10 Biggest Missed Opportunities In The Rock's WWE Career

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.