The Rock: Face Or Heel?
9. Crowd Interaction
Face:
The Rock could and did generate a pop by flaring his nostrils and closing his eyes. He didn't so much have the crowd hanging on every word, but every facial tic. As a face, when he encouraged you to sing along with the Champ, you did. The call and response was booming. He was a showman you wanted to impress. His charisma was such that he subverted everything. The babyfaces of yore had to implore the crowd to get behind them; Rock felt above them because all he had to do was trail off.
When he actively discouraged you...
Heel:
The magic of Hollywood Rock was inimitable. He was too cool for you. He was over you, and over all of this, and just because he could, he decided to be the most entertaining version of himself, with the exit door ajar, out of pure, hilarious spite. And those fans resented him for it incredibly, incredibly loudly. To a point.
He performed in an arena full of heartbroken losers desperate to make eye contact with him, and when he didn't, they called him a f*cking bitch in a huff. The oscillation Rock conducted in early 2003 was something else. He didn't so much makes fans laugh as make them corpse, such was their poor attempt at resolve.
Winner: Heel