10 WWE Wrestlers The Rock Refused To Wrestle

Dwayne Johnson and Shawn Michaels famously didn’t see eye-to-eye in the ‘90s when Shawn was champion and Dwayne was trying to grab the brass ring and get over as Rocky Maivia.

Bret Hart has gone on record as saying Shawn went so far as relentlessly bullying Rocky in the early days of his career, with the backstage area in WWF at the time being a shark tank - a hive of insecurity where everyone was trying to hold onto their spot or gunning for somebody else’s. It was only after 'HBK' had to retire for 4 years due to a debilitating back injury that Rock was able to climb to the top of the card and thrive in the Attitude Era, becoming one of the most popular wrestlers of all time.

When Michaels eventually did return in 2002 with a whole new attitude (for the better) after becoming a born-again Christian, he lobbied for a match against The Great One, believing the two could tear the house down together in a dream match. But Rock never forgot the way he treated him, shunning the match whenever it was suggested to him.

Chris Jericho addressed the issue between the two on his Saturday Night Special show:

“As far as I know, it's true, from what The Rock told me. It's the reason why The Rock and Shawn Michaels never worked a match. I think Shawn might have insulted The Rock when he was a kid in Hawaii or something, The Rock’s got a long memory. But yeah, even when Shawn came back, I believe there was one match where it was Triple H vs The Rock in Louisville, Kentucky. Shawn was the special guest ref and they were angling to try and do a storyline feud between Rock and Shawn and I don’t think The Rock wanted to do it."