Dwayne Johnson may be a global movie star, but before that, he was The Rock, a ridiculously charismatic wrestler who many fans consider one of WWE’s greatest stars of all time. His persona and catchphrases were a crucial element in the success of the promotion during the Attitude Era, which proved to be one of the most lucrative periods in the company’s history.
Before that, however, The Rock started out as Rocky Maivia, a vanilla babyface who fans quickly grew to hate before he pivoted into his now-classic heel persona. So let’s take a look at The Rock’s early years by evaluating his first ten pay-per-view outings, starting with the very worst.
10 Defending The IC Title Against Savio Vega (In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker)
By the spring of 1997, Rocky Maivia was already the Intercontinental Champion, having defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley at Thursday Raw Thursday a couple of months prior. This rather weak pay-per-view match, which ended in a disqualification, actually proved to be Maivia’s second-to-last title defense, as he’d end up losing the IC Title to Owen Hart on an episode of Monday Night Raw about a week later.
While it was surprising that Rocky already had a title belt at this point, this is one of those matches that shows how inexperienced he still was at the time.
9 Rocky’s First ‘Mania (WrestleMania 13)
Rocky Maivia’s fifth PPV match was actually his first WrestleMania appearance, as he defended his Intercontinental Championship against The Sultan, who would later find much more success as Rikishi.
In the aftermath of this lackluster match, Maivia’s father, Rocky Johnson, came out to help him fight off The Sultan’s managers, but the crowd didn’t seem to know or care who he was. Ultimately, the muted reception to Maivia would lead to his reinvention into The Rock.
8 The Nation vs. Legion of Doom (In Your House 18: Badd Blood)
The 18th In Your House PPV would go down in history for its main event where Shawn Michaels took on The Undertaker in the first-ever Hell in a Cell match. But its opening bout was a forgotten handicap match where Rocky Maivia -- now a member of the Nation of Domination -- teamed up with Kama Mustafa and D-Lo Brown against The Legion of Doom.
The match isn’t anything special by any stretch, and the Nation doesn’t exactly seem particularly capable given that it takes three of them nearly 13 minutes to beat a team of two.
7 First Match With Mankind (In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell)
The Rock and Mankind would have quite a history together, with not only a legendary “odd couple” tag team as The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection but also one of the sickest Attitude Era matches ever at Royal Rumble 1999.
A couple of years before that, however, Rocky and Mick would wrestle in the opener to In Your House 15, which would actually end up being Maivia’s last PPV bout in his initial babyface form, as he’d soon turn heel and join the Nation of Domination.
6 First Match Against Triple H (In Your House 13: Final Four)
After Rocky Maivia beat Hunter Hearst Helmsley for the Intercontinental Title at Thursday Raw Thursday, the future Triple H got a rematch for his lost title days later at In Your House 13. This perfectly acceptable match -- peppered with interference from Triple H’s rival Goldust -- would end with Rocky executing a bridging German suplex for a three-count, but the post-match would prove to be more important.
After Rocky won, Goldust would get attacked by Triple H’s newest companion, a debuting Chyna.
5 Sole Survivor (Survivor Series 1996)
The 1996 Survivor Series ended up being Rocky Maivia’s big debut, in which he took part in an elimination tag match alongside Jake Roberts, Marc Mero, and Barry Windham against Triple H, Jerry Lawler, Goldust, and Crush.
Shockingly, when the smoke cleared, Maivia emerged the sole survivor of the match, having eliminated Crush and Goldust. It was an impressive debut, but in retrospect, it’s possible that WWE may have tried too hard to push Rocky as a big deal, as it would ultimately backfire.
4 Not The Sole Survivor (Survivor Series 1997)
A better but less historically significant Survivor Series outing had Rocky Maivia and The Nation of Domination take on a babyface team of The Legion of Doom, Ken Shamrock, and Ahmed Johnson. Shamrock debuted earlier in the year, so he ended up getting the spotlight in this fun Survivor Series match, eliminating D-Lo Brown followed by Rocky Maivia to be the sole survivor.
In the aftermath of this bout, Shamrock and Maivia would engage in a full-on feud, clashing at 1998’s Royal Rumble, months later at WrestleMania, and again at King of the Ring.
3 Rocky’s First Rumble (Royal Rumble 1997)
Two months after his Survivor Series debut, Rocky Maivia took part in his first Royal Rumble in January of 1997. There, he’d enter fairly late in the Rumble, at number 25, and last about 13 minutes before being eliminated from the match by Mankind without eliminating anyone himself.
While the match is a blast and stacked with talent, it would be three years before The Rock would win the Royal Rumble.
2 Rock vs. Shamrock (Royal Rumble 1998)
The Rock’s encounter with Ken Shamrock during their Survivor Series match would lead to Shamrock challenging for Rock’s Intercontinental Championship at 1998’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view. It’s a strong match, with a disqualification finish caused by Rock framing Shamrock by slipping a pair of brass knuckles into Shamrock’s trunks. That would lead to another title match at WrestleMania XIV.
That match, too, would end in a DQ, but in an exciting fashion as Shamrock flips and basically tries to murder The Rock.
1 First Match Against Austin (In Your House 19: D-Generation X)
The Rock’s biggest rivalry in WWE would be with fellow Attitude Era star Stone Cold Steve Austin, with some of their best matches happening later in the period. But the end of 1997 marked their first singles match as The Rock -- backed up by the Nation of Domination -- challenged Austin for his Intercontinental Championship.
The match lasts less than six minutes but has tremendous energy to it, and potential that would be fulfilled down the line.