Dwayne Johnson’s Uncle Bit A Guy’s Nose Off

By the way, I wanted to ask you about this photograph that you posted. This is on Instagram. This is you. How old are you in this picture? I'm 27, Ed, right there, probably. I'm six years old. Six years old with Muhammad Ali. Yeah. How did this happen? The People's Champ, we were over in New Zealand, and he was promoting a fight over there. And my dad, I believe, had met him and sparred with him a couple of times, sparred with George Foreman. And then, so, my mom took me over to the hotel that he was promoting at, and I met him then, pulled me up on his lap, took a couple of pictures with me. Wow. Yeah, since then. I mean, he has been one of my heroes. Why were you in New Zealand? We were in New Zealand because, at that time, wrestling wasn't as global as it is today, so we did a lot of traveling. And my dad wrestled in a lot of different places, so we would travel. We had, like, a gypsy lifestyle, so living in New Zealand. And I came from, I was an only child. So, it was kind of a shock, because when we went to New Zealand, we got a lot of the Samoan side of my family, a lot of them live in New Zealand. So, it went from just living alone, being an only kid, to living with massive, like a big family. Oh, really? Big family. Not just big, but also big people, right? But big people, right. So, my aunties were probably, you know, there were a few who were, like, $2.50, $3 bills. Really? I mean, they were tipping the scales. Yeah, so, by the way, so, like, every Sunday, we would have big dinners. In our culture, it's a big thing, all get together. And when a little bit of alcohol gets involved, then there's always, inevitably, a lot of fights. And not between the guys and the guys. Like, between the men and the women. Oh, really? Yeah, and when you're tipping the scales at about $3 bills, I mean, those are tough, tough women. Oh, I see. Yeah. Yes, tough women. Really? Wow. Yeah, I saw an awesome fight one time. My uncle was popping off, he was drunk, and my auntie was like, mm-hmm, OK. She took her shoe off, and one of those big, clogged wooden shoes, and she hit him right in the face. With his right in the face. What? It was awesome, by the way, yes. A little taste of Holland. Yes, right in the mouth, yes. Did you, in Hawaii, where you also grew up, did you have family, big family there, as well? We did. I had, my family was there. At one time, we lived with my grandfather, who was a famous Samoan wrestler, Haichi Peter Maivia. We lived with him. Wow. Thank you so much. Thank you. We lived with him and my grandmother, and they used to fight, too. They were notorious for fighting. My grandmother was a very tough woman, and my grandfather was a very tough guy. So they used to fight, and one time, I remember, I was eight years old, and there was a big crash in the bedroom, and they came out, oh, I'm sorry, my grandmother came out after a big crash, yelling. You know when, you know when people are fighting. She came out, and keep in mind, my grandmother's a very tough woman. So she came out, and my mom came out. She's like, what's going on? My mom starts tearing up a little bit. My grandmother, she grabs the biggest knife in the kitchen. It's like this, and she's like, it's okay. Just take Dwayne. You guys go to a motel for the night. And I'm eight years old. Oh, no. This is awesome. Well, maybe it's best that you were an only child. It's crazy. It's crazy, by the way. How many wrestlers are in your family? I have a long line of wrestlers. We're all related. My grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, the Wild Samoans, my dad, Rocky Johnson, Jimmy Superfly Snuka. Oh, wow. The list goes on. My uncle, King Tonga. Oh, King Tonga was your uncle? Yeah, remember him? Yeah, I do remember him, yeah. And arguably one of the toughest men. You mean in real life? In real life, in pro wrestling. Could he beat up his wife if they got in a fight? No, she would kick his ass. Did you call him Uncle King Tonga? I had respectfully. Right, so there's this crazy story. So he was out and he was eating after a big match. At one time he was wrestling Hulk Hogan. I think this was in Buffalo. And after a match, yeah, I'm from Buffalo. And then, so after a match, some of these fans started getting a little unruly when he was eating dinner. And he was not only one of the toughest men in the world, but also one of the most kind, gentle guys. And this is a heartwarming story. So he's eating, and a fan was drunk and unruly, and you're not that tough. And my uncle was like, oh, no, it's OK. Just leave me alone, please. You're not that tough. Finally, the guy pushed my uncle. My uncle gets up. He grabs him by the head, and he bites his nose off. Right? Is this the kind and gentle part? This is, no, that's not the kind and gentle. That's the, I'm an animal. I told you not to mess with me. He bites his nose off. Boom. Spits it on the ground. The guy goes crazy. His wife starts freaking out. They call the cops. The cops come back to find my uncle, Tonga, still sitting, eating. And they were like, uh. You know, and he's very menacing. Look, he's massive, and he's just sitting there eating. Sir, are you Tonga Fafita? Oh, yes. Yes, I am. Did you get an altercation with him? Yes, I did. Yes. And this is, I believe, his nose. I think he's at the hospital. Oh, yes, his nose. It's right over there. Wow. I'm surprised they didn't deep fry it and eat it and buckle up. Unbelievable.