10 WWE Wrestlers Vince McMahon Was RIGHT About

4. Rocky Maivia

Vince McMahon Roman Reigns
WWE

Did Dwayne Johnson make it to the top of the industry as the same Rocky Maivia who arrived in the WWF shortly before the 1996 Survivor Series? Absolutely not. But still, Vince McMahon clearly saw something in the Blue Chipper.

Maivia had an athletic background, was a good-looking fella, and was a third-generation talent who had a wealth of family knowledge to call upon. However, the insta-smiling, granny-hugging, baby-kissing Rocky Maivia just didn't work for the rookie back in 1996.

The charismatic Johnson wouldn't find his feet until he was afforded the chance to turn heel the following year and embrace those "Die, Rocky, Die!" chants. Grabbing this opportunity with both hands, the villainous Rock persona and his allegiance with the Nation of Domination allowed Dwayne to properly sink his teeth into something and showcase his wit and natural timing.

Vince McMahon knew there was something there with Dwayne Johnson. It just took months of negative crowd reactions, a knee injury, and a tweak of character to give Johnson the platform to turn Rocky Maivia into someone who would become a WrestleMania headliner, a multi-time World Champion, and whose energy and electricity would transcend the wrestling industry.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.