Rocky Maivia grew up in the state of Miami, FL, and afterwards moved to Pennsylvania. Shortly after he came back to his hometown and played for the Miami Hurricanes. He went to university and practiced physiology, exercise and criminolgy. He also played for Calgary, but while playing for the Hurricanes he ruptured two disks in his back which cost him a shot at the NFL.

Instead of continuing to play football The Rock decided to go in the wrestling federation, taking after his father Rocky Johnson and his grandfather Peter Maivia which were great wrestlers in the federation. In his first pro wrestling match The Rock defeted the Brooklyn Brawler in Corpus, TX, in /96. WWF thought he was good, but decided that he needed more experience. So Rocky decided to join USWA with the name Flex Kavana. Afterwards The Rock went back to the WWF and signed a contract and gave him the name Rocky Maivia. Soon The Rock became popular and became the leader of The Nation, then quit The Nation and became corporate and became the WWF Champion and later lost it to Mankind on Raw Is War.


Credit: celebritycd.com