Turning Point
Johnson now has millions to his name, but he still looks back at the “seven bucks” moment very often. It was one of the defining moments of his life, a crossroad that led him where he is today.
“I had been sulking on the sofa just watching trashy TV until that point. I decided there and then that, even if it wasn’t in football, the world was still going to hear from me. That’s pretty much where my wrestling career started,” Johnson told Esquire.
Rocky Maivia
With nowhere else left to turn, Johnson decided to follow his father and grandfather into wrestling, and was hailed as WWF’s first third-generation wrestler. He went by the name Rocky Maivia, taking part of his father and grandfather’s ring names.
The injuries that cost him his football career were a tipping point that led him to this decision, but Johnson has actually been working towards it much longer. He was training and building his body for years because it made him feel like he’s in control, and because all the successful men he knew did the same.