RF Video sat down with Rocky Johnson on 10/22/04 in Long Island, NY for a shoot interview on his entire life and career. Here is a partial list of topic we talked with Rocky about: -What was it like growing up as a descendant of a slave -What kind of stories did your father pass down to you about slavery, etc that he may have gotten from his father, grandfather, etc? -What was it like growing up during segregation -How did you get into working out, fitness -What is your boxing background -How did you break into wrestling -Biggest misconceptions before you got in? -What was the training like? -As a black man wrestling during the 60s, what kind of obstacles did you face -Memories of the Tolos brothers -Memories of working Maple Leaf Gardens -Do you think the wrestlers or the promoters were more racist towards you -Memories of sparring with George Foreman -Memories of working in California -Memories of Roy Shire -Memories of Freddie Blassie -Thoughts on Mil Mascaras -did you wrestle on the night JFK was shot and if so, memories -Early memories of working with Pat Patterson -Do you find it ironic that years later Pat would be instrumental to your son's success -Memories of Ray Stevens -Early memories of the Briscoes -Thoughts on Jim Barnett -Memories of the Georgia territory -Memories of working in the Florida territory -Memories of working with JJ Dillon - Did the favoritism of Mike Graham b other the boys? -Thoughts on Eddie Graham -Memories of teaming with Pedro Morales -You and Pat Patterson worked a lot of territories together. Was that coincidence? -Memories of working with a young Masa Saito -Memories of working with Curtis Iakea -Memories of working with a young Bruiser Brody -Memories of working with Bob Roop? He was a shooter, did he try and screw around with you -Memories of Dusty Rhodes, did you think hed become so powerful later on -Do you think Dusty stole his gimmick from Thunderbolt Patterson -Memories working for Joe Blanchard, thoughst on Joe -Memories of teaming with Jose Lothario -Memories of working with a young Stan hansen -Memories of Superstar Graham in and out of the ring in Texas -Thoughts on the Funks -Memories of your first trip to Memphis -Thoughts on Lawler and Jarrett -You have gone back to Memphis a lot over the last 30 years, memories, thoughts, favorite opponents, least fav opponents, fav angles. -Thoughts on Tommy Rich -Memories of Paul Orndorff from your days in Tensessee -Memories of David Schultz -Memories of Jimmy Valiant in and out of the ring -Thoughts on the Fargos -You had a brief tour of Central States, any memories or thoughts? Working with Bulldog Brower? -Thoughts on Lou Thesz -After so many succesful years as Rocky Johnson, why did you put a mask on in the Mid Atlantic area? -Thoughts on the Crocketts -Memories of your time there -Memories of your series with Greg Valentine -Memories of Roddy Piper -At what point in your career do you think drugs became pretty crazy among the boys? -Did you ever work with Peter Maivia before you started dating his daughter -How did he react to you dating his daughter? -How about her mother? She was a powerful promoter back in her day in Hawaii -Did you feel pressured to work in Hawaii when you could have made more money elsewhere? -Memories of your series with Harley Race for the NWA Title and what was it like back then challenging for the title -Thoughts on Don Owens and his brother -Memories of Roddy Piper from this time period -Thoughts on Buddy Rose -Memories teaming with Iceman Parsons -Thoughts on a young Curt Hennig -Memories of your series with Rip Oliver -How did you finally wind up in the WWF -Thoughts on Vince Sr. -What was Vince Jr like before he took over power -Memories of Bob Backlund -Who were your traveling partners during this time -It seemed like the WWF at this time was full of guys you had worked with over your career, how close was the locker room -Any good road stories or ribs -What was Jimmy Snuka like outside of the ring -Memories of Fuji ribs -Memories of teaming with Andre and Andre on the road -Was the change over from Vince Sr to Junior smooth? -Memories of your series with Buddy in the WWF -When you wrestled Billy GRaham in WWF, how different was he from the man you wrestled years before? -Memories of your series with Don Muraco -Was there ever any consideration to putting the IC title on you? -Memories of Lou Albano -Did you ever witness Senior firing him at the tapings -Memories of John Studd -Was it special to you to return to Maple Leaf Gardens in 83 as the WWF's match on the show -How different was it being a pro wrestler on national television rather than regional in the WWF -Memories of Ric Flair, you worked underneath him vs. Muraco on a Toronto show. -Thoughts on being paired with Tony Atlas -Did it mean anything special to you considering your family history to be a part of the first african american wwf tag team champs -Was Tony hard to ride with on the road -Memories of your series with the Samoans -Memories of the Muraco-Snuka cage match -Memories of Hogan coming in -How did the locker room accept the change from Backlund to Hogan -When did Vince Jrs ego begin to grow -How did the locker room react to Dave Schultz slapping Jon Stossel -What was the rivalry like between Piper and Hogan -Did the Pipers Pit bother you when Roddy brought up shining his shoes -Memories of your series with Piper -How hot was the WWF at this time -Was there a big difference in pay offs on house shows with Hogan on top -How did the boys react to backlund leaving -with the stakes so much bigger, was the locker room as close as in the past -Memories of Jesse Ventura -Memories of your series with Adonis and Murdoch -Did you feel after you lost the belts that you were going to be phased out -How did it come to you finally leaving -Fav matches from your run, fav opponents, least fav opponents, good road stories -You went back to Memphis for a bit, were you treated differently from your previous runs -Thoughts on Bill Dundee -At what point did you start bringing Dwayne on the road -At what point did you begin smartening him up -Rock tells a story in his book about some kind of confrontation as a kid with Lars Anderson, memories/thoughts? -Memories of Randy Orton as a kid -How involved were you with Dwayne as a father -At what point did he express interest in becoming a pro wrestler -What was his training like -How quickly did he pick it up -If he didnt get hurt do you think he would have went to the NFL instead -Do you think it was a good or bad thing getting signed to the WWF right away without working territories for a few years -Did he ever get frustrated early on in Memphis and call you -Do you think someone like a Rock or Randy Orton has a better chance to make it then a David Sammartino or David Flair because the pressure is too much -Best piece/es of advice you gave Dwayne early on -How come you have not done any serious angles with Dwayne over the years -When Tony Atlas came back briefly, were you going to be involved in something -When did you realize that Dwayne would become a big success -As a father and a fan of his, favorite matches of Dwayne -Have you been involved with the WWF over the years -Whats your relationship like today with Vince -Thoughts on HHH and the rivalry between him and your son -As a father do you get upset at some of the things said about your son negatively on the Internet -Overall favorite opponents, fav promoters, fav partners, and least for all -What do you think about the lack of kayfabe in todays business -Who do you still keep in touch with -Have any of your ex partners, fellow workers, etc tried to mooch off of Dwayne -Thoughts on guys like Hogan and Flair still wrestling today -Fav wrestlers to watch today other then your son -As a trainer in OVW, what is the biggest misconception young guys have coming into the business today -Thoughts on Jim Cornette -A guy you saw or worked with that you thought had a ton of potential but never made it, and vice versa -Any regrets