10 Iconic Wrestling Moments That Weren't Meant To Happen
4. "You Should Fire Him"
Perhaps not an iconic moment, per se - but certainly a moment hugely influential in creating an icon.
On the December 8, 1997 RAW, Vince McMahon marched to the ring to demand Steve Austin defend the Intercontinental title. In reality, he was recovering from a neck injury, which explains why Austin preferred to drink beers in the back. McMahon wasn't impressed. "I already done whipped his a** once. You keep talking about your little consequences. So what are you prepared to do? Are you gonna fire me?"
Just then, The Rock, in a fit of impromptu inspiration, grabbed the microphone. Referring to himself in the third person for the first time, Rock said, casually and cowardly, "The Rock thinks you should fire him." Even Austin cracked a smile at this arrogant delivery, which Rock would fine tune and use to cast himself as an über-cocky mega-heel.
The Rock clearly wasn't short of confidence. That was the essence of his entire gimmick as 1997 drew to a close. But the collaborative, experimental atmosphere of the early Attitude Era must have been so rewarding for a performer to work within. Rock was encouraged to put his own stamp on his character, and did just that - to major effect - in the space of around two seconds.
That is profoundly less time and more impact than virtually every scripted promo you'll hear on RAW this year.