WWE Raw In 2004: 10 Best Moments

With Hollywood now his main focus, The Rock drifted away from WWE in the aftermath of Backlash 2003. He would return for WrestleMania XX, teaming with Mick Foley to take on Evolution's Randy Orton, Ric Flair and Batista, but after that he was gone once again.

It was understood by all that Dwayne Johnson was no longer a WWE superstar and that, sad as it may seem, we may never see him wrestle in a WWE ring again. Now he considered was a special attraction, someone whose appearances should be savoured whenever he turned up.

Eugene, Eric Bischoff's 'special' nephew was, believe it or not, one of the hottest acts on Raw in the spring and summer of 2004. Entire shows seemed to revolve around him and it was clear WWE creative were enamoured with him as much as the fans were. The May 17th edition of Raw was no different, with Eugene's fate hyped throughout the night.

On the show, Jonathan Coachman belittled him in the ring, calling him a laughingstock and generally being a bit of an a**hole. A tearful Eugene was about to leave when The freakin' Rock turned up, completely out of the blue, to lay the Smackdown - both verbal and physical - on the current ESPN anchor.

The segment was a blast, with all three on rare form and the crowd going positively gaga for everything The People's Champion said and did (who can forget 'popcorn fart'?). In the end, the babyfaces triumphed and Eugene even got to deliver a People's Elbow to his tormentor.

It was a great segment, a textbook way to use The Rock in his limited capacity and the perfect way to cement Eugene as a star.