Rocky Johnson

The Loyalist lineage traces back to Dembo Sickles, son of a chief in present day Benin who was captured by slavehunters and brought to Prince Edward Island in 1785 and bought his freedom in 1803, his granddaughter Maria Sickles migrated to Nova Scotia later in the same century.

At the age of 16, Johnson moved to Toronto, where he began wrestling and worked as a truck driver.

Initially, he trained to be a boxer and eventually sparred with greats such as Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, but was always fascinated by wrestling.

Johnson was born Wayde Douglas Bowles in Amherst, Nova Scotia, where he was raised, the fourth of five sons of Lillian (Gay; 1919–1996) and James Henry Bowles (1888–1957).

A Black Nova Scotian, he was descended from Black Loyalists who immigrated to Nova Scotia after escaping from a plantation in the United States after the American Revolutionary War, and also had part-Irish ancestry.

Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler.

Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Television Champion (2 times).

In the late 1960s to mid 1970s, he was a major star in California.

In Los Angeles he took on Freddie Blassie, The Destroyer and John Tolos.

Johnson began his career as a professional wrestler in 1964 in Southern Ontario; soon after his debut, he legally changed his name to his moniker.

He chose the name Rocky Johnson as a tribute to two of his favorite boxing greats: Rocky Marciano and Jack Johnson, the latter being the first black heavyweight boxing champion.

He was a top contender in the National Wrestling Alliance in the 1970s, receiving title matches against then-World Champions Terry Funk and Harley Race.

He was well-suited for tag team wrestling, winning several regional tag team championships in the NWA.

Johnson wrestled off and on in the Memphis promotion, often feuding with Jerry Lawler, winning Lawler's crown at one point.

He also wrestled under a mask as "Sweet Ebony Diamond" in the Mid-Atlantic area.

In 1982, Johnson feuded with Don Muraco, Greg Valentine, Mike Sharpe, Buddy Rose, and Adrian Adonis.

He was then paired with Tony Atlas as a tag team.

He won the World Tag Team Championship in 1983, along with his partner Tony Atlas, to become the first black champions in WWE history.

He is the father of actor and former WWE wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and the grandfather of Simone Johnson (Ava Raine).

They defeated the Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika) for the Tag Team Championship on the December 10, 1983 episode of Championship Wrestling (taped November 15).

They were the first black men to hold a WWF championship.

Together, they were billed as "The Soul Patrol".

After leaving WWF in June 1985, Johnson went to Central States, Tennessee, Hawaii, Portland, Puerto Rico and the independent circuit.

In Hawaii, he teamed with his brother Ricky Johnson.

After retiring in 1991, Johnson, along with Pat Patterson, trained his son Dwayne to wrestle.

While he initially resisted his son's entry into what he knew to be an extremely difficult business, Johnson agreed to train him 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, and jumped into the ring on his behalf after he was attacked by The Sultan and The Iron Sheik at WrestleMania 13.

Johnson was not seen on-camera again after the Rocky Maivia character flopped, and soon Dwayne achieved crossover popularity as a cocky heel, The Rock.

In early 2003, Johnson was hired as a trainer for the WWE developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling, but was let go in May.

He made a return to the ring, and defeated Mabel in a boxing match at Memphis Wrestling on November 29, 2003.

On February 25, 2008, Johnson was announced as an inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame along with his father-in-law, "High Chief" Peter Maivia.

Both Johnson and his father-in-law were inducted into the Hall of Fame on March 29, 2008, by his son, The Rock.

They had two children, Curtis and Wanda, whom he thanked at his 2008 WWE Hall of Fame induction.

While married to Una, he became romantically involved with Ata Fitisemanu Maivia, daughter of wrestling legend "High Chief" Peter Maivia.

Ata met Rocky after Maivia and Johnson were tag team partners in a match on the independent circuit.

Peter Maivia disapproved of their relationship because Johnson was a wrestler.

On December 20, 2019, Johnson joined the board of directors of the International Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Johnson recounted in his autobiography Soulman that he met his first wife, Una Sparks, at a dance while he was training to become a boxer.

Una was from Cherry Brook, Nova Scotia and a devout Jehovah's Witness.