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The Rock's Childhood Story About Hulk Hogan Is Awesome

The Rock's Childhood Story About Hulk Hogan Is Awesome

As a young wrestling fan, Dwayne Johnson was over the moon when he was given a gift from Hulk Hogan himself.

Chris Ogden

Chris Ogden

He's a former superstar wrestler, he's built like a brick shithouse, he lives the Hollywood lifestyle and now he's the highest-paid actor on the face of the Earth. It would be easy to feel annoyed by how great The Rock is at everything if he wasn't such a nice guy about it all.

Wanting to go for a pint with someone who could crush your skull with their bare hands isn't a normal feeling, but as far as this guy is concerned, it'd be a dream come true.

Now it appears that Dwayne Johnson's talents don't end there, because during a recent interview he confirmed that he's a pretty accomplished storyteller, too.

In an interview with film critic Kevin McCarthy, about the new Jumanji film, McCarthy revealed that he still kept a ticket stub from the original movie, all the way back in 1996.

But he wasn't alone in his sentimentality, because The Rock explained that he had a keepsake from when he was younger, too. It's a headband from Hulk Hogan. And the story of how he got it is incredible...

"When Hulk Hogan came into the WWF in 1983 or '84, I can't remember ... And this was when it was getting ready to blow up. Vince McMahon said, 'You're going to be my guy, I'm giving you the ball. I'm giving you the baton, and I want you to go.' Hulkamania running wild, right?

Credit: Kevin McCarthy/Twitter

"Right there, right when he came in ... he was wrestling at Madison Square Garden, and he had a white headband that said 'HULKSTER'. Do you remember that? He came in the ring, and I was at Madison Square Garden. I was sitting there front row with my mom, I was watching the matches. And he came out. And I'll never forget, he was wrestling Paul Orndorff, Mr. Wonderful. And he takes the thing off, and he throws it to the crowd. And I caught it. And it was a big nerd-out moment. ... It was amazing.

"My dad was wrestling on the card that night ... I was so happy that I caught this thing from Hulk Hogan. I go in the back of the dressing room when the matches were over. I go to my dad and I said, 'Look. I caught Hulk Hogan's headband.' And he was like, 'Oh, that's cool. That's awesome,' you know."

"'Take it home'. And I'm like, 'Okay.'

"But then Hulk Hogan was right over there taking off his wrestling boots, getting ready to shower. And I'm like damn, I want to go over and just say hello to him. So I went over to him, and I was like, 'Mr. Hogan ... I caught your headband'. And he goes, 'Oh man! That was my last one! I didn't want to throw it out! Thank you so much! ... Thanks man!' And I'm like, 'Oh, okay. You're welcome, Hulk.' ...

"He did [take it back], but he didn't know how bad I wanted it. But here's how cool Hulk Hogan was. Two or three weeks later, he had thousands [of headbands] made. Went to my dad, he goes, 'Hey, I signed this for your son. He gave me my only one back, and I needed that one, as one to make a thousand other copies. Give this back. Give this to him'.

"And I have one of those. Isn't that the coolest thing. So Hogan, if you're watching, I appreciate it, brother. I still have it."


But that wasn't the end. After The Rock tweeted a link to the interview, Hulk Hogan himself tweeted back with some kind words.

He said: "Yo Rock, your dad took care of me so that is just how I was taught to treat people, my brother. Only love HH."

What a couple of total legends.

Featured Image Credit: Kevin McCarthy/Twitter

Topics: The Rock, Wrestling, WWE, Hulk Hogan