie, Florida.[citation needed] He is the father of the now former pro wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He is also the son-in-law of "High Chief" Peter Maivia. It was announced on October 21, 2008, that his mother-in-law Lia Maivia died at the age of 81. [6]
Rocky also has 2 other children, as he announced in his 2008 HOF induction, a son Curtis, & a daughter Wanda from his first marriage in 1967.
In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
Relatives in wrestling
Championships and accomplishments
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (Detroit version) (1 time) - with Ben Justice
- NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA Americas Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Earl Maynard
- NWA Beat the Champ Television Championship (2 times)
- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version) (1 time)
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (4 times) - with Pat Patterson (3) and Pepper Gomez (1)
- NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship (2 times)
- PWI ranked him # 211 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.[7]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Rocky Johnson Profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
- ^ Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.36)
- ^ http://www.islandconnections.com/edit/dwayne_johnson.htm
- ^ Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.36)
- ^ Rock, The. The Rock Says... (p.6-7)
- ^ "Leah Maivia passes away". WWE. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
References
- Mick Foley (2000). Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. HarperCollins. p. 768. ISBN 0061031011.
External links
- Articles with a promotional tone from May 2008
- 1944 births
- Living people
- Black Canadian sportspeople
- Black Nova Scotians
- Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Canadian professional wrestlers
- Nova Scotia sportspeople
- People from Broward County, Florida
- People from Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
- People from Toronto
- WWE Hall of Fame