We’re already addicted to CBS Young skirt, a sitcom based on Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s youth. Johnson’s show is a fun take on his eccentric upbringing and experience with his iconic wrestling dad Rocky Johnson (plus all of his famous wrestling buddies). It emerges from the premiere that Rocky was a major inspiration for Dwayne as both a father and an athlete. While Rocky sadly passed away in 2020, there is still so much to learn about the man, myth, and legend that helped create The Rock.
Rocky Johnson, also known as Soul Man, was a Canadian-American WWE Hall of Famer in the 1980s. Together with fellow wrestler Tony Atlas he founded “The Soul Patrol” and together they became the first African American tag team world champion in WWE history. He is known to this day as the “king of the drop kick”.
Born in Wayde Douglas Bowles, Rocky was marked by tragedy when his father, a miner, died of lung cancer at the age of just 12. When he moved to Toronto, he changed his name to Rocky Johnson, inspired by his favorite boxing greats Rocky Marciano and Jack Johnson. While doing odd jobs, he boxed at a nearby community center and got good enough even to fight Muhammad Ali.
He soon found himself in Jack Wentworth’s wrestling school, where he quickly developed into a fantastic wrestler. Johnson stepped his way into notoriety and got his big break from world heavyweight champion “Whipper” Billy Watson, who made him his protégé. Although Johnson wrote in his memoir that he believes Watson chose him to advance his political career because he “may have been the only black wrestler from Canada,” the wrestling newcomer rose to prominence in both cases.
In the 1980s, Rocky Johnson was a well-known WWE wrestler who used his fights with Ali and George Foreman to build his reputation as a top notch fighter. He soon fell in love with the daughter of Samoan pro-wrestler Peter Maivia, Ata, who would one day become Dwayne Johnson’s mother. The couple took Dwayne out on the streets and gave the future wrestler and actor a glimpse into the business. After Rocky retired from the ring in 1991, he focused on helping his son enter the wrestling arena himself and turning him from college footballer to iconic WWE Smackdown Superstar.
About his father, The Rock wrote on Instagram in 2018: “Little boys naturally look up to their old man and adore him. They want to be just like them, do everything they do and always seek their approval.” He continued his caption and talked about how his father’s deep love made him who he is today, closing with “grateful for the original skirt.” When Rocky passed away in 2020, The Rock hit social media again, this time to share his heartbreak: “You broke color barriers, became a ring legend, and paved your way through this world.” The star left followers in his grief, writing: “You have led a very full, very hard, accessible life and left everything in the ring. I love you, Dad, and I will always be your proud and grateful son.”
