Even before Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson became the most electrifying man in sports entertainment history, Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka revolutionized the game with his death-defying, high-flying style.
The retired Fiji-born wrestler passed away at his son-in-law’s home in Florida, USA on Sunday (Monday in Manila) due to complications from his stomach cancer.
READ: Former pro wrestler Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka dies at 73
Just moments after confirming the 73-year-old’s demise on Twitter, Johnson shared a heartwarming photo of the WWE Hall of Famer—as relayed to him by his daughter, Sarona Snuka.
As seen in the photo, an elderly man best known for his monicker ‘Superfly’ was comfortably slouching on a lazyboy, while watching old footage of himself competing in the ring.
“I immediately got choked up when I first saw this as she told me he sat there in this chair for hours and just watched his old wrestling promos and matches…in complete silence,” Johnson described the emotions he felt on his post.
“Never said a word, just watched and reflected. Got choked up over the thought of what must’ve been going thru his mind in these hours watching himself… pride, joy, regret, satisfaction, pain, love,” the wrestler-turned-Hollywood sensation wrote.
Known for going all-out for the sake of entertaining his fans, Snuka was one of the biggest wrestling draws in the ‘80s and was also beloved for the quiet intensity he showcased during his promos.
Johnson, who’s a third generation wrestler, revealed that his family lived together with the Snukas in Hawaii and North Carolina.
“To the world, he was known as the iconic Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka but to me he was and will always be, simply… uncle,” he disclosed.
‘The Rock’ then ended his lengthy tribute on an inspiring note: “Rest in peace, uncle. Fly high bruddah… now you have real wings.”
Johnson’s Instagram post on Jimmy Snuka, as of writing time, has been liked over 400,000 times and has been retweeted by 773 Twitter users. Khristian Ibarrola