To many fans of a certain vintage, the name “Harvey Whippleman” only calls up images of a toothpick-sized manager for jobbers of the WWE roster. But in real life, Whippleman was a longtime friend of The Rock and his father, Rocky Johnson.
Speaking on “One On One with Teddy Long,” courtesy of Sportskeeda Wrestling, Whippleman reflected on what it was like to know Rocky Johnson during his days in Memphis, and how that led to him becoming roommates with The Rock.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
His friendship with Rocky Johnson: “I’ve known Dwayne since he was a child. Rocky Johnson, who was his dad, was fundamental in breaking me into the business and getting me going in this profession that, thankfully, I’ve been in for forty-three years, going on forty-four. So, Rocky brought me to Hawaii in 19… I’m the world’s worst at years, but I think it was ’83? He brought me to Hawaii to manage, and that’s how I started managing. Running around the ring, choking the guy when the referee wasn’t looking.”
His first meeting with The Rock: “Rocky had other plans when he came [to Memphis]. He brought his son with him, Dewey, Dwayne. He asked me to let his son live with me, and of course, I know him from Hawaii and everything. I said, ‘Of course, Rocky.’ So, Dwayne came and lived with me. Never expected it. Dwayne lived with me at the Alamo Plaza, and he loved to drive. He was already 6′ 2″ or whatever. He loved to drive. Well, I loved to drink beer and back then, I was a problem drinker, I ain’t going to lie. So we had an arrangement. At night out on the town, we would drive to lower Broadway in Downtown Nashville. Well, now it’s all gentrified, but back then it was nothing but old redneck honky tonks and beer joints, alcoholics, drug addicts, prostitutes, guys singing in the street with a bucket in front of them, you name it. It was the worst place you could be. So naturally, that’s where me and Dwayne went every night out on the town. He would would drive me, I’d drink beer. He’d stand behind me in the bar, he looked like he was 30 when he was that age. So anyway, we got real close.”
