‘Can You Rumble?’: Dwayne Johnson Recalls How His Hero, Muhammad Ali, Made Him the People’s Champion

Hollywood megastar Dwayne Johnson has close ties to many notable people, including Muhammad Ali, a legendary boxer. For those who don’t know, DJ first met ‘The Greatest’ when he was just 6 years old, long before he became a global superstar.

Johnson who inspires people all around the globe took inspiration from Ali and called him a hero. Additionally, in honor of his childhood hero, he used the title of The People’s Champion. And DJ told the story behind it.

Like everyone else, DJ had an idol growing up. And his was Ali, who taught him to constantly dream big and put in a great effort. Notably, his hero once sent him a birthday greeting. This made him very thrilled, and he told everyone how Ali had given him permission to use the title ‘The People’s Champion.’

In his post, he recounted how, when he was six years old, he met his boyhood idol in New Zealand. He then compared this with the day he first encountered Ali as a WWE rookie, when Ali took him aside and whispered, “Can You Rumble?”

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Additionally, when The Rock made a reputation for himself in the WWE a few years later in Louisville, where Ali’s family had traveled, to see a match, DJ asked Ali’s wife whether he could use the moniker of The People’s Champion, and she gave him permission, saying that ‘The Greatest’ loved it. And that’s how he earned the title of The People’s Champion.

How Dwayne Johnson met Muhammad Ali for the first time?

The Great One revealed on the Jimmy Kimmel Show that DJ Johnson’s father, Rocky Johnson, was a wrestler and that they went to New Zealand since wrestling wasn’t as popular then as it is now. Additionally, Johnson met Ali in New Zealand at the time his family was residing there.

He stated, “The People’s Champ we were over in New Zealand and he was promoting a fight over there. And my dad I believed had met him and sparred with him a couple of time. So then my mom took me over to the hotel that he was promoting at and I met him then. Pulled me up on his lap took a couple of pictures with me and since then he has been one of my heroes.”

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Both of these legends are really The People’s Champions, and many people may find inspiration in their journeys to never stop aiming for greatness.