10 Exact Moments WWE Killed Careers

5. Rocco Wrecks Hawk

Steve Austin Lance Storm Boring
WWE

Numerous sources, including Bret Hart on Kayfabe Commentaries, have remarked that Hawk had a meltdown when the WWF introduced Rocco. The Legion Of Doom's new dummy was said to be a childhood favourite that Paul Ellering used to inspire them.

Yeah, the idea was one of 1992's worst.

Hawk was visibly mortified whenever he appeared onscreen with Rocco, and he was never really the same afterwards despite runs in WCW and a second stint in the WWF. The dummy's debut was also booed so heavily that the company refused to air the segment on television. That should've been a lesson to them, but no - Rocco was here to stay.

Things got so miserable for Hawk that he went on a bender in London after SummerSlam '92. Hart believes that the dummy gimmick was largely responsible for this Road Warrior losing his mind. In fairness to Hawk, LOD lost any and all menace when Ellering started his unwanted ventriloquist act.

In this post: 
Steve Austin
 
Posted On: 
Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.