"We were playing in the ring like it's a big playground" - Shawn Stasiak on meeting The Rock for the first time (Exclusive)
Former WWE superstar Shawn Stasiak appeared on Sportskeeda Wrestling's UnScripted Sessions this week to talk about his first meeting with the Rock.
Shawn Stasiak joined the wrestling business as a second-generation superstar. His father was the great Stan 'The Man' Stasiak.
Happy Birthday to the late, great former @WWE Champion, Stan Stasiak! https://t.co/77i4ig84R1
The elder Stasiak, also known as Crusher Stasiak, was a force to be reckoned with during the territory days. He was a living legend in Don Owens' Pacific Northwest promotion, based out of Portland. He would capture the then-WWWF Championship in 1973 defeating Pedro Morales.
Stasiak recalled meeting up with The Rock when they were both kids.
He mentioned that they would often play in the ring, while their fathers were backstage collecting paychecks from the promoters.
"Speaking of Dwayne Johnson, I ran into Dwayne when he was eight and I was ten. Rocky Johnson, his father would come through that territory and we would play around in the ring when the matches were over. Our dads were, you know, showering up, going to the promoter's office to get paid. We were playing in the ring like it's a big playground. That's when I first met Dwayne, you know, 1980," Stasiak said.
Stasiak and The Rock would later go on to meet a couple of times in the ring on SmackDown in 2001.
The Rock hits a massive Rock Bottom on Shawn Stasiak.
SmackDown!
August 16, 2001
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The Rock and Shawn Stasiak were both generational superstars.
Shawn Stasiak mentioned that he and The Rock grew up in the wrestling business and that paved the way for both of them to become prowrestlers in the long run.
"What paved the way was anybody before me. I mean, from my father's influence to the guys in his generation that I grew up around. A young Roddy Piper in Portland, Oregon. My mom's side of the family was from there. My dad was a huge hit."
The former WCW tag team champion credits the likes of Tom Prichard, Dory Funk Jr., and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff for training him, and helping him break into the business.
"The 70s and early 80s were a huge influence on me. And that would be what paved the way. With Dr. Tom Prichard, Dory Funk Jr., Paul Orndorff, God rest his soul, who I idolized and looked up to as a teenager - the Mr. Wonderful gimmick, loved it. So those were the guys that trained me and more or less paved the way for me to get started."
You can watch the full video here:
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