The Many Faces Of The Rock - Ranked From Worst To Best

8. Rocky Maivia

If you think Roman Reigns’ current crowd reactions are bad, take a trip back to the mid-90s and witness the venom and bile that greeted Rocky Maivia. The Rock’s first character was so disastrous that if he wasn’t so naturally charismatic, it would have been certain death for his career. Looking back, it’s borderline miraculous that he was not only able overcome these early obstacles, but also go on and become his sport’s biggest star.

He debuted in 1996, and the name Rocky Maivia came from his father (Rocky Johnson) and grandfather’s (“High Chief” Peter Maivia) ring names. Rock was immediately thrust into a position of prominence, and he was the sole survivor in his debut match at Survivor Series, eliminating Goldust and Crush along the way.

An impressive debut, but it soon became clear that Rocky was greener than an envious Kermit. The fans rejected his overbearing do-gooder persona (just as they’d done with Bob Backlund in the past), but the push didn’t stop: Maivia was quickly elevated towards the Intercontinental Title, and won the belt from Hunter Hearst Helmsley in early 1997.

The audience’s hostility escalated as Rocky’s prominence soared. He was regularly met with chants of “Rocky sucks” and “die, Rocky, die,” and it was clear the character wasn’t working. Fortunately, WWE were able to recognise this by April ‘97, and after joining the Nation of Domination later that year, “The Blue Chipper” became a thing of the past.