The WWE Hall of Famer died on Wednesday aged 81 with the whole wrestling world left reeling by the sad news, and the Hollywood actor has reflected on his memories of the man he called ‘Uncle Sheiky’.

He knew Sheik, who was born Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, during his childhood when Dwayne’s late dad Rocky Johnson appeared in both Jim Crockett Promotions and WWE.

Meanwhile, the former world champion accompanied The Sultan to the ring as he faced The Rock in the latter’s first WrestleMania match in 1997.

Following the news of the wrestling legend’s death, Dwayne shared an emotional video on Twitter as he joined those remembering the icon.

‘Most importantly, I want to send my love and my support, my strength, my light, my mana, and my condolences to The Iron Sheik’s family, who I consider ohana, they are family of ours, too,’ he said.

PHILADELPHIA - JUNE 11: The Iron Sheik attends the 2010 Wizard World Convention at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on June 11, 2010 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bobby Bank/WireImage)
The Iron Sheik died this week aged 81 (Picture: Bobby Bank/WireImage)
Dwayne Johnson - AKA The Rock - at the 95th Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals
Dwayne Johson has many found memories of the Hall of Famer (Picture: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

‘As I think a few of you may know, I grew up calling The Iron Sheik “Uncle Sheiky”. And when my dad and The Iron Sheik used to wrestle together not only in WWE, but also before that, when we were living in North Carolina… Uncle Sheiky would come over to the house, and his wife would babysit me.

‘And I was about eight years old at that time, and I was a pain in the ass even then. So God bless that woman, his wife, Caryl, thank you, Caryl, for putting up with all my s**t as a kid.

‘I hope you guys are staying strong, and again, I’m so sorry to hear the news.’

The Rock also recalled a memory from his early days as a wrestler when The Iron Sheik taught him a significant lesson for navigating the business.

Dwayne remembered him saying: ‘Bubba, let me tell you something. Johnson recalled him saying. “You come into the locker room, you sit down, you shut your mouth, you don’t say anything, and you watch and you learn. And then you understand who the good people and who the jabronis.’

Using ‘jabroni’ as an insult was already a thing in professional wrestling, but The Rock – who popularised it as one of his beloved catchphrases – first picked it up from Sheik.

He added: ‘Thank you, Iron Sheik, for the memories. You are a legend. You will be missed, but never forgotten.’