Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is undoubtedly one of the big names that the WWE has created, and it seems only fitting for the actor/wrestler to somehow give back to the people who helped him to where he is right now.
Johnson is without question earning a lot these days, so gifting someone special from the past should come as no surprise. However, this person is no stranger to the WWE as well. He goes by the name of Tonga Fifita or better known to many wrestling fanatics under the screen name of Haku or Meng.
Fifita is known to be one of the WWE’s toughest wrestlers who played out his villain role pretty well. He quietly exited the WWE scene in 2001 though he did make occasional appearances on WWE house shows in 2002.
Fifita is technically family to “The Rock”. He had a lot of help from Johnson’s grandfather, Chief Peter Maivia. The elder Maivia helped train Fifita in the 1970s, and everyone knows how he evolved through the years.
The Christmas gift, a customized Ford truck which comes about 20 years since Fifita helped out Johnson, seems only fitting. “The Rock” wrestled his first match in March 10, 1996, where a pair of trunks played a big role in pushing Johnson to the WWE scene.
Through his Instagram post, Johnson elaborated more on that memorable event. Johnson was totally caught off guard and had to scamper to go out and get the proper wrestling gear and try to get into the WWE circle.
Johnson was able to cover some of the stuff he needed. He was able to buy boots and some knee pads but had trouble securing a pair of suitable wrestling trunks for his debut. Johnson would eventually ask his uncle Fifita if he had some spare trunks he could use.
As it turned out, he did, and that was the a pair of shiny purple trunks which Johnson was able to share via his IG post below.
Had Fifita not lent his trunks, “The Rock” would have never existed. It may not have been a big deal then but without it, “The Rock” may not be where he is now.
That first match took place in Corpus Christi, Texas where Johnson (then known as Rocky Maivia) wrestled the Brooklyn Brawler before 15,000 fans. He won that match, and it started his journey in the WWE.
How did Fifita react when he caught a glimpse of his new truck?
"Whoooaaa nephew, it's beautiful... I love it!" as Johnson narrated via that Instagram post.