Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Shawn Michaels are undoubtedly two of the most electrifying performers the WWE has ever seen. Yet they deprived fans of what could have been some really great matches.
The Rock vs Michaels at WrestleMania would have been quite something. But, with Michaels supposedly done with wrestling for good, all we'll ever get to do is imagine.
Fans have likely questioned the fact that the pair never went at each other on the main stage. And, on Sunday's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer would answer a question from a fan who wanted to know why The Rock refused to work with the Heartbreak Kid for so many years.
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According to Meltzer, The Rock wasn't keen on working with HBK because he nearly came to real-life blows with him on one occasion. It's also thought that Michaels being in Triple H's corner when both stars were gunning for the top spot in the WWE left Johnson feeling a bit aggrieved and he simply wanted nothing to do with the now-retired star after he became the top dog.
“There was a time when the Midnight Rockers were on a show in Hawaii and Rock’s grandmother was the promoter and I guess there were problems in the dressing room and Rock wanted to beat up Shawn. I think Shawn was acting like a d*ck," Meltzer said.
“Then when Rock was on his ascension [in the WWF in 1997] … there were certain people, and Shawn being one of the key ones wanted to protect Hunter.
“Hunter and Rock were vying for the same spot. A lot of people saw that Rock had a lot of friends and he had a lot of potential. They wanted to make sure that he didn’t get there and he was smart enough to see that it happened. When he got to where he was a really big star, he didn’t want to work with him.”
The problems between the two stars stemmed from the '80s and carried on into the 2000s. In 1997, Triple H and HBK pushed for Bret Hart to beat The Rock in a TV match so Hunter could later beat Hart, per Meltzer. Bret, though, refused to beat Johnson because he felt like the up-and-comer had some real potential.
Meltzer also claims that Hunter and Michaels tried getting Mick Foley into the WrestleMania 15 main event simply so they could keep Johnson out of the prime-time bout with Steve Austin.
What This Means
The Rock doesn't seem like the type to hold a grudge, and while he made sure to steer clear of working with HBK for many years, the two buried the hatchet sometime after.
The secret feud between The Rock, Triple H and Michaels did the WWE very little justice. And if the above really was the case, it kept fans from seeing two of the best wrestlers of their generations go at each other.
Isn't that just a shame.