#03 THE ROCK

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Ring Performance - 8
Mic/Charisma - 10
Overall Impact - 9

So here is the problem one is presented with when ranking The Rock's position in wrestling history: The fact is that The Rock is simply the greatest professional wrestler to ever compete in the ring… yet his career was cut short by his success as a Hollywood star.

The Rock was hands down the most charismatic, entertaining, and passionate interviewer in the history of the business. The Rock's ring work, while not as technical as a Bret Hart or a Curt Hennig, was always crisp and dramatic... exactly what it should have been for his larger-than-life character. His impact on the wrestling industry was also great, and he brought the WWF to new levels of popularity and exposure. His long term impact is really only diminished by the fact that he had a relatively short 6 year career before leaving to make movies, and possibly because Stone Cold Steve Austin had already jump-started the WWF's popularity in the year or two before the Rock's debut. Stone Cold’s popularity meant The Rock had to share the spotlight with another superstar quite nearly his equal. With those qualifiers out of the way, The Rock is simply the greatest!

After his football career fizzled at the University of Miami and later in the Canadian Football League, Dwayne Johnson decided to follow in his father's (WWF Tag-Team Star Rocky Johnson) footsteps and enter the world of professional wrestling. The Rock was trained by his father and given a WWF tryout soon after. WWF official (and stoodgy gaywad) Pat Patterson was quoted as saying that The Rock had displayed more raw talent and potential in that tryout than he had ever witnessed. After a quick stint in the USWA, Johnson debuted in the WWF in 1996 under the name Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father and grandfather's wrestling names.

The WWF had recognized Rocky's immense talent, and immediately pushed him as a cheerful fan favorite. He did his job admirably. But unfortunately for Rocky another wrestler, Stone Cold Steve Austin, had just revolutionized the sport by creating a heel (bad guy) character that was so compelling, he had become the biggest draw in wrestling. The character Rocky was the old "Hulk Hogan" model, and was outdated in the new "Stone Cold Era". The fan response was negative to say the least, as fans chanted "Rocky sucks", and "Die Rocky die" during his matches. Rocky no doubt felt betrayed by the fan reaction, but he did what any great wrestler would do - he rolled with the punches and let the organic fan reaction set the stage for greatness.

After taking the fan's abuse for several months Rocky was finally allowed to turn heel. This is when we were all introduced to the character "The Rock". As The Rock, Johnson took the egotistical heel character to new heights. Although he was loathed by the fans, he began referring to himself in the third person and declared himself “The People’s Champion”. He joined the militant black organization (The Nation of Domination) led by Farooq (the great Ron Simmons), who he later overthrew. He later aligned himself with Vince McMahn himself, and became the "Corporate Champion".

It would take too long to get into every hillarious catch phrase and gimmick The Rock brought to the WWF, but I will try to touch on a few of them here. As a heel he constantly referred to himself as "The People's Champion". When he raised his eyebrow it was "The People's Eyebrow", and when he dropped his elbow, it was of course, "The People's Elbow". He created popular catch phrases and verbally and physically abused interviewers and his fellow wrestlers. The Rock had created the greatest ego-maniac heel character in the history of wrestling. His heel character was so hillarious and compelling, he out-did Stone Cold Steve Austin at his own game... the fans were cheering him as a heel. In 1998 the Rock won his first WWF championship. The fans were now waiting for a face (good guy) turn, which they soon received as The Rock left the side of McMahn, and became what he had long claimed to be... "The Peoples Champion".

Between the years of 98 and 2002, The Rock was involved in almost every single notable feud in the WWF. He feuded with Steve Austin, Mick Foley, HHH, and The Big Show. While always hugely entertaining to watch, The Rock added something to the industry that past champions had lacked... The Rock was a team player. While champions of the past (Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels) had been overly concerned with their character's direction and often reluctant or unwilling to drop titles or lose to other wrestlers, The Rock seemed willing to lose to just about anyone or drop the title at any time to further the story line. The Rock selflessly lost matches all the time to legitimize less popular wrestlers, or to set up another situation where he could insult his opponents and do what he did best... chase the title once again. The Rock was without a doubt the WWF's MVP in the late 90's and early 2000's, losing matches to better the company, and always overcoming a potentially career damaging win/loss record with his hard work and personal charisma. As a result of his hard work and selflessness, the Rock held the WWF title an unprecidented 7 times, and the WCW title 2 times in his short career. He was also a two time IC Champion, and a 5-time Tag Team champ. The WWF could not possibly have paid The Rock enough for his contributions to the company.

Alas, The Rock's great talents were too big for professional wrestling. In the past when wrestlers like Stone Cold and Hulk Hogan had attempted to make the jump to TV and Film, they had all proven to be somewhat (or extremely) limited outside the world of wrestling. Not the Rock. His good looks, natural charisma, and fantastic comic timing came across very well on screen and his first starring role, "The Scorpion King" debeuted at number one at the box office. The more successful The Rock became in Hollywood, the fewer dates he wrestled. The Rock competed in what was most likely to be his final match at WrestleMAnia XX alongside Mick Foley who was feuding with Rick Flair, Batista, and the young and douchy Randy Orton. In true Rock fashion, he and Foley lost the match.

The Rock's potential long term impact on the wrestling world was limited by his short career. But by becoming a Hollywood star, he is still contributing to the sport. Everyone knows who "The Rock" is, and most people know him as an ex-wrestler. That can't possibly hurt the industry. To his credit, The Rock has never disowned wrestling, and maintains a professional relationship with the WWE. The question of The Rock's greatness comes down to weighing his career length and impact against his raw talent. He may come in at number three on this list, for reasons I do not disagree with, but when it comes to the basic tools that make a great wrestler, The Rock is #1. I hope everyone smells what I'm cookin.

-shat@arthurshall.com