Since Muhammad Ali passed away on Friday night, there has been an outpouring of tributes and condolences from every corner of the world, not just limited to sports and sports entertainment.
The Rock took to Instagram on Saturday to share his own memories of The Greatest. In addition to sharing the above picture of himself and Ali, here’s what he had to say about one of his biggest inspirations:
I was in the air last night flying from Atlanta to London when I got the text from a close friend that within’ a few hours we were going to lose Muhammad.
Like me, Ali inspired so many generations around the world to be hungry to achieve, work as hard as you possibly can, to be a great as you possibly can be and make sure that not a day goes by where you don’t do your absolute best to make the world smile and feel good. Feel inspired. And feel that no matter how hard times may be, there’s always hope for tomorrow.
From hanging out with you in New Zealand as this little punk kid, to years later as a WWE rookie when you whispered to me “Can you rumble?” to a few years later when you bestowed upon me “The People’s Champ” moniker. I will always be grateful for the impact you’ve had on me. Thank you and I’ll miss you. Much love and strength to the Ali family. Rest in love and light Champ. You’ll always be the Greatest of All Time. And pretty. ???
As WWE and many others have pointed out, Ali was an important figure in the history of professional wrestling. Including being a personal friend and inspiration to one of the most popular wrestlers of all time.
