15 EXACT Moments Failed WWE Attitude Era Gimmicks Actually Got Over
4. The Rock (March 29, 1998)
It’s hard to determine at which specific point the Rock got over because he seemed to do something very cool and or funny every single week from December 1997 onwards. This was in stark contrast to a failed babyface run so poorly received that fans actually demanded his death.
Was it the time when Steve Austin sent a ‘316’ message to his beeper? As much as the Rock’s bug-eyed expression is used as a meme reaction to this day, possibly not. The Rock didn’t make a building explode after that. When he and Austin were the final two men standing in the 1998 Royal Rumble match, the crowd didn’t light up at the prospect of two stars throwing hands; they were waiting for Austin to win. In an even more heavily used meme, the Rock was sensational when he rolled his eyes at Faarooq in a backstage segment at No Way Out 1998 - but still, people mostly thought of the Rock as a funny background guy who could pop you by chewing the scenery a few minutes at a time.
It might have all clicked when Rock was interviewed by Gennifer Flowers in a pre-taped interview at WrestleMania 14. Rock was incredible. His line “He’d probably be a hung jury, if you smell what the Rock is cooking” was irresistibly arrogant and hilarious word play, and the realisation instantly hit. You didn’t just want to laugh at this dude making a fool of Faarooq when he wasn’t looking; you could listen to him and piss yourself laughing for minutes on end.
There’s never been a more doomed feud than heel Rock versus babyface Faarooq. Absolutely nobody was cheering for that poor bastard.