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Teenage Dwayne Johnson Watches His Dad Wrestling In 1984

Teenage Dwayne Johnson Watches His Dad Wrestling In 1984

Little did he know he would go on to become one of the most legendary wrestlers of all time

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

A cute clip shows a teenage Dwayne Johnson watching his dad in a championship wrestling match all the way back in 1984.

Years before he would go on to become one of the most legendary WWE stars of all time, Johnson was sat in the crowd watching his wrestler dad Rocky Johnson take on Tony Atlas.

The vintage clip shows a young Johnson wearing a very stylish zip-up tracksuit top and a full head of hair as his dad and Atlas throw each other around the ring.

Johnson and Atlas would retain their WWF World Tag-Team Championship title that day after defeating Charlie Fulton and Pete Doherty.

Johnson recently revealed that in his younger years he was often mistook for a girl, due to his barnet and 'soft features'.

The wrestler-turned actor appeared on NBC's Sunday Today with Willie Geist, where he spoke about his childhood.

WWE

He said: "I would say between the ages of seven and 11, people thought that I was a little girl because I had really soft features and I had really soft Afro hair."

Going on to recall a particularly awkward encounter on the school bus on his first day of fifth grade, Johnson continued: "I sit down next to a kid, and within 60 seconds, he goes, 'Can I ask you something?' I said, 'Yeah.' He goes, 'Are you a boy or a girl?'"

Well, I think it's safe to say no one would make that mistake anymore.

Johnson also revealed that his dad's career meant he moved about a lot as a youngster, attending 13 different schools by the time he went to high school.

He told the show: "I have had a Forrest Gump-ian childhood growing up.

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"Wrestling in the '80s and in the '70s was way different than it is today. A lot of the times, including my father, the wrestlers would live pay cheque to pay cheque."

Johnson comes from a long-line of wrestlers, with his dad and maternal grandfather - Peter Maivia - both professional in the sport.

Dwayne joined the World Wrestling Federation - as World Wrestling Entertainment was then known - in 1996 after being dropped from the Canadian Football League in his very first season.

Johnson has said being cut from the team was 'the best thing that never happened' to him.

In an Instagram post in 2018, he wrote about how his dream of becoming a professional football player not coming true was actually for the best.

He wrote: "Cheers to dreams not coming true.

"Not an easy concept to process, but the idea that sometimes our biggest and most important dreams that DON'T COME TRUE are often times the BEST THING that never happened."

Featured Image Credit: WWE

Topics: SPORT, Celebrity, Dwayne Johnson, WWE