Rocky Johnson Shoot Interview

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RF Video sat down with Rocky Johnson on 10/22/04 in Long Island, NY for a shoot interview on his entire life and career. Here is a partial list of topic we talked with Rocky about: -What was it like growing up as a descendant of a slave-What kind of stories did your father pass down to you about slavery, etc that he may have gotten from his father, grandfather, etc?-What was it like growing up during segregation-How did you get into working out, fitness-What is your boxing background-How did you break into wrestling-Biggest misconceptions before you got in?-What was the training like?-As a black man wrestling during the 60s, what kind of obstacles did you face-Memories of the Tolos brothers-Memories of working Maple Leaf Gardens-Do you think the wrestlers or the promoters were more racist towards you-Memories of sparring with George Foreman-Memories of working in California-Memories of Roy Shire-Memories of Freddie Blassie-Thoughts on Mil Mascaras-did you wrestle on the night JFK was shot and if so, memories-Early memories of working with Pat Patterson-Do you find it ironic that years later Pat would be instrumental to your son’s success-Memories of Ray Stevens-Early memories of the Briscoes-Thoughts on Jim Barnett-Memories of the Georgia territory-Memories of working in the Florida territory-Memories of working with JJ Dillon– Did the favoritism of Mike Graham b other the boys?-Thoughts on Eddie Graham-Memories of teaming with Pedro Morales-You and Pat Patterson worked a lot of territories together. Was that coincidence?-Memories of working with a young Masa Saito-Memories of working with Curtis Iakea-Memories of working with a young Bruiser Brody-Memories of working with Bob Roop? He was a shooter, did he try and screw around with you-Memories of Dusty Rhodes, did you think hed become so powerful later on-Do you think Dusty stole his gimmick from Thunderbolt Patterson-Memories working for Joe Blanchard, thoughst on Joe-Memories of teaming with Jose Lothario-Memories of working with a young Stan hansen-Memories of Superstar Graham in and out of the ring in Texas-Thoughts on the Funks-Memories of your first trip to Memphis-Thoughts on Lawler and Jarrett-You have gone back to Memphis a lot over the last 30 years, memories, thoughts, favorite opponents, least fav opponents, fav angles.-Thoughts on Tommy Rich-Memories of Paul Orndorff from your days in Tensessee-Memories of David Schultz-Memories of Jimmy Valiant in and out of the ring-Thoughts on the Fargos-You had a brief tour of Central States, any memories or thoughts? Working with Bulldog Brower?-Thoughts on Lou Thesz-After so many succesful years as Rocky Johnson, why did you put a mask on in the Mid Atlantic area?-Thoughts on the Crocketts-Memories of your time there-Memories of your series with Greg Valentine-Memories of Roddy Piper-At what point in your career do you think drugs became pretty crazy among the boys?-Did you ever work with Peter Maivia before you started dating his daughter-How did he react to you dating his daughter?-How about her mother? She was a powerful promoter back in her day in Hawaii-Did you feel pressured to work in Hawaii when you could have made more money elsewhere?-Memories of your series with Harley Race for the NWA Title and what was it like back then challenging for the title-Thoughts on Don Owens and his brother-Memories of Roddy Piper from this time period-Thoughts on Buddy Rose-Memories teaming with Iceman Parsons-Thoughts on a young Curt Hennig-Memories of your series with Rip Oliver-How did you finally wind up in the WWF-Thoughts on Vince Sr.-What was Vince Jr like before he took over power-Memories of Bob Backlund-Who were your traveling partners during this time-It seemed like the WWF at this time was full of guys you had worked with over your career, how close was the locker room-Any good road stories or ribs-What was Jimmy Snuka like outside of the ring-Memories of Fuji ribs-Memories of teaming with Andre and Andre on the road-Was the change over from Vince Sr to Junior smooth?-Memories of your series with Buddy in the WWF-When you wrestled Billy GRaham in WWF, how different was he from the man you wrestled years before?-Memories of your series with Don Muraco-Was there ever any consideration to putting the IC title on you?-Memories of Lou Albano-Did you ever witness Senior firing him at the tapings-Memories of John Studd-Was it special to you to return to Maple Leaf Gardens in 83 as the WWF’s match on the show-How different was it being a pro wrestler on national television rather than regional in the WWF-Memories of Ric Flair, you worked underneath him vs. Muraco on a Toronto show.-Thoughts on being paired with Tony Atlas-Did it mean anything special to you considering your family history to be a part of the first african american wwf tag team champs-Was Tony hard to ride with on the road-Memories of your series with the Samoans-Memories of the Muraco-Snuka cage match-Memories of Hogan coming in-How did the locker room accept the change from Backlund to Hogan-When did Vince Jrs ego begin to grow-How did the locker room react to Dave Schultz slapping Jon Stossel-What was the rivalry like between Piper and Hogan-Did the Pipers Pit bother you when Roddy brought up shining his shoes-Memories of your series with Piper-How hot was the WWF at this time-Was there a big difference in pay offs on house shows with Hogan on top-How did the boys react to backlund leaving-with the stakes so much bigger, was the locker room as close as in the past-Memories of Jesse Ventura-Memories of your series with Adonis and Murdoch-Did you feel after you lost the belts that you were going to be phased out-How did it come to you finally leaving-Fav matches from your run, fav opponents, least fav opponents, good road stories-You went back to Memphis for a bit, were you treated differently from your previous runs-Thoughts on Bill Dundee-At what point did you start bringing Dwayne on the road-At what point did you begin smartening him up-Rock tells a story in his book about some kind of confrontation as a kid with Lars Anderson, memories/thoughts?-Memories of Randy Orton as a kid-How involved were you with Dwayne as a father-At what point did he express interest in becoming a pro wrestler-What was his training like-How quickly did he pick it up-If he didnt get hurt do you think he would have went to the NFL instead-Do you think it was a good or bad thing getting signed to the WWF right away without working territories for a few years-Did he ever get frustrated early on in Memphis and call you-Do you think someone like a Rock or Randy Orton has a better chance to make it then a David Sammartino or David Flair because the pressure is too much-Best piece/es of advice you gave Dwayne early on-How come you have not done any serious angles with Dwayne over the years-When Tony Atlas came back briefly, were you going to be involved in something-When did you realize that Dwayne would become a big success-As a father and a fan of his, favorite matches of Dwayne-Have you been involved with the WWF over the years-Whats your relationship like today with Vince-Thoughts on HHH and the rivalry between him and your son-As a father do you get upset at some of the things said about your son negatively on the Internet-Overall favorite opponents, fav promoters, fav partners, and least for all-What do you think about the lack of kayfabe in todays business-Who do you still keep in touch with-Have any of your ex partners, fellow workers, etc tried to mooch off of Dwayne-Thoughts on guys like Hogan and Flair still wrestling today-Fav wrestlers to watch today other then your son-As a trainer in OVW, what is the biggest misconception young guys have coming into the business today-A guy you saw or worked with that you thought had a ton of potential but never made it, and vice versa-Any regrets Show more