At fourteen, Rocky Johnson left home to seek fortune and, after a short stint in boxing, decided to make professional wrestling his career. He had his first match in 1965 and never looked back. An incredibly agile and talented wrestler for a man his size, he was a featured main-eventer in every territory he worked—Vancouver, Los Angeles, Florida, New York, and all points in between. He also appeared in wrestling arenas worldwide, including in Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Samoa, and Puerto Rico.
In Soulman, Johnson explores not only his career accomplishments, but also reflects upon what his achievements, as a direct descendant of slaves, mean historically and for black culture. In the South, he shattered racial barriers when he became the first African American to win the Southern, Georgia, and Florida heavyweight titles, and in 1983, he teamed with Tony Atlas to become the first all-black WWWF tag team champions. Rocky sees his greatest accomplishment, however, in his son Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, whom he trained to be a wrestler in 1995 and who is now the highest-paid actor in Hollywood and one of the most-recognized names in the world.
Soulman: The Rocky Johnson Story is an in-depth look at the life of a self-made man who wouldn't let anything stand in his way on the road to success.
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