"We lived together" – WWE legend on his close friendship with The Rock (Exclusive)

The Rock, real name Dwayne Johnson, formed many close relationships with in-ring competitors and backstage personnel throughout his wrestling career. Harvey Wippleman, best known for his work as a WWE manager, recently recalled how he lived with The Final Boss in the 1980s.

Wippleman was a well-known manager in Memphis during that time. Rocky Johnson, The Rock's late father, told his son to stay with the wrestling personality after he was evicted from the island of Hawaii.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter, Wippleman reminisced about his days living with a young Rock:

"When I first met him he was 14 years old. He was my friend. He was my roommate because Rocky Johnson was one of my dearest, dearest friends. I probably met Dwayne back when he was seven when I was in Hawaii back in '83 or however old he was at that age, nine or whatever, but I really got to know him in '86 or '87 when he came to Memphis as a teenager. [People say], 'Oh, you let him live with you.' No, I didn't let him live with me. We lived together because that's what friends do. We lived together." [12:50 – 13:23]

Wippleman, who is six years older than The Rock, was happy to help Rocky Johnson and the rest of the family:

"Rocky Johnson asked me would I look after Dewey [Dwayne Johnson] and I said, 'You're damn right I will.' We became inseparable, best friends from that day forward." [13:23 – 13:31]

Watch the video above to hear Wippleman discuss several topics, including Sid Vicious' passing and the origin of his WWE name.

---

Harvey Wippleman on The Rock's wrestling ability

After unsuccessfully trying to make it as a football player, The Rock debuted in WWE in 1996 and was instantly viewed as a future main-eventer.

Harvey Wippleman thinks the Hollywood star was destined for great things in the wrestling business due to his natural talent:

"He was a natural. There are certain people that are naturals. It's funny, a lot of them come from wrestling families that are naturals. Dwayne, natural. Jeff Jarrett, natural. Brian Christopher, [Jerry] Lawler's son, natural. Some just ain't quite that way, but in those cases they were natural." [13:44 – 14:05]

Wippleman also believes it is no coincidence that every top guy in wrestling history was intelligent. He added that any wrestlers who are "idiots" in real life have no chance of making it to the top.

What would you like to see next from The Rock? Hit the discuss button and let us know.

---

Please credit Sportskeeda WrestleBinge and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.