7 Greatest Backfires In Wrestling History

When The Rock first debuted in WWE in 1996, he was far removed from the character that would end up bringing him fame. The Rocky Maivia of the mid-'90s was a pure babyface without nuance, and was pushed hard. Before long, fans started to resent him, and that resentment soon turned to hatred.

Maivia won the Intercontinental Title, but fans chanted "Die, Rocky, die!" during his matches. After losing the belt, he was put on the shelf with a knee injury, and when he returned, it was time for a change.

Maivia took all of the vitriol the fans had thrown at him to reinvent himself as The Rock - the most self-important, egomaniacal heel in a sport full of self-important, egomaniacal heels. It also didn't hurt that he was the best promo man in wrestling, who could verbally excoriate the fans as he took them to task for the way they had treated him.

Fans still hated The Rock, but now, they were having fun booing him. He soon became the best heel in the company, and when he turned babyface, fans absolutely loved him. Another quick heel turn followed by a face turn made him WWE's top star of all time, and that allowed him to transition to a very successful career as a movie star.