Former pro wrestler Rocky Johnson, the father of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, died Wednesday at age 75. In addition to being a pro wrestler, Johnson served as a sparring partner for boxers such as Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Johnson incorporated boxing moves, such as the Ali Shuffle, into his pro wrestling routing. Rocky Johnson was very negative on his son becoming a wrestler, but eventually he and Ron Slinker trained Johnson, and through Rocky Johnson’s longtime friendship with Pat Patterson, brought Patterson in on a session. Advertisement“Patterson reported to Vince McMahon that Dwayne Johnson had more potential to be a pro wrestling star than anyone he had ever seen, and recommended they sign him.”The rest is history.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 15, 2020 23:37 UTC