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| source// wwe.com |
He may have gone on to conquer Hollywood and redefine how men can feel shame looking at the Instagram profile of another, but it all started for The Rock in the crazy world of professional wrestling. Heck, it didn’t even start that well, as chants of ‘Die Rocky, Die’ echoed around arenas in response to the then cookie-cutter vanilla babyface, Rocky Maivia.
Of course, this all led to The Rock making his way to our television screens, and the rest is history. His list of accomplishments comes with its own complex subcategories, and even if his professional wrestling career ended earlier than it should thanks to, you know, international movie star fame, we all have our favourite Rocky matches.
As professional wrestling experienced its boom period towards the end of the 1990s, Rock appeared at eight consecutive WrestleManias, featuring in the official main event of three but taking part in the true main event in five.
He defended championships, reinvigorated long-dormant icons and returned almost a decade later to put an end to LOL CENA WINS. When the biggest show of the year came around, The Rock stepped up to the plate (probably thanks to all that 4am cardio).
So just how do The Rock’s WrestleMania matches rank against each other? Let’s take a look.
10. Vs. The Sultan – WrestleMania 13
The Rock’s Mania debut came at WrestleMania 13, where he defended his Intercontinental Championship against The Sultan (Rikishi in an even more ridiculous get-up). With the career that Rock would go on to have it is easy to lose clarity about his early days, easy to assume that he wasn’t completely ready and the crowd didn’t take to him.
If you go back and watch this match, you’ll see that the transformation was way bigger than any of us truly remember. Here he was as Rocky Maivia, plucky babyface underdog, overcoming not just his bigger opponent but also the presence of Bob Backlund and The Iron Sheik on the outside.
If anyone can think of a more entertaining management duo than Mr. Backlund and Sheiky Baby, I salute you.
For whatever reason The Honky Tonk Man was on commentary for this bland outing. Rocky wins, gets beat down by the dastardly trio until Pap Rocky Johnson runs out for the save. Something tells me the match existed purely to get to the post-match antics and the visual of father and son standing tall.
9. Vs. Ken Shamrock – WrestleMania XIV
The following WrestleMania also saw Dwayne Johnson defend the Intercontinental Championship, but the circumstances could not have been more different. Rocky Maivia had taken the desires of the fans on board and died a death, only to be resurrected as The Rock. This didn’t bring the fans onside but it wasn’t supposed to; Rock was now one of the fastest-rising heels in the company.
His opponent was a completely different prospect altogether, and in many ways indicative of the change in direction professional wrestling had taken. At ‘Mania 13 it was The Sultan, a cartoonish character with two wacky, anachronistic managers. At WMXIV he faced Ken Shamrock, a man with very real pedigree in the mixed martial arts world.
Rock had managed to hold on to his IC strap over the previous months mostly through a combination of luck and numbers, with The World’s Most Dangerous Man being thwarted at every turn. That trend would continue at WrestleMania XIV, frustratingly so. The match itself is over in a blink of an eye, Shamrock getting Rock to tap to the ankle lock, only for Kenny boy to snap after match and force the referee’s to reverse the decision.
It got Shamrock over as a genuine loose cannon and kept the belt on The Rock, but the match itself was pretty forgettable.
8. Vs. John Cena – WrestleMania 29
‘Once in a Lifetime’ they said…
Well, by now we should know better than to trust anything supposedly concrete that comes out of the world of professional wrestling. ‘Once in a Lifetime’ essentially means ‘As Many Times In A Lifetime As We Deem Necessary’, and The Rock faced off with John Cena for the second straight WrestleMania at ‘Mania 29.
Rock’s matches with Cena most probably exceeded expectations, although in the hyper-cynical word of match evaluation (he says whilst writing a hyper-sensitive ranking of matches) the expectations were pretty low. The second of the two matches was the weaker, if only because of the bitterness that surrounded it.
Rocky was WWE Champion coming in, ending the 434-day reign of CM Punk at the Royal Rumble. This didn’t please too many fans, a big moment for a still fresh superstar ended to maintain the momentum of a part-time player.
The Rock isn’t just any part-time player though, and as such there was still a lot to take from this. Still, a focus on past stars over new ones and 50/50 booking leaves this low on the list.
7. Vs. Triple H Vs. Mick Foley Vs. Big Show – WrestleMania 2000
The first WrestleMania of the new millennium saw the presence of the McMahon family on WWF TV reach nauseating levels. The main event of the show featured ‘A McMahon in every corner’ (!), as Triple H (with Stephanie) defended the world title in a four way against The Rock (with Vince), Big Show (with Shane) and Mick Foley (with Linda).
Rock made his way into the match by winning the Royal Rumble in controversial fashion, eliminating Big Show last despite footage proving that it was Rocky’s feet that actually touched the floor first. That explains Show’s appearance in the match, but Foley? Didn’t hejust lose a retirement match to Triple H a month prior? Yeah, professional wrestling is weird and LIES.
Unfortunately, the presence of the McMahons leads to the finish being a total schmozz, as Vince turns on Rock to side with Hunter. Rock exacts some revenge and stands tall at the end of the show, but it is Triple H that walks out with the belt. Until the finish the match was a whole lot of fun, but the climax drags it down so, so much.
6. W/Mick Foley Vs. Evolution (Randy Orton, Batista, Ric Flair) – WrestleMania XX
This was The Rock’s first match in almost a year, not to mention Foley’s first in almost four years, so needless to say the in-ring expectations weren’t exactly through the roof for this one.
The flip side of that was that you had three bonafide legends competing, not to mention two all-time dream matches (Foley vs. Flair and Rock vs. Flair) happening in the same match, and two up-and-comers getting to rub shoulders with greatness. As far as thrown-together tag matches go, this one had a lot going for it.
The truth was that the match was all about the budding rivalry between Foley and Orton, and as such everything here was put together to make Orton look like a star. This was achieved with aplomb, and Orton would progress to such a degree he would square off against The Undertaker at WrestleMania one year later.
The focus on Orton was padded out with a whole host of fun moments, including Ric Flair threatening the greatest People’s Elbow in history, only to be cut off at the pass by The Rock. The interactions between the Brahma Bull and The Nature Boy were, especially, a lot of fun. Orton eventually pins Foley for the win. Batista? He was there too.
Little did we know this would be The Rock’s final match for more than half a decade.
5. Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin – WrestleMania XV
The weakest of the trilogy between the two biggest icons of an era, this is still a damn fine match in its own right. The WWF was running far, far away from WCW at this point, and a lot of that was down to Austin and The Rock.
This was 1999 though, and a straight-up wrestling match between the two biggest stars simply wasn’t going to happen. Before the match even begins we see Vince McMahon and Commissioner Shawn Michaels get involved, with Vince trying to replace Mankind as special guest referee but being thwarted by HBK.
The match was a 100mph brawl, heading up the entrance aisle early on before heading back down to ringside to show the Spanish announce table what for. Numerous referees go down, a few at the hands of Rock and Vince, before Mrs. Foley’s baby boy returns to implement law an order.
Austin hits a number of Stunners to pick up the win. and the greatest trilogy in World Wrestling Entertainment history was kicked off in style.
4. Vs. John Cena – WrestleMania XXVIII
Professional wrestling is a unique art form. It is a form where technical ability can often work against a match. If Dean Malenko and Chad Gable, for example, go out and put on a 25-minute technical masterpiece, the crowd will most likely not give it the respect it deserves unless there is a story to it.
On the other hand, a match can arguably be lacking on the technical side but more than make up for it in story, occasion and feel.
The Rock vs. John Cena is one of the best examples of the latter in history. We had two genuine icons of professional wrestling, facing off on the biggest stage of them all after an entire year’s worth of build. By the time the match came around the tension could have been cut by the bluntest of knives.
Just seeing the two men standing off against each other in the ring was enough for some.
The most shocking thing about the match was the finish. Watching this live I was convinced that Cena would win, seeing as Rock was more movie star than professional wrestler at this point. When Rock kipped up to deliver one final Rock Bottom after Cena’s failed attempt at a People’s Five Knuckle Shuffle, I jumped up and cheered, hollered and celebrated.
3. Vs. ‘Hollywood’ Hulk Hogan – WrestleMania X-8
Speaking of Icon vs. Icon, could it get any bigger than this?
Arguments could be made for Hogan vs. Steve Austin, but I’m not so sure. The similarities between The Rock and Hogan were clear to see, two larger-than-life superstars dripping in charisma, dabbling in Hollywood and with finishing moves that probably shouldn’t have been finishers, but were so incredibly over.
This match could have consisted of just the stand-off that we saw at the beginning and it still would warrant such a high position. Sure, it helps that it was a Canadian crowd, but justlisten to them. Hogan gets an absolute monster reaction on coming out, and why this didn’t go on last I will never know (thanks, Triple H).
The crowd are absolutely rabid for everything that happens, and of course it wasn’t a technical classic, but who cares? This was the guy we all watched as kids taking on the guy we watched as teenagers in a match that we never thought we’d get to see. It was entertaining and it created a spectacle that only professional wrestling, and WrestleMania, is capable of.
Simply amazing.
2. Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin – WrestleMania XIX
As mentioned in the last couple of entries, professional wrestling is a world where story often takes precedence over everything else. Has there ever been a more engaging, storied rivalry than the two biggest stars of a generation, anything bigger than Stone Cold vs. The Rock?
It is testament to the quality of this story that we as an audience were able to believe and get behind the idea that if The Rock couldn’t beat Austin at Mania, his career wouldn’t be worth it. The guy had done it all, but this obsession with beating Austin at Mania was perfect and timeless, and as such when the third Rock Bottom was hit and the 1-2-3 followed, the release was palpable.
There were a whole host of worries going in, with Austin spending time in hospital the night before. This would be his last match. It was also the only match between the two at WrestleMania that wasn’t for the World Title, but in many ways it can be argued that a whole lot more was on the line.
Rocky leaned over to tell Austin he loved him before celebrating, and that was that. The most lucrative feud in professional wrestling history was officially over.
1. Vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin – WrestleMania X-Seven
Has there ever been a more lauded professional wrestling event than WrestleMania X-Seven?
Every now and then I find myself going back to it and being amazed at how well it stands up, how strong the event is today. Nothing sums this up more than the main event show, a shoe-in for greatest main event match in the history of WrestleMania.
This was everything that was wonderful about the rivalry between these two great competitors, with the volume ramped up as far as it can go. The crowd are in to everything, the brawling is intense and the pace is fast. the crowd adores Austin throughout, and Rock plays off this wonderful.
He really was a fantastic performer in a whole variety of roles.
Austin sides with the devil (Vince McMahon) in order to capture the WWF Championship from The Rock, and once again Rock fails to end WrestleMania as World Champion. In hindsight, this doesn’t matter. Rocky was an integral part of the greatest financial era in professional wrestling history, and one half of the rivalry that defined it.
He worked beautifully as a face, incredibly well as a heel, and could create iconic moments like no other. WrestleMania is where these moments become immortal, and that is an adjective one could most definitely throw towards The Rock.
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