Rocky Johnson

Rocky Johnson — latest news, discussion & facts — IJR

Personal life

Johnson recounted in his autobiography Soulman that he met his first wife, Una Sparks, at a dance while he was training to become a boxer. Una was from Cherry Brook, Nova Scotia and a devout Jehovah's Witness. They had two children, Curtis and Wanda, whom he thanked at his 2008 WWE Hall of Fame induction. While married to Una, he became romantically involved with Ata Fitisemanu Maivia, daughter of wrestling legend "High Chief" Peter Maivia. Ata met Rocky after Maivia and Johnson were tag team partners in a match on the independent circuit.

Johnson stated that, in order to provide for his two families, he adopted a frugal lifestyle on the road; he subsisted on beer, sliced cheese, and bologna, and was not a "partier". He did not reveal if Una knew about Ata and Dwayne, but stated that she gave him an ultimatum to quit wrestling, or they would have to separate as Jehovah's Witnesses "didn't believe in blood sport". He stated that he and Una parted amicably and remained good friends. He obtained a divorce in Texas, then filed for a marriage license in Florida on December 21, 1978, to marry Ata. By marrying her, he became a member of the famous Samoan Anoaʻi family. Ata's father opposed their marriage because Johnson wasn't Samoan. Their son Dwayne was born May 2, 1972. They divorced in 2003.

In 2019, Johnson co-wrote an autobiography alongside Scott Teal, Soulman: The Rocky Johnson Story, released October 15 of that year. The book was recalled by the publisher shortly after release, due to payment disputes between Johnson and the co-author.

In 2022, Sports Illustrated published an article stating that Johnson had five other known children, in separate relationships, confirmed via genealogical DNA testing in the 2010s which connected them to Rocky's brother Ricky: Paula Parsons (b. 1964 in Lucasville, Nova Scotia), Trevor Edwards (b. 1967 in Montreal), Lisa Purves (b. 1968 in Vancouver), Adrian Bowles (b. 1970 to in Truro, Nova Scotia) and Aaron Fowler (b. 1970 in Amherst, Nova Scotia).

Championships and accomplishments

Big Time Wrestling

NWA World Tag Team Championship (4 time) – with Ben Justice

Championship Wrestling from Florida

NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Florida version) (1 time)

NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (6 times)

NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Pedro Morales

NWA Florida Television Championship (1 time)

Continental Wrestling Association

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Jimmy Valiant (1) and Soul Train Jones (1)

Georgia Championship Wrestling

NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jerry Brisco

NWA Macon Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Danny Little Bear

International Championship Wrestling Alliance

ICWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Crash the Terminator

International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

Class of 2025 – with Tony Atlas

Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame

Class of 2022

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling

NWA Television Championship (2 times)

NWA All-Star Wrestling

NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (1 time) – with Don Leo Jonathan

NWA Big Time Wrestling

NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Texas version) (1 time)

NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jose Lothario

NWA Hollywood Wrestling

NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NWA Americas Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Earl Maynard

NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship (2 times)

NWA Mid-America / Continental Wrestling Association

CWA/AWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bill Dundee

NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Memphis version) (1 time)

NWA San Francisco

NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version) (1 time)

NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (4 times) – with Pat Patterson (3) and Pepper Gomez (1)

NWA Polynesian Pro Wrestling

NWA Polynesian Pacific Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Ricky Johnson

Pacific Northwest Wrestling

NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Brett Sawyer (1) and Iceman Parsons (1)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

Ranked No. 258 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1992

Ranked No. 211 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003

St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame

(Class of 2008)

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tony Atlas

WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2008)

Rocky Johnson

Rocky Johnson

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Early life

Professional wrestling career

National Wrestling Alliance (1964–1982)

World Wrestling Federation (1982–1985)

Later career (1985–1991)

Retirement

Personal life

Legal issues

Death

In popular culture

Championships and accomplishments

About Rocky Johnson

About Rocky Johnson

Article

Related journals

Live room · 1 here

Related journals

Article

Early life

Professional wrestling career

National Wrestling Alliance (1964–1982)

World Wrestling Federation (1982–1985)

Later career (1985–1991)

Retirement

Personal life

Legal issues

Death

In popular culture

Championships and accomplishments