Kemo
08-04-2021, 07:27 PM
The Rock started out in WWE with the ring name “Rocky Maivia” back in the 1996 Survivor Series, and the name was given to him by Vince McMahon as a homage to The Rock’s father Rocky Johnson, and grandfather Peter Maivia. The Rock, along with Emily Blunt, did an interview with WIRED where he stated that he hated the Rocky Maivia nickname and wanted it changed.
One of the questions that was asked to The Rock was “Why Dwayne Johnson is called The Rock?” He responded to the question by saying, “Birth story of ‘The Rock’, is before I do what I do now, many moons ago, I used to throw around 300 pound men for a living, and get my ass kicked. And then my original wrestling name was ‘Rocky Maivia’, which was a combination of my dad’s first name and my grandfather’s last name, because both of them were pro-wrestlers. So my name became ‘Rocky Maivia’, and when it was first pitched to me from Vince McMahon, he said, ‘I got your name and I want it to be Rocky Maivia. Now, what do you think?'”
The Rock reiterated that he hated the name he was given but he had to accept it and do his job. The reason he stated behind his dislike for Rocky Maivia is that he wanted his own identity and didn’t want to have a career just based on his lineage. He, however, did acknowledge that it’s the same name that got him a knock at the door of the industry.
“And as we, he knows me now, and it’s how I speak. I say, I hate it. And I hated the name. I hated it,” The Rock continued. “I hated it because the lineage I had, gave me the opportunity to at least knock on the door. I wanted my own identity, I wanted my own space. So while I was very proud to come from who I came from, with my dad and grandfather. And my whole family’s in wrestling. I still wanted my own space. And so I said, I hate it. And he said, ‘Okay. Great, well that’s your name.’ And I went, okay. So I embraced it, and I did it.”
The Rock continued the story behind his name and said that Rocky Maivia didn’t stick and when he turned heel his present ring name, “The Rock” was suggested to him by his father figure Pat Patterson and when it was pitched to him he loved it.
“And that name did not stick. And eventually, when I became a bad guy, it got truncated down to ‘The Rock’. And a guy who was my father figure, and I’ve talk to you (Emily Blunt) many times about him, Pat Patterson. Was a mentor of mine in pro-wrestling. I lost him last year when I lost my dad at the same time – I lost my father and my father figure in the same year. And he said, ‘What if we call you The Rock?’ He’s a French guy, he had a tough French accent. I said, I love it! And he goes, okay, you’re ‘The Rock’. And that was it.”
UZk17HJGu8I
One of the questions that was asked to The Rock was “Why Dwayne Johnson is called The Rock?” He responded to the question by saying, “Birth story of ‘The Rock’, is before I do what I do now, many moons ago, I used to throw around 300 pound men for a living, and get my ass kicked. And then my original wrestling name was ‘Rocky Maivia’, which was a combination of my dad’s first name and my grandfather’s last name, because both of them were pro-wrestlers. So my name became ‘Rocky Maivia’, and when it was first pitched to me from Vince McMahon, he said, ‘I got your name and I want it to be Rocky Maivia. Now, what do you think?'”
The Rock reiterated that he hated the name he was given but he had to accept it and do his job. The reason he stated behind his dislike for Rocky Maivia is that he wanted his own identity and didn’t want to have a career just based on his lineage. He, however, did acknowledge that it’s the same name that got him a knock at the door of the industry.
“And as we, he knows me now, and it’s how I speak. I say, I hate it. And I hated the name. I hated it,” The Rock continued. “I hated it because the lineage I had, gave me the opportunity to at least knock on the door. I wanted my own identity, I wanted my own space. So while I was very proud to come from who I came from, with my dad and grandfather. And my whole family’s in wrestling. I still wanted my own space. And so I said, I hate it. And he said, ‘Okay. Great, well that’s your name.’ And I went, okay. So I embraced it, and I did it.”
The Rock continued the story behind his name and said that Rocky Maivia didn’t stick and when he turned heel his present ring name, “The Rock” was suggested to him by his father figure Pat Patterson and when it was pitched to him he loved it.
“And that name did not stick. And eventually, when I became a bad guy, it got truncated down to ‘The Rock’. And a guy who was my father figure, and I’ve talk to you (Emily Blunt) many times about him, Pat Patterson. Was a mentor of mine in pro-wrestling. I lost him last year when I lost my dad at the same time – I lost my father and my father figure in the same year. And he said, ‘What if we call you The Rock?’ He’s a French guy, he had a tough French accent. I said, I love it! And he goes, okay, you’re ‘The Rock’. And that was it.”
UZk17HJGu8I