The Rock: Face Or Heel?

6. Entrance

The Rock
WWE.com

Face:

The babyface of yore cast his eye towards the crowd with a sense of glad-handing appreciation and encouragement. The Rock, in far cooler contrast, didn't need to rouse a soul. Those people were his. All he had to do, after walking to the ring with an understated, badass determination, was to bask in the support with his eyes closed, conducting that electricity to put over his incredible composure.

Heel:

There was something incredible about the presentation of the Hollywood Rock character. The spectral, high-end production of the remixed, drawn-out theme was so artful. It reflected his new hyper-detached character wonderfully; he descended from a position far above us mutants, in a private helicopter from an opulent skyline, to grace us with his presence one last time. It took an age, too, for the riff to kick in. He was, to paraphrase a legendary wrestling promo, wiping our face in the muck of his avarice. He made a great, if less ostentatious entrance prior to 2003 too. Vince McMahon's strut is undefeated, but the Rock made you think he was packing 12 inches on a floppy down there, he was so damn assured.

Winner: Heel

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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 current Undisputed WWE 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!