MVP Recalls Being Inspired By The Rock When He Got Started In Wrestling

MVP recently looked back at the start of his wrestling career and how he found a lot of inspiration in The Rock. The AEW star has spoken many times about how he got into wrestling as a career after he got out of prison in 1999. He spoke on his Marking Out Podcast with Dwayne Swayze about how The Great One was someone he immediately gravitated toward when he started watching wrestling again post-prison.

MVP noted that he saw a lot he could relate to in Rock due to their roots in Miami, where Rock went to school. You can see the highlights below:

On First Gravitating To The Rock:

“Well remember, for me — I got out of prison in ’99. So I was missing out on what was going on in wrestling. And I was hearing about the the Monday Night Wars and everything, but I wasn’t seeing wrestling. And I was — I told the story where I was able to start watching wrestling again at work release, but then it was ECW on Saturday nights. And I was like, ‘What the f**k happened to wrestling?’ So by the time I got home from prison, The Rock was already the open shirt-wearing, single World Champ Rock. And I didn’t know any of the previous stuff.

“So I learned all of that in retrospect, The Nation and everything. And I just saw this cool-ass dude who had charisma unlimited. Who said cool s**t, did cool s**t, ‘The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment,’ the matches that he had with with Austin, and somebody that I could identify with.

On Identifying With Rock:

“Back then — you know, I was always in sweatpants and high-tech boots, and a t-shirt and my my fanny pack, I was an up-and-coming wrestler. And people [said], ‘Hey man, you know, you look like The Rock.’ ‘Hey, you look like The Rock. ‘Hey, you look like The Rock.’ Hey, man, you remind me of–‘ ‘Let me guess, The Rock.’ But for me, there was a guy that I could look at and identify with because I’m like, ‘Yeah, I got that swag. That’s how I come through.’ And I wish I could afford a $900 shirt that I could walk around with that s**t unbuttoned.

“So, I saw something in him, like so many people did. A lot of people saw what what we were talking about yesterday, relatability and Austin. The working man, you know, everybody wants to kick their bosses’ asses, crack a beer after work. That blue-collar spirit. [Rock’s] from Miami, I’m from Miami. You know, The Rock went to Miami. He’s from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, but I grew up where he learned his swagger from. So immediately when he was all, ‘Roody-Poo Candy Ass,’ that’s Miami talk, you know? And, ‘Know your role,’ I remember in prison, ‘You better know your motherf**king role, boy.’ Like, ‘Oh damn.’ So I’m hearing this dude talk like this and walk like this and I’m like, ‘That’s me. That’s me with the volume turned way up.'”

On Rock’s Talent Both In Ring and On Mic:

“We had a question where we were talking about the importance of mic skills vs. match skills. And I mean, he was a total package. He’d give you a 20-minute match. He was the Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment. He’d hit that nip up. You know, Antonio Banks used to do a nip up… But yeah, there was a huge influence there on me from The Rock. And I just thought that during that time, like you said, he was hitting on all cylinders.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Marking Out with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.