10 Biggest Missed Opportunities In The Rock's WWE Career
The Rock vs. Shawn Michaels would have been special...
On the surface, exploring 'missed opportunities' in a career that's had so many excellent moments may seem strange, but it's fair to say that Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's career could have been even bigger had certain decisions been taken. Looking back in hindsight is a luxury nobody has at the time, but it's fun to think back to specific moments and theorise how different things might have been all the same.
An 8-time WWF/WWE Heavyweight Champion, WCW Champion, 2-time Intercontinental Champion, and 5-time WWF/WWE Tag-Team Title winner, there isn't much The Rock hasn't done throughout his wrestling career. Hell, the man even won the Royal Rumble match in 2000, albeit in controversial circumstances after both he and The Big Show appeared to drop to the floor at the same time, and has main-evented WrestleMania more than once.
So, what exactly could be missing from such a sparkling career? As it turns out, when exploring the man's multiple runs in the WWF/WWE, there's a lot of things that could have happened to further enhance his stature. These scenarios are often hypothetical, but it's well worth examining exactly what might have happened, and where The Rock's career may have ended up had these matches, feuds and decisions been taken.
10. Needed A Bigger 'Mania Foe Than The Sultan
Making his debut at the 1996 Survivor Series, Rocky Maivia was a happy-go-lucky, smiling babyface, one that fans were expected to cheer and root for despite his paper thin character. As the 'Sole Survivor' on that particular Pay-Per-View, Vince McMahon was hoping Rocky would become a genuine good guy, but fans had other ideas.
In particular, ringsiders were far from keen on the goody-two-shoes approach of the Maivia character. It was clear that wrestling was changing somewhat, but the then-WWF didn't know what to do about that. Instead, they tried to press on with the black and white personalities they'd always presented, and as a consequence, Rocky Maivia failed miserably.
Signs bearing phrases such as, 'Die, Rocky, Die' were commonplace throughout the first half of 1997, and it was clear that fans were not digging the new star. So, why didn't McMahon recognise this and give Rocky a stronger rival for WrestleMania 13? He was the Intercontinental Champion at the time, and The Sultan seemed more than a little tame. Needless to say, the creative team really didn't help Maivia with their booking here, fans were indifferent to the match, and Rocky was further hated afterwards.