The Rock: Face Or Heel?
2. In-Ring Work
Face:
The Rock had such a marvellously expressive face that he could work both roles like a master. He was a fantastic and underrated athlete, with an explosiveness perfect for the fired-up comeback, but his genius was in his eyes. The way he sold a transgression with bulging, incredulous fury put that comeback over before he even mounted it. This is high praise, but there was a real Kobashi-esque quality to the way he registered being pissed the f*ck off.
He was great on the sell, too, etching that face in anguish with a searing authenticity. Everything he did was believable which, given the People's Elbow, is some testament to his physicality, swagger, and fire.
Heel:
That face was even better in the heel role. He used those eyes to instead sell an "Oh-sh*t" barrage of punches when he knew he'd f*cked up. That expression, when it followed in an instant his jaw-jacking of Goldberg, put the guy over far better than 12 months' worth of creative did.
He was a vicious, hilarious, creative c*nt at the 1999 Royal Rumble, and his work with Steve Austin was ridiculously impressive. Austin dwarfed everybody who wasn't on his level. Rock rose up to it with a cockiness that sold the dynamic and the crowd on the idea that he was the next babyface megastar.
Winner: Since working as a face is more difficult: Face.