10 Times WWE Salvaged A Doomed Superstar

FINALLY... we make it to number one on our list and had WWE not managed to salvage the absolute mess that was the character of Rocky Maivia, perhaps we never would have gotten arguably the biggest movie star on the planet today.

'The Blue Chipper' was rejected purely down to the fact that he was as sparkly-clean a babyface as Vince McMahon could ever have dreamed of and the fans quite simply weren't on board with the character.

This animosity towards Maivia hit fever pitch around mid 1997 when fans could be heard chanting 'Die, Rocky, Die!' and that was the moment when McMahon decided a character shift was necessary.

After returning from a legitimate knee injury, Rocky would turn on the disapproving fans and start referring to himself in the third person as 'The Rock'. This opened the door for Rock to start riffing off the live crowd and his arrogant flamboyance became one of the frequent highlights of WWF television.

After finally allowing him to break free from The Nation, Rock captured the WWF title and his rise to superstardom was well underway.

Rocky Maivia was a character in danger of being eaten alive by the raucous audience if he existed for much longer. Thankfully, McMahon's brainwave to release Dwayne Johnson's inner attitude proved to be a masterstroke and his company gave birth to one of the biggest names in all of wrestling and entertainment.