10 Great Wrestlers Who Started Out With Terrible Gimmicks
4. The Rock As Rocky Maivia
Modern wrestling fans have grown sick of the sight of Roman Reigns and John Cena as WWE’s unwanted Superman-esque protagonists, but the company have been utilizing this practice for years. Bob Backlund’s popularity nosedived during his 2,000+ day WWE Title run in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and fans were deeply sick of Hulk Hogan by the time he stole Yokozuna’s championship at WrestleMania IX.
Rocky Maivia was largely rejected as WWE’s latest “chosen one” upon debuting in the mid-90s. Portrayed in a generic role as a sickeningly good-natured babyface, Rocky was thrust into the spotlight and continually promoted as a “blue chip” prospect. Unfortunately, Rocky was still green around the gills, particularly in the ring, and the fans completely rejected on the idea of him as WWE’s next big thing.
Maivia’s crowd reactions turned sour, and while you won’t find WWE bowing to crowd pressure in this day and age, that’s exactly what they did with The Rock. He turned heel to join the Nation of Domination, became “The Rock,” and started developing the sharp-witted, cocky persona that has made him wrestling’s biggest crossover star. Sometimes it pays to listen to the fans, and there’s no better example of this than The Rock.