10 Secret Debuts Of Famous Wrestlers

4. The Rock

10 Secret Debuts Of Famous Wrestlers
WWE

As NBC's Young Rock has already highlighted, Dwayne Johnson was born into - and born to be brilliant at - a certain brand of superstardom.

And though he makes sure to remind the world of his "seven bucks" rags-to-riches story (the name of his production company and the money he had in his pocket in between his exit from the Canadian Football League and entry into WWE), there's a charm to the youthful 'Great One' that has aided him from second generation star watching his Dad to eventual United States President that probably leads the rest of us off this planet to start anew. Even during the now-infamous turtle neck/chain/elbow-resting-on-a-napkin years.

A 1984 scene from Championship Wrestling bears this out - a teenage Johnson is seen ringside for father Rocky's match, but there's an intangible star quality about the youngster even then that suggests he'll spend more time on the other side of the guardrail. Or stage, screen, or White House Desk.

In this post: 
Cody Rhodes
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett