10 Wrestlers EVERYBODY Was Wrong About

6. The Rock

Braun Strowman
WWE

The story of The Rock's rise from be-tassled third-generation boo boy to bona fide wrestling icon and a Hollywood ATM is as old as the hills, and barely needs repeating. In summary then: Vince McMahon's 'blue chipper' Rocky Maivia made his official debut at Survivor Series '96 to a vague ovation, which rapidly degraded into wholesale, vitriolic rejection by an audience fed up of being fed the well-worn clean-cut babyface archetype.

Skip abit, Brother Maynard, and the beleaguered Dwayne Johnson's reconfiguration into the self-aggrandising, cocky leader of the Nation of Domination, and those 'Die, Rocky, Die!' chants could very legitimately have been German. Soon, it was only liebe (HH) for the smooth-as-satin superstar, prompting his rise from midcard maverick to the Most Electrifying Man in the history of this great sport.

Had the fans got their initial wish, we'd be reflecting on poor Rocky's epitaph right about now, and the box-office would have been shorn of a million billion dollars (and a million billion cookie cutter action flicks).

Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.