5 Things You Didn't Know About The Rock

The Rock is easily one of the most popular stars in WWE history. His incredible blend of charisma and wit made him a fan favourite. Later on, these same ingredients would also help him achieve Hollywood superstardom.

Very few wrestlers, if any, have managed to achieve the success that The Rock has had after leaving the WWE for Hollywood. Today he is one of the biggest Hollywood stars on the planet and was even named as the second highest paid actor in the world by Forbes in 2017.

But this does not mean that The Rock has been successful all throughout his life. 'The Great One' actually rose from very humble beginnings to become the global megastar that he is today.

On that note, let us take a look at 5 things that you did not know about The Rock.

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#5. He was the first third-generation superstar in the WWE

The Rock was destined to be a wrestler.

Wrestling runs through The Rock's blood. As part of the legendary Anoa'i family, both Rock's father and grandfather were famous wrestlers. In the wrestling business, lineage plays a huge part and The Rock was certainly helped by his family's reputation in the industry.

In fact, he was the first third-generation superstar in WWE history. His maternal grandfather, 'Hgh Chief' Peter Maivia, was one of the most influential wrestling figures in Samoan history and was even a promoter of the NWA in Hawaii. His father, Rocky Johnson, was the first ever African-American to win the WWF Tag Team Championship along with Tony Atlas.

But the Johnson family's connection with the WWE does not end there. Even his cousins have been a big part of the WWE over the past several decades. Rikishi, Umaga, Yokozuna and Roman Reigns are some that you may know of.

#4. He was originally called Flex Kavana

A blast from the past!

Despite his impressive family lineage, The Rock was not keen to use his famous family name in his early days as a wrestler. This was because he wanted to succeed in the business without the help of his famous family name.

So he created a character called Flex Kavana. This was the first character that The Rock would portray in wrestling. The shades of The Rock character are clearly visible in Flex Kavana. He has the same charisma and arrogance that would make the WWE fans fall in love with The Rock later on.

Flex Kavana appeared on the United States Wrestling Association in Memphis. USWA acted as a sort of development system from where the stars would go on to the bigger promotions. It is here that Flex Kavana would develop the mic skills and attitude that would become integral to the Rock character in the future.

#3. His dream was to play in the NFL but he failed

The Great One could not achieve greatness in football.

Despite his family's rich wrestling history, Dwayne Johnson did not originally dream of the squared circle. Instead he dreamed of one day playing in the NFL. It is with this aim that he went to University of Miami hoping to be picked by a NFL team at the end of his stint there.

His dreams never came to fruition, as University of Miami had one of the strongest football teams at the time and Johnson never made the cut. In fact the guy who kept him out of the team was Warren Sapp, who would go on to win the Super Bowl and is in the NFL Hall of Fame.

After failing to make it in the NFL, Johnson would go to the Canadian Football League to play for the Calgary Stampeders. Unfortunately, the Stampeders would also let him go after just two months. And this was the end of Johnson's NFL dream.

But every cloud has a silver lining. It is Dwayne Johnson's failure in football that gave birth to The Rock.

#2. He learned the word 'jabroni' from The Iron Sheik

The Rock and The Iron Sheik.

The Rock is perhaps best known for his electrifying work on the mic. It is impossible to count the number of catchphrases that the man has come up with. He seems to be speaking a language of his own whenever he takes to the microphone. But that does not mean that all the words are necessarily his own.

One of the things that The Rock was known for was calling his opponents 'jabroni'. It was a derogatory term used to insult his rivals. But surprisingly, it was not The Rock that came up with the word but The Iron Sheik.

In an interview, The Rock revealed how the Sheik was known for using the word backstage all the time. And one day, e decided to use it in the ring. Since then it became a permanent part of his act. But kudos to The Rock as well for understanding what works and what does not in wrestling.

#1. He started from Rock Bottom

Rocky Maivia was a tribute to both his father and grandfather.

The Rock was not always the millionaire that he is today. The general public perception is that The Rock must have always had a lot of money because he came from such a popular wrestler family. But it could not be further from the truth.

In fact, at point of time he was broke and struggling to make ends meet. One of his most popular tales is the seven dollars story. After returning home after his failed CFL stint, The Rock had only seven dollars left in his pocket.

It is truly inspirational how he has managed to completely turn his life around and is a self-made millionaire today. But as we all know, The Rock loves his roots and as a result he has named his production company: Seven Bucks Production.