10 Fascinating WWE Backstage Facts About The Rock
9. He Refused To Work With Shawn Michaels
WWE (or WWF as it was known at the time) is the kind of place where egos take up more space than the lighting equipment, ring gear, and everything else required to put on a show. This has led to an unending sea of tales focused on top stars refusing to let people get a rub over them. Often, the guy at the top of the mountain prefers solitude.
Despite being at the top for a long time, Dwayne Johnson has been involved in very few stories of times when he harmed others for his own career - but he was very aware of someone who did, which is why he refused to wrestle Shawn Michaels.
There have been many reports of Johnson's unwillingness to tangle with Michaels during the 2000s (Chris Jericho echoed this theory in 2020). This allegedly came down to rumours that Michaels had attempted to sabotage Johnson's career in its early days to preserve his place at the top, and/or an incident in Hawaii before Rock even broke in). It wouldn't be the first time the Heartbreak Kid used his position to get what he wanted, so it's hard to blame Rocky for not wanting to be a part of that.
The Rock and Shawn Michaels have never wrestled, despite their pairing being an absolute dream match. Still, this was a deliberate choice by The People's Champion.