8 Wrestlers The Rock Couldn't Get Over

Know your role.

The Rock Big Show
WWE

With an act like The Rock, this was never going to reach the traditional WhatCulture 10.

Perhaps the most selfless main event talent ever - he came up at a far more cutthroat time, in which the scope for politicking was vast - The Rock took a more carefree approach to his career than his fellow Mount Rushmore legends Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin. Perhaps he was secure enough in his unbreakably cool aura that he knew he was bulletproof.

Rock did wonders for Kurt Angle in 2000. Angle, always a great wrestler underneath the dorky veneer, never looked more like a legitimate threat when applying the Ankle Lock to Rock at No Mercy. Rock sold it as if Angle was ripping the tendons from his bones. Rock put Brock Lesnar over cleanly with no complaints at SummerSlam 2002 in what was a competitive but decisive passing of the torch.

Even the lowly Hurricane benefited from his association with the altruistic Hollywood Rock in early 2003. Their fondly-remembered RAW match was so much better than it had any right to be because Rock actually took him seriously.

It's not so much that Rock wouldn't put the following eight men over - mostly - it's that he couldn't...

8. Roman Reigns

The Rock Big Show
WWE.com

If only wrestling was as easy as Vince McMahon thought it would be at the 2015 Royal Rumble.

The finish to the titular match wasn't quite as harebrained as it appeared on the surface, but it was perhaps even more irritating. McMahon was aware that The Big Show and Kane were personae non gratae amongst the fandom, and dispatched them to kill our darlings, in slow motion, in the hope that anybody - even Roman Reigns - would get cheered for vanquishing them.

McMahon knew the transparency of this approach, so added a further layer of window dressing by sending The Rock out there to come to Roman's rescue. The deathly quiet swelled to a pop as Rock laid waste to the dinosaurs - but the excitement dissipated the second he raised Roman's hand in victory. This contrived endorsement fell brutally flat - so much so that even Rock, by this point a trained Hollywood actor, involuntarily let the mask slip. The cucumber-cool Rock was so shaken that his expression of shock - even insecurity - underlined the folly. He almost looked concerned for his own brand.

McMahon was aware of the sentiment; he just couldn't help himself.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!