What If... The Rock Didn't Go To Hollywood?
To start with the obvious: the Hollywood Rock gimmick, widely considered one of the most entertaining runs of Johnson’s career, wouldn’t have happened.
The character couldn’t have existed had he not starred in The Scorpion King. Rocky would’ve likely been forced to turn heel anyway, as increasing portions of the audience had turned on him ahead of the 2002 Lesnar feud, though his unparalleled charisma means he’d have likely made it work even without the Hollywood hook.
In all likelihood, Rocky would’ve followed a career path similar to the man intended to replace him: John Cena.
He’d have remained a full-time roster member deep into his late 30s, adding countless new accolades, awards, and championships to an already glittering resume. The topic of “will Cena eventually break Ric Flair’s record of 16 World Titles?” wouldn’t have ever come up, because Rock would’ve surpassed ‘The Nature Boy’ sometime in the 2000s.
May fans have tired of Johnson as WWE’s sole franchise player in Austin’s absence? Possibly. They did so multiple times throughout his career, though each was solved by a timely face/heel turn. The company can only go to that particular well so many times, however, and diminishing returns would’ve kicked in had Rock flip-flopped continuously for another decade.
Feud-wise, his rivalry with Triple H would’ve been done to death. Old rivalries with the likes of Chris Jericho and The Undertaker could've seen revivals, and being around full-time would’ve allowed Rocky to work extended programmes with the next generation - the Randy Ortons and Batistas of the world.
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