Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson had major influence on 6ft 8in AEW star's career
A current AEW star disclosed that WWE legend and Hollywood megastar, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson had a major influence on his career. The 6ft 8in star in question is EJ Nduka.
EJ Nduka has been a member of the AEW roster since last year. He also had a brief run in WWE's developmental brand, NXT, following his second tryout in 2019. However, he was released in 2021. Although he has wrestled a number of dark matches, Nduka is yet to have a televised match on All Elite TV.
Meanwhile, EJ Nduka spoke about the influences that various wrestling legends have had on him. On episode 15 of his vlog on his YouTube channel, Nduka revealed how legends like The Rock and Stone Cold had an influence on his career:
"Three of my biggest influences, number one, tell you right now off the rip was The Rock. You know what I'm saying? I was a huge Rock fan when I was a kid. I just liked the charisma, the attitude, the swagger you know, the style, my boy was hitting catchphrases right, left, and center. You know what I am saying? So I was a huge Rock fan. Number two was Stone Cold bro, that saga - WrestleMania 17 favorite match of all time bro, I got that on repeat, man. That right there that crescendo with The Rock and Stone Cold, come on somebody." [1:53-2:29]
AEW star revealed more influences on his career other than The Rock
The AEW star, EJ Nduka, also named three more WWE legends aside from The Rock and Stone Cold as the influences on his career. Veterans like Randy Orton, Edge, and Chris Jericho also had a huge influence on him:
"Number three would definitely be a heavy influence of Randy Orton, I like Randy Orton, huge Randy Orton fan, Edge - Edge is another huge one that I'm a big fan of. Edge, Randy, Jericho, come on now, Jericho was a beast. There are a lot of influences until this day you know, Jericho's still working, Randy's still working." [2:30-2:56]
Meanwhile, EJ Nduka has announced his next AEW appearance to be on July 20. It remains to be seen what Tony Khan has in store for The Judge.
If you use parts from the above quotes, please credit EJ Nduka YT and give an h/t to 'Sportskeeda Wrestling' for the transcription.