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WWE superstar Montez Ford recently credited Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson as a "huge inspiration" and apparently the admiration is mutual.
Johnson, one of pro wrestling's all-time biggest stars, shared a clip of Ford's praise in a lengthy Instagram post acknowledging "how much I appreciate his kind and beautiful words."
"We’ve never shared the ring together, but pro wrestlers all have a very special bond," Johnson wrote. "Pro wrestling is a very unique, intense and wild culture that’s not for everybody.
"When you love the wrestling business, you become very respectful about the wrestling business. And when you’re respectful about the wrestling business, you become PASSIONATE about the wrestling business.
"It seeps deep in your DNA. Fans can always sense who's passionate inside that squared circle ~ and who's not.
"This man is passionate. We share that DNA."
Johnson also included a video of Ford hitting his 'From the Heavens' frog splash in the post, acknowledging that Ford flies "like the Superfly, a nod to his late uncle 'Superfly' Jimmy Snuka.
"And when you become world champion one day, I'll be right there rooting ya on," Johnson wrote, tagging Ford and his wife, former SmackDown Women's Champion Bianca Belair in the post.
Ford commented on the post expressing his gratitude for hero's kind words.
"@therock Thank you for everything you’ve done for myself & my family. They went wild when they all saw this post. Full circle for us, coming from my Hero," Ford wrote.
"We all, (especially mama) are raising @teremana right now celebrating your words.
"From my family to yours,
"God Bless
"-Tez."
Ford, a United States Marine Corps. veteran, made his in-ring debut alongside 'Street Profits' tag-team partner Angelo Dawkins under his real name, Kenneth Crawford, as part of WWE's NXT developmental brand in 2016, before being renamed in 2017.
The duo emerged as one of the brand's top tag-teams, winning the NXT Tag Team Championship before being promoted to WWE's main roster in 2019.
The Street Profits have since held the SmackDown and RAW Tag Team Championships, becoming the second team to earn the distinction of Tag Team triple crown champions (RAW, SmackDown and NXT).