The Rock

Along with his father and grandfather, several members of Johnson's family are current and former professional wrestlers, including his uncles, the Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika Anoa'i) and cousins, such as Manu, Yokozuna, Rikishi, Rosey, and Umaga. When he declared his intention to join the family business, his father resisted, but agreed to train his son himself, warning him that he would not go easy on him. With help from veteran wrestler Pat Patterson, Johnson had several tryout matches with WWE in 1996; he defeated The Brooklyn Brawler at a house show under his real name, Dwayne Johnson, and lost the others to Chris Candido and Owen Hart. Impressed by his talent and charisma, Johnson was signed to a contract after wrestling at Jerry Lawler's United States Wrestling Association, where he wrestled under the ring name "Flex Kavana". While there, he won the USWA World Tag Team Championship twice with Bart Sawyer in the summer of 1996.
Johnson made his WWF debut as Rocky Maivia, which combined his father and grandfather's ring names; Johnson was initially reluctant to the idea, but was persuaded to go ahead with the name by Vince McMahon and Jim Ross. In addition to taking on the nickname "The Blue Chipper," the WWF played up his connection to his father and grandfather, calling him the company's first third-generation wrestler.
Johnson, who was first portrayed as a clean-cut fan favorite, was pushed heavily from the start despite his lack of in-ring experience. He debuted at Survivor Series in November 1996 and was the sole survivor, and he won the WWF Intercontinental Championship from Hunter Hearst Helmsley on Raw on February 13, 1997, after only three months in the company. Fans, however, quickly grew sick of the one-dimensional good guy character, thanks in part to the increasing popularity of Stone Cold Steve Austin. As a result, a regular occurrence during Johnson's matches was the fans' angry chants of "Die Rocky Die!" and "Rocky Sucks!"
=== Nation of Domination and feuding with DX (1997–1998) ===
After losing the Intercontinental Championship to Owen Hart on the April 28, 1997 edition of Raw is War, and returning from an injury, Johnson turned into a villain. He joined the Nation of Domination with Faarooq, D'Lo Brown, and Kama, using the ring name "The Rock" Rocky Maivia, which was quickly shortened to simply "The Rock". During that time, Johnson attacked and insulted the fans in his promos. In sharp contrast to the overly positive persona of Rocky Maivia, The Rock was a charismatic bully, eventually driving out the group leader, Faarooq in March 1998. The Rock also referred to himself in the third person, starting many sentences with "The Rock says..."
Johnson was soon recognized for cutting arguably the best promos in the industry. In his 2000 autobiography, Johnson attributed this skill to his exceptional performance in speech communications classes at Miami, in which he earned "A" grades. At In Your House: D-Generation X, Austin defeated The Rock in less than six minutes to retain the Intercontinental Championship. The following night on Raw is War, Austin was ordered by Mr. McMahon to forfeit the Intercontinental Championship, which Austin handed over to The Rock before performing the Stone Cold Stunner on him. Rock spent the end of 1997 and the beginning of 1998 feuding with both Austin and Ken Shamrock.
The Rock next feuded with Faarooq, who was angry at the Rock for usurping his position. The two had a title match at Over the Edge, where Rock retained the Intercontinental Championship. The Rock then moved into a feud with Triple H and D-Generation X. Nation members fought DX while The Rock fought Triple H over the Intercontinental Championship. They first had a two out of three falls match at Fully Loaded for Rock's title, where the Rock retained the title in controversial fashion. This led to a ladder match at SummerSlam where Rock lost the belt. At Breakdown, the Rock defeated Ken Shamrock and Mankind in a triple threat steel cage match to become the number one contender to the WWF Championship before feuding with fellow Nation member Mark Henry, effectively disbanding the Nation.
Johnson's popularity as The Rock propelled him to the WWF Championship. The Rock began to conduct many entertaining interviews, and thus he got over with the fans. Fan reaction effectively turned him into a fan favorite, and he began to feud with Mr. McMahon, who said he has a "problem with the people" and thus he should target the "People's Champion" (as The Rock claimed himself to be). A double turn occurred at Survivor Series, when The Rock defeated the then-villain Mankind in the finals of the "Deadly Game" tournament[40] for the vacant WWF Championship,[41] to become the first world heavyweight champion of African American descent in WWF history and the youngest WWF Champion at the time. At the end of the match, The Rock applied a Sharpshooter on Mankind. As he did this, McMahon called for the bell to be rung and then ordered for The Rock to be declared the winner.[40][41] This was a parody of the Montreal Screwjob, which happened one year earlier at Survivor Series.With the plan coming to fruition, The Rock turned into a villain again and sided with Vince and Shane McMahon as the crown jewel of The Corporation stable.[40] This was also a start of a double turn, as Mankind was kicked out of The Corporation and became a fan favorite.[42] Later, The Rock had his own pay-per view, Rock Bottom: In Your House, where he had a rematch against Mankind for the WWF Championship. Mankind won by submission but Mr. McMahon said that The Rock did not tap out and therefore The Rock would retain his title.[42][43] The Rock began a feud with Mankind over the WWF Championship, during which the title changed hands back and forth between the two, first during the main event of the January 4, 1999 edition of Raw is War, when Mankind defeated The Rock with the help of Stone Cold Steve Austin.[44] The Rock captured his second WWF Championship in an "I Quit" match at Royal Rumble in early 1999,[45][46] when a pre-recorded sample of Mankind saying "I quit" from an interview segment was played over the sound system. This latest reign did not last long, however. In a match that counter-programmed the Super Bowl halftime show on January 31, 1999, Mankind pinned The Rock using a forklift truck in an Empty Arena Match where the competitors used everything from bags of popcorn to garbage to punish each other.[47] This feud lasted until February 15 edition of Raw is War, where The Rock won his third WWF Championship in a ladder match after The Big Show chokeslammed Mankind off a ladder.[48][49]With Mankind out of the way, The Rock had to defend his WWF Championship at WrestleMania XV, but lost the belt to Austin.[50] Rock lost the title rematch to Austin at Backlash: In Your House.[51] WWF fans began to cheer The Rock despite him being a villain, due to his comedic interviews, promos and segments which mocked wrestlers and announcers and made him popular to the fans. Rock eventually transitioned into a fan favorite again after being betrayed by Shane McMahon and established a feud with The Undertaker, Triple H and the Corporate Ministry. During this feud, he sometimes found himself fighting alongside Steve Austin. Rock defeated Triple H at Over the Edge before losing to WWF Champion The Undertaker at King of the Ring.[52][53] He continued his rivalry with Triple H, after losing to him in a number one contender's match at Fully Loaded.[54]
At Royal Rumble in early 2000, The Rock entered in the Royal Rumble match and lasted until he and The Big Show were the final two men. In the final moment of the match, The Big Show was seemingly going to throw The Rock over the top rope in a running powerslam-like position, but when they got to the apron The Rock reversed the throw, sending The Big Show to the outside floor and then came back up. The Rock's feet, however, hit the floor first, although those watching the event did not see that. The Big Show attempted to prove that The Rock's feet, not his, touched the ground first. He provided video footage showing that he was the rightful winner. Despite that, the decision that The Rock had won the Rumble match could not be reversed, so a number one contender's match for the WWF Championship at No Way Out was held, which saw The Big Show come out on top after Shane McMahon interfered, knocking The Rock in the head with a steel chair as he attempted to finish off his opponent with a People's Elbow. The Rock later defeated The Big Show on March 13, 2000 edition of Raw is War to regain the right to face the WWF Champion, Triple H, at WrestleMania 2000 in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match where The Big Show and Mick Foley competed, as well. Each competitor had a McMahon in their corner; for Triple H, his on-screen wife and then off-screen girlfriend Stephanie McMahon; for Mick Foley, the matriarch Linda McMahon; for The Rock, Vince McMahon; and in Big Show's corner, Shane McMahon. Triple H retained the title when Vince betrayed The Rock, giving him two chair shots, allowing Triple H to pin The Rock for the three-count.
Over the next couple of months The Rock feuded with Triple H over the WWF Championship. A month after the match at WrestleMania 2000, The Rock had a rematch with Triple H at Backlash in which The Rock won his fourth WWF Championship, after Stone Cold Steve Austin made a brief return and intervened on The Rock's behalf.[67][68][69] Later, at Judgment Day, the two had an Iron Man match with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee, that saw The Undertaker return.[70] The Rock got disqualified and lost the title, as a result of The Undertaker attacking Triple H.[70] The following night on Raw is War, The Rock got his revenge, taking out the entire McMahon-Helmsley Faction with the help of The Undertaker.[71] He later won his fifth WWF Championship at King of the Ring in a tag team match, which saw him team up with Kane and The Undertaker to fight Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Triple H.[72][73] He successfully defended the championship against superstars such as Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Kane, The Undertaker, and Shane McMahon.[68][74][75]The Rock later lost the WWF Championship to Angle at No Mercy in October.[68][76] During this time, he feuded with Rikishi and defeated him at Survivor Series.[68][77] He also participated in a six-man Hell in a Cell match at Armageddon for the WWF Championship, in which Kurt Angle retained the title.[68][78] Around that same time, Rock held the WWF Tag Team Championship with The Undertaker and the duo exchanged the titles with Edge and Christian.[68][79]In 2001, The Rock continued his feud with Angle over the WWF Championship and eventually settled it at No Way Out. After a battle that saw both wrestlers kick out of each other's finishers, The Rock finally came out on top and regained the WWF Championship.[68][80][81] Afterwards, he feuded with the Royal Rumble winner, Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Rock went into WrestleMania X-Seven as the WWF Champion, but he was defeated after Austin turned into a villain and used Mr. McMahon to win the title.[68][82] During a Steel Cage match with Austin in a rematch for the WWF Championship on the following night's Raw is War, Triple H came down to the ring with a sledgehammer. Many thought he was coming to aid The Rock, due to the hatred between Austin and Triple H (and an argument with Vince earlier in the night), but it transpired that he had joined the Austin/McMahon partnership by hitting The Rock instead.[83] Austin and Triple H became a tag team and called themselves "The Two-Man Power Trip".[84] Rock went on to film the movie "The Mummy Returns" after a storyline suspension.[22]
He returned in late July 2001 and had to decide if he wanted to join the WWF or The Alliance during The Invasion, eventually siding with the WWF. At SummerSlam, The Rock defeated Booker T to win the WCW Championship. He lost the WCW Championship to Chris Jericho, with whom he won the WWF Tag Team Championship around the same time, at No Mercy.
Rock defeated Jericho on November 5 edition of Raw is War for his second WCW Championship.[89] The Rock ultimately decided to join the WWF in its battle against The Alliance and was involved in a "Winner Takes All" match at Survivor Series, which saw him end up one on one with Steve Austin. The Rock seemed to be superior to Austin, until Chris Jericho, who was also a member of team WWF and was eliminated a few minutes before that point, came inside the ring and attacked The Rock. Austin took advantage of that and tried to defeat The Rock, but Kurt Angle, a supposed teammate of Austin, proved out to be a mole planted by Vince McMahon and hit Austin in the head with a title belt, allowing The Rock to eliminate him, destroying The Alliance once and for all.[68][90] The Rock closed out the year losing the WCW Championship to Chris Jericho at Vengeance as Jericho became the first Undisputed WWF Champion.[91]In early 2002, Rock feuded with Jericho and challenged him for the Undisputed Championship at Royal Rumble, but lost the match.[92] After losing to Jericho, Rock engaged in feuds and wrestled the likes of The Undertaker at No Way Out and Hollywood Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8.[93][94] On July 21, The Rock won his record-breaking seventh and final WWE Championship, which was known as the WWE Undisputed Championship at the time.[95] He defeated Kurt Angle and The Undertaker in a match at Vengeance, after he hit the Rock Bottom on Angle.[95][96] The Rock successfully defended the title at Global Warning against Triple H and Brock Lesnar by pinning Triple H, who then saved The Rock after Lesnar tried to ambush him after the match.[97] Johnson finally dropped the WWE Undisputed Championship to Lesnar at SummerSlam, ending his final championship reign, and making Lesnar the youngest WWE Champion in history, a record previously held by The Rock.[98]
The Rock's last villainous turn began on SmackDown! in January 2003, where he publicly criticized Hulk Hogan. Their WrestleMania X8 rematch at No Way Out ended with The Rock claiming victory again, with assistance from Vince McMahon and Sylvain Grenier. The Rock later drafted himself to the Raw brand and started a feud with The Hurricane and other fan favorites. He also had a comical gimmick, where he played the guitar and sang songs mocking the host city for the event, which culminated in a "Rock concert" that took place during the main event of the March 24, 2003 edition of Raw, where The Rock mocked the host city, Sacramento, California, because of the Sacramento Kings' inability to beat the Los Angeles Lakers.
When Stone Cold Steve Austin returned, they once again feuded, and The Rock defeated Austin at WrestleMania XIX, which was Austin's last major appearance in a wrestling role. The Rock then had a feud with Bill Goldberg, to whom Rock lost at Backlash. The Rock then turned into a fan favorite once more by engaging in a one night feud against Chris Jericho and Christian. During his previous villainous turn, he had declared Christian as his favorite wrestler, leading Christian to begin calling himself the "new people's champion" and referring to his fans as "his peeps."
The Rock made occasional wrestling appearances up to 2004's WrestleMania XX, when the storyline revolving around Mick Foley had him brought back to help in his feud with Evolution (Ric Flair, Randy Orton, Triple H and Batista).[3] One humorous in-ring segment involved The Rock hosting his own version of "This Is Your Life" for Foley on the March 8, 2004 edition of Raw.[68][106] Rock reunited with Foley after five years, as the Rock 'n' Sock Connection. The duo went on to lose to Orton, Flair and Batista at WrestleMania XX in a handicap match when Orton pinned Foley with an RKO.[68][107] As of 2009, this was Rock's last match.[68]He made sporadic appearances in WWE following WrestleMania, including standing up for Eugene, making a cameo appearance in his hometown of Miami and helping Foley turn back La Résistance.[20] In 2004, he hosted a "Pie-Eating Contest" during the WWE Diva Search and ended the segment by giving Jonathan Coachman a Rock Bottom and a People's Elbow.[20] After this appearance, Johnson reported in several interviews that he was no longer under contract with WWE.[20] He also reported that the reason he was able to continue using the name "The Rock" was part of a dual ownership between him and WWE.[108]On March 12, 2007, The Rock made an appearance on WWE after a near three year absence, appearing on Raw via a pre-taped segment on the titantron. He correctly "predicted" that Bobby Lashley would defeat Umaga at WrestleMania 23 in Donald Trump and Vince McMahon's "Battle of the Billionaires" match.[109]On March 29, 2008, The Rock inducted his father, Rocky Johnson, and his grandfather, Peter Maivia into the WWE Hall of Fame. During his induction speech he roasted WWE superstars such as John Cena, Santino Marella, Chris Jericho, Mick Foley, Shawn Michaels, and Steve Austin.[110] In September 2009, Johnson appeared at a World Xtreme Wrestling show in order to support longtime friend and mentor Jimmy Snuka's daughters debut in professional wrestling.[111]On October 2, 2009, on the 10th anniversary of SmackDown, The Rock made a special appearance in a pre-recorded video where he talked about SmackDown's anniversary. He also hinted about "guest hosting" Raw in the near future.