Wrestling star power's hold solid as The Rock
By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Finally, the Rock has returned home. And — screaming crowds, posterized phrases, giant foam fingers and all — it's just as Chad Shiraishi imagined it would be all those years ago.
He used to be known as Dwayne Johnson of McKinley High School, but he's back in Honolulu as The Rock, entertainment's rising superstar. It was a rousing homecoming day for the Scorpion King.
Shiraishi was classmates with The Rock, then just plain old Dwayne Johnson, during The Rock's brief time at McKinley High School in the late 1980s. Last night, he was one voice in a chorus of 9,000 raucously welcoming The Rock back to Honolulu for World Wrestling Entertainment's Tour of Defiance at Blaisdell Arena.
"He was a quiet guy back in high school but I always knew he was going to be something big," Shiraishi said.
"In my yearbook, he just signed his picture 'someone special.' "
With The Rock facing Y2J in the main event, the sold-out show drew fans from every major island and every local demographic — seniors and children, nearly as many females as males. An hour before the event, scalpers had no problem selling $90 floor tickets for $200.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
"It's a good, good day," said one "resale agent" who asked not to be identified. "Good, good money today."
Kimmie Ancheta, left, of Mililani, and Stevie Nicks of Kahala scream for more of The Rock at Blaisdell Arena.
After waiting eight years for the WWE to stage another event in Hawai'i, local wrestling fans were chomping at the bit, literally in one fan's case, for last night's action. They came with homemade signs emblazoned with "Imua Rock" for their hero, and "You Suck" for the designated villains.
They flew in from around the state for the chance to see agitator Kurt Angle have his hairpiece removed by the nightmarish bump and grind of 350-pound Rikishi, bearer of the most noteworthy glutes this side of J.Lo.
They came to marvel at the best professional floppers not named Vlade Divac, to gasp sarcastically at every desperate shoulder thrown up just in time to beat the count, and to revel in the giddy joy of knowing exactly what comes next.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
They came to call Y2J a mahu.
Strobes flash in the Blaisdell Arena as fans photograph the action at World Wrestling Entertainment's Tour of Defiance event.
Some of their number were in rare form. Noticing Angle's muscular but acne-covered back, one fan yelled: "Hey, it's Ken Caminiti." Just before the main event, a 90-pound firestarter paraded a homemade sign that read: "Die Rock Die."
Kenneth Yap drove in from Mililani with a full accompaniment of immediate and extended family.
"It cost a fortune but, hey, it's kind of like a once-in-a-lifetime thing," he said.
Yap said he was looking forward to seeing the Rock, but his real priority was the swimsuit challenge match between Torrie Wilson, Stacie Keibler and Ivory.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
"I'm here for the cat fight," he said.
The Rock puts a move on Chris Jericho, throwing his opponent across the ring.
Kapolei High School students "Scuba" Steve Edelman and Sean Barnes came dressed as tag teamers Billy and Chuck, with buddy Brooks Barnell as flamboyant attendant Rico.
But the biggest draw was clearly The Rock.
John Foster flew in from Maui to see exactly what The Rock was cooking. Nina Nuuanu looked like a limo driver waiting for a client as she held up her "Rock" sign long after the match was over. She said it was to call in her wandering family. But, hey, if The Rock needed a ride somewhere, "that would be nice, too," she said.
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
Shiraishi and his family sat within spitting, sweating and bleeding distance of his former classmate during last night's bout. They cheered along with the crowd as The Rock hammed his way through the main bout and defended the crowd's honor against Y2J's post-fight "I hate Hawai'i" tirade.
In a salute to wrestling and just for the fun of it, three friends from Kapolei — from left, Steve Edelman, Brooks Darnell and Sean Barnes — dress up for the occasion.
"I remember some of the guys we used to hang out with would tag walls and stuff, but he didn't want to do that," Shiraishi said. "He knew he was going to make it big and he didn't want anything catching up to him.
"And, yeah, I guess he's pretty big now, huh?"
