Rocky Johnson

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Rocky Johnson
Statistics
Ring name(s)	Sweet Ebony Diamond Rocky "Soulman" Johnson Drew Glasteau Rocky Johnson
Born	August 24, 1944 Amherst, Nova Scotia
Billed from	Toronto, Ontario
Trained by	Peter Maivia, Rocky Bollie, Kurt Von Steiger
Debut	1966
Retired	1991

Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Bowles on August 24, 1944) is a former 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 World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

[edit] Career

During his career, he 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, becoming one half of the WWF Tag Team Champions with Tony Atlas. Johnson and Atlas were notable not only for their popularity, but for being the first Black WWF Tag Team Champions. Together, Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas were known as the "Soul Patrol".

During his career, Bowles wrestled as "Soulman" Rocky Johnson. He 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. Interestingly, Johnson had married into the prolific Samoan wrestling family, of with the Anoais were a part, by marrying "High Chief" Peter Maivia's daughter Ata. The two had a son, Dwayne, in 1972.

After retiring in 1991, Johnson trained his son Dwayne to wrestle in the mid-1990s with Pat Patterson. 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 cocky heel The Rock.

He was hired as a trainer for WWE developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling in early 2003, but was let go in May of that year. He lives in Davie, Florida with his wife, Ata.

[edit] Championships/Accomplishments

National Wrestling Alliance

NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version) (1 time)
NWA World Tag Team Champion (San Francisco version) (4 times) - with Pat Patterson (3) and Pepper Gomez (1)
NWA World Tag Team Champion (Detroit version) (1 time) - with Ben Justice (1)
NWA America's Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA America's Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Earl Maynard (1)
NWA Beat the Champ Television Championship (2 times)
NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)
NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Don Leo Jonathan (1)
NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)
NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
NWA Florida Television Championship (1 time)
NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Pedro Morales (1)
NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jerry Brisco (1)
NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Championship (2 times)
NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jose Lothario (1)
NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

Other Titles/Accomplishments

Pacific Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ricky Johnson (1)
Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Brett Sawyer (1) and Iceman Parsons (1)
Mid-Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated