Could there be any other choice? The Rock may have started out as the less-cool Rocky Maivia, but he quickly found his niche as a heel in the Nation of Domination. His promo style was peppered with influence from the coolest competitors of the 70s and 80s (Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Iceman King Parsons), and he wasn't afraid to share his opinions on any matter - and back them up, if it came to it. As the years passed, the self-proclaimed "People's Champion" evolved even more, finding himself on the side of the fans and unveiling an endless stream of memorable catchphrases the could be used any- aw, it doesn't matter when they could be used! The Rock was so cool that Hollywood took notice. He began getting leading roles in major motion films, something unheard of for a wrestler. Today, he's one of the biggest stars on the planet, with billion-dollar franchises to his name and scripts flooding his desk. And still, he makes time to come back and wrestle for his original fans. The best part, though? He's still the same jabroni-beating, pie-eating, crystal-clear, have-no-fear, whether-in-the-ring-or-on-the-screen, The-Rock's-a-six-foot-five-ass-kicking-machine cool guy. He's still the People's Champion.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
