10 Times Wrestlers Took Their Careers Into Their Own Hands
3. The Rock
"The Rock says you should fire him."
On the December 8, 1997 RAW, Steve Austin questioned whether Vince McMahon had the grapefruits to follow through with an ultimatum. Rock grabbed the microphone, on the fly, and interjected. Watching McMahon's reaction is very interesting, in hindsight. He grabbed the mic back and gave Rock a stern b*llocking (Austin, meanwhile, was creased).
What a pro: inwardly, McMahon must have been delighted by the improvised gall of his newly-minted heel star - and the favourable audience reaction to it.
Rock has been accused of relying on the writing staff (specifically Brian Gerwitz) to carve out his character - but it was his maverick intuition that led him to the third person, and his maverick intuition that led him to his most famous, arena-shaking catchphrase. He was interviewed at WrestleMania XIV by Gennifer Flowers. After casually bigging up his big member in the form of a pun, Rock added a wry "...if you smell what I'm cookin'."
You can see the lightbulb going off in his head. You can see him reverse course on the promo to put his own impression on it. There was no Brian Gerwitz whispering in his ear in 1998.