During a recent episode of Conversations With The Hitman, Bret Hart discussed meeting The Rock for the first time, liking him as a person and knowing right away that he was going to become a megastar. Here’s what he had to say:
When I first met [The Rock], I met him in the dressing room. He had played with the [CFL’s Calgary] Stampeders and got cut. And I think Owen was one of the first guys to talk to him about [pro] wrestling being an alternative, like, maybe being an answer. Like, ‘why don’t you do wrestling?’
And all I know is when he started for WWE at the time, I had been off when he started. I had a hiatus at the time. I came back and I remember walking out, and this was in England, in London, and I remember watching Rock wrestle. And he was doing dropkicks. I remember watching him and he was doing everything. He was like a natural born athlete, he knew all the wrestling stuff, all the basic stuff. He had lots of charisma in his comeback. I remember telling somebody, ‘five years from now, he will be the biggest star in wrestling.’ And I knew it.
He was a guy who grew up in the business, much like I did. His dad was a wrestler and he was, I’m sure he still is now, one of the nicest guys you’ll ever know. And I don’t ever remember him not being a nice guy, just a total class act. He’s a gentleman and a fun guy. I remember he would sing in the dressing room when he was getting changed, and he would sing, and whistle, and stuff like that. You could tell he was talented, and I always liked Dwayne.
Credit: Conversations With The Hitman. H/T 411Mania.