The Rock

With bloodlines very thick in the Pro Wrestling world, "the Rock" Rocky Maivia had a HUGE shoes to fill coming into the profession. While many newcomers to the mat wars have expectations, none had them anywhere near to that of Rocky's. You see, the Rock comes from a wrestling family dynasty. His grandfather was Peter Maivia, his father is Rocky Johnson, his uncles are Afa & Sika of the Wild Samoans, and his cousins are Samu, Yokozuna, and Fatu (to just name a few). Born in California, Rocky saw the world moving from city to city while his father made a name for himself in the business. By his high school years, the Rock and his family had settled down in Bethlehem, PA where Rocky developed into quite the football star at Freedom High School. From high school, Rocky went to the University of Miami where he did incredibly well as a member of the Hurricane football squad. By the end of his fourth year at the University of Miami, the Rock had excelled in academics with a very impressive GPA (grade point average) and in football making his enormous family very proud. From there, Rocky attempted a career in football, but due to an injury, he knew he couldn't reach his potential due to limitations beyond his control. He then turned to Pro Wrestling. Continuing the dynasty, Rocky debuted in the USWA in the mid 1990s where he went by the name of Flex Kavana. Within weeks, "the Rock" was making headlines in wrestling magazines and tearing up the famous Mid South area. Then, after several months of success, the WWE sent scouts down to look at the soon-to-be star. Within a few days, Rocky had signed a nice contract with Titan Sports Inc. (the company that owns the World Wrestling Federation). The WWE had high hopes from the start and promoted his WWE world wide television debut at Madison Square Garden- in the 1996 Survivor Series. And the Rock didn't disappoint as he one the 8-man match being the "soul survivor" and instantly won the fans over. From there, the Rock continued to tear up the WWE rings with a WWE Intercontinental Title victory over Hunter Hearst Helmsley in February of 1997. The Rock was determined to be a fan favorite and learned from each match he was in. Unfortunately, the Rock was hit with a nasty injury and was out of action for almost 4-5 months. During this time, the Rock developed a new mind frame and returned with a mean streak and determination even stronger than before. It was just a matter of time before we saw Rocky win yet another WWE Intercontinental Title which we saw him hold for almost six months. After that title reign, the Rock decided to go for the big gold- the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. And in November of 1998 at the Survivor Series in St. Louis, the Rock accomplished this feat, proving that you can't stop a Samoan from anything. Now, the Rock can be seen dominating WWE television and scoring blockbuster TV and Pay-Per-View ratings. Additionally, the Rock will soon be popping up on a few TV programs. This Samoan is definitely not near his peak and already has accomplished an incredible amount in only three years in the business. Expect this Samoan's star to continue to rise.