WWE legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently paid a visit to the trailer park where he spent some of his adolescent years in Walls, Mississippi.
Rock made a stop at the Lakeview Trailer Park with the legendary Bruno Lauer, often known as Downtown Bruno to pro wrestling fans, and Harvey Wippleman. We initially reported on Lauer’s candidacy for Walls Alderman in April 2021. In July 2021, he was elected and sworn in.
Rock spent around 30 minutes to the park with a film crew to document where he grew up, according to Lakeview owner Bob Turner on Facebook. Turner also shared numerous photographs of Alderman Lauer in the park with The Great One.
“Always something good in the Trailer Hood! The Rock, Dewayne Johnson grew up in Lakeview Mobile Home Park that we own in Walls Miss. Our friend ‘Downtown Bruno’ took him in many years ago when Dewayne was down on his luck and gave him a place to live and taught him how to wrestle and make a new life. The Rock has never forgot his great Friend Bruno, he has included him in his Young Rock show that is on NBC TV. The Rock was in the Trailer park with camera crew taking some pictures this week to document where he grew up. Bruno is a great friend to us and many people and always helps anyone he can. They are both special people,” Turner wrote on Facebook.
Johnson has frequently discussed his friendship with Lauer. During a recent visit to Lakeview, Rock discussed how Lauer took him in when he was just 15 years old and helped him launch his wrestling career in Memphis. He claimed Lauer let him move in when he was 15 and again when he was 24. Rock has revealed that his NBC sitcom “Young Rock” is modeled on some of their wacky activities, and Lauer has been cast in the program.
“They talk a lot, and Bruno’s helping with the show,” Turner told WREG Channel 3. ”The Rock includes him in a lot of things.”
Rock has recently been in Memphis filming season 3 of “Young Rock,” which premieres on Friday, November 4. Rock recently invited Lauer to the “Young Rock” set in Memphis and presented him to everyone for his first day on the job as a consultant, as shown in the Instagram video below.
Rock discussed their friendship as best buddies and stated Lauer was being honored by the team on set. In the video, Lauer also spoke about how Rock’s parents have been like parents to him, and how he regards Rock as the brother he never had.
Rock captioned the video with, “Man it felt good giving flowers to an old friend [flowers emoji] Introducing our YOUNG ROCK crew to Downtown Bruno. This man took me in TWICE when I was broke as hell at 15yrs old and again at 24yrs old. Many of our YOUNG ROCK stories revolve around me and Bruno’s relationship and the wild shit we went thru back then [skull emoji] [devil emoji] As you can see, he’s as kind, funny and REAL as it gets. Enjoy your flowers brother and enjoy being celebrated on YOUR SET of YOUNG ROCK. ‘Like momma says, it just be’s that way sometimes’ #OnSet #YoungRock [face mask emoji] for you guys wondering cos I know it looks weird — crew has agreed to mask up and actors remove masks before we shoot scenes. It’s tricky and no right or wrong answer. If I get COVID then the entire production shuts down and jobs lost. So we try and minimize the risks as much as possible.”
We’ve previously reported how Rock took to Twitter last year to thank Lauer for coining the term “SmackDown,” and how Rock surprised Lauer with a new ride in December 2020.
You can see photos from Rock’s Lakeview Trailer Park visit below, as well as the whole Instagram video from the “Young Rock” set on Lauer:
