10 Wrestlers Who Returned From Injury Better Than Before
9. The Rock
Safe to say, The Rock’s WWE career didn’t get off to the best of starts.
Within months of making his in-ring debut at Survivor Series 1996, The Rock – then known as Rocky Maivia – was infamously on the receiving end of “die, Rocky, die” chants. Audiences were flat out rejecting the push of this inexperienced, third-generational “blue chipper,” so in some ways it was a blessing in disguise when he suffered a knee injury in early June of 1997 during a house show match with Mankind.
That time on the sidelines allowed the company to hit the reset button. When he returned in August, the babyface act had been dropped altogether and he instead aligned himself with the Nation of Domination.
It was during this run that he really started to establish himself, with fans slowly but surely accepting him in this new role – so much so that when his colourful mic work saw him organically revert to being a babyface, this time he was actually accepted.
The People’s Champion was soon born, and after another brief heel run in the Corporation, he’d then go on to become one of the most natural babyfaces the company has ever seen.