<body><div> Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson spent part of his childhood in Dallas, playing with members of the legendary Von Erich family. Why it matters: A movie about the Von Erichs, " <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/dallas/2023/11/13/the-iron-claw-premiere-true-story" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> The Iron Claw </a> ," starring Zac Efron, will be in theaters nationwide Dec. 22. <hr> Driving the news: On a <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/0M2MiAX4LPq8pmDjcMTWuQ" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> recent episode </a> of Joe Rogan's podcast, Johnson, 51, explained that his late father, Rocky Johnson, wrestled for Fritz Von Erich, the family patriarch whose real last name was Jack Adkisson. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><ul><li> And Johnson would hang out with the Von Erich boys. </li></ul> What they're saying: "Every week at this famous arena called the Sportatorium, this tiny little arena the size of a little flea market, I used to wrestle with them in the afternoons and just roll around the ring," Johnson said. <ul><li> He added that Kerry, the Adonis of the family, was his hero. </li></ul> The big picture: Johnson went on to have his own professional wrestling career, before becoming one of Hollywood's <a href="https://www.avclub.com/dwayne-johnson-is-reportedly-the-highest-paid-actor-in-1850655933" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> highest-paid </a> stars. <ul><li> Only one of the Von Erich brothers, Kevin, lived past the age of 33. </li></ul> Zoom in: Rocky Johnson and Fritz Von Erich shared the Sportatorium ring several times, according to the <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/pop-culture/2023/12/01/dwayne-rock-johnson-wrestling-von-erichs-joe-rogan/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Dallas Morning News </a> . <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><ul><li> Rocky Johnson retired from wrestling in 1991 and died in 2020. </li></ul> Reality check: One of Kevin's sons, Marshall, <a href="https://twitter.com/marshallvoneric/status/1726024935980540024?s=42&amp;t=q8kcDY5HY5O7P0j0RgAwJw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> shared a clip </a> of Johnson talking about his family to X. <ul><li> "Crazy to think someone I looked up to as a kid looked up to someone in my family when he was a kid," he wrote. </li><li> Johnson <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRock/status/1726275448651547122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1726275448651547122%7Ctwgr%5E51ab0ad5163dcdddea933ec7ec40cfbad7fad8a1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dallasnews.com%2Farts-entertainment%2Fpop-culture%2F2023%2F12%2F01%2Fdwayne-rock-johnson-wrestling-von-erichs-joe-rogan%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> replied </a> : "I sure did brother." </li></ul> Of note: Johnson maintains ties to North Texas as a co-owner of the Arlington-based XFL, which recently <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/19/xfl-usfl-merger" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> merged with the USFL </a> . The bottom line: "I love Dallas," Johnson told Rogan. <a href="https://www.axios.com/signup/dallas?utm_source=smartnewst&amp;utm_medium=partner&amp;utm_campaign=subs-partner-smartnews-dallas" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Dallas. </a></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

Dwayne \"The Rock\" Johnson spent part of his childhood in Dallas, playing with members of the legendary Von Erich family.Why it matters: A movie about the Von Erichs, \"The Iron Claw,\" starring Zac Efron, will be in theaters nationwide Dec. 22.Driving the news: On a recent episode of Joe Rogan's podcast, Johnson, 51, explained that his late father, Rocky Johnson, wrestled for Fritz Von Erich, the family patriarch whose real last name was Jack Adkisson. And Johnson would hang out with the Von Erich boys.What they're saying: \"Every week at this famous arena called the Sportatorium, this tiny little arena...

The Rock once wrestled with the Von Erichs in Dallas

NewsBreak

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson spent part of his childhood in Dallas, playing with members of the legendary Von Erich family.Why it matters: A movie about the Von Erichs, "The Iron Claw," starring Zac Efron, will be in theaters nationwide Dec. 22.Driving the news: On a recent episode of Joe Rogan's podcast, Johnson, 51, explained that his late father, Rocky Johnson, wrestled for Fritz Von Erich, the family patriarch whose real last name was Jack Adkisson. And Johnson would hang out with the Von Erich boys.What they're saying: "Every week at this famous arena called the Sportatorium, this tiny little arena...