One of the first third-generation wrestlers in WWE history is The Rock. Professional wrestling is in The Rock's blood as he is the son of Rocky Johnson and the grandson of "High Chief" Peter Maivia. Rock has gone on to become of the biggest stars in WWE history. His career got off to a rocky start (no pun intended) but he flourished, and he became popular with the fans. His rivalry with Steve Austin was at the pinnacle of the Attitude Era with both men at the top of their games.
Rock is the first man to win the WWE Championship seven times which is a remarkable accomplishment. Moreover, Rock is a 10-time World Champion now, and whilst he has mixed it up with the very best that WWE had to offer, Rock has fallen short in some of his pay-per-view matches with some heartbreaking losses.
13 Savio Vega
Fans detested The Rock when he was known as Rocky Maivia, and he defended the Intercontinental Championship against Savio Vega at In Your House: Revenge of the 'Taker. The match was underwhelming, and the Nation of Domination was in Vega's corner.
Maivia was far from the finished article, and he received a chorus of boos from the fans. Despite retaining the Intercontinental Championship, he lost the match by count-out as Crush assaulted him with the Heart Punch.
12 Ken Shamrock
The Rock and Ken Shamrock had been feuding for a large portion of 1998 over the Intercontinental Championship, and they locked horns in the King of the Ring final. This was arguably the best match between the pair.
Rock and Shamrock's chemistry is underrated, and Rock was attempting to be King of the Ring whilst Intercontinental Champion. Ultimately, the Great One came up short to Shamrock who put him away with his debilitating Ankle Lock to become the new King of the Ring.
11 Mark Henry
The Rock turned babyface after he outgrew the Nation, and he collided with Mark Henry at Judgment Day: In Your House. Rock received a lot of cheers from the fans, and they were backing him all the way.
The World's Strongest Man was still green, but he imposed himself well here. Moreover, all thanks to interference from D'Lo Brown, Henry upset Rock after connecting with a big splash.
10 Mankind
The Rock and Mankind have been rivals during their careers, but their first encounter on pay-per-view came at In Your House: A Cold Day in Hell. Rock gave it his best shot, but it wasn't enough with Mankind getting the win over him.
A year later, they collided over the WWE Championship at Rock Bottom: In Your House. Mankind thought that he had done enough to win the WWE Championship but Mr. McMahon announced that he failed to win the title.
9 The Undertaker
The Rock was looking to reclaim the WWE Championship from The Undertaker at King of the Ring 1999. Rock was close to beating Undertaker early on with the Rock Bottom but Paul Bearer pulled the referee out of the ring.
For some reason, Rock and Undertaker didn't have good chemistry together, but their match at King of the Ring was watchable. Moreover, Undertaker's Corporate Ministry ally Triple H interfered, and he retained his WWE Championship with a Tombstone.
8 Big Show
Big Show felt robbed about not winning the 2000 Royal Rumble match as The Rock's feet touched the floor. However, he was presented with another golden opportunity at No Way Out, as Rock's WWE Championship opportunity at WrestleMania 16 was on the line.
Shane McMahon made an unexpected return, and he clocked Rock with the steel chair. Show took advantage, and he booked his spot in the main event of WrestleMania by beating the People's Champion.
7 Triple H
Whilst, Steve Austin and The Undertaker were on the shelf in 2000, The Rock and Triple H took the ball and ran with it. However, before they were main eventers, they battled over the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam 1998, where Triple H dethroned Rock in a ladder match.
A year later, Triple H battled past The Rock at Fully Loaded, and he retained the WWE Championship at Rebellion. The Game earned his fourth victory over Rock in a 60-minute Iron Man match at Judgment Day with a 6-5 scoreline to become a four-time WWE Champion.
6 Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle had one of the greatest rookie years in WWE history, and he was looking to complete a stellar year when he challenged The Rock for the WWE Championship in a No Disqualification match at No Mercy 2000. Angle was accompanied to the ring by Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley.
There were several interferences in this match, and Rikishi attempted to help Rock retain the WWE Championship. Rikishi connected with a savate kick on Rock which was intended for Angle. Angle laid out Rikishi with an Olympic Slam, and he did the same to Rock and he became WWE Champion for the first time in his career.
5 Steve Austin
The Rock's biggest rival is Steve Austin but despite their competitive feud, it has been one-way traffic in the Texas Rattlesnake's favor. No man has beaten Rock more times than Austin on a WWE pay-per-view with Austin registering five wins over his rival.
Austin retained the Intercontinental Championship at D-Generation X: In Your House in December 1997, and he followed it up with two wins in WWE Championship matches at WrestleMania 15 and Backlash 1999. The Texas Rattlesnake continued his dominance over Rock with a win at WrestleMania 17, where he'd become a five-time WWE Champion, and he retained the gold at Rebellion 2001.
4 Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho is another wrestler who had considerable success over The Rock. Rock mocked Jericho for never winning the "Big One" but that changed at No Mercy 2001 when he beat Rock for the WCW Championship at No Mercy 2001.
Jericho would beat Rock in their next two pay-per-view meetings, where he'd become a two-time World Champion at Vengeance 2001. He overcame Rock for the third time in an excellent WWE Championship match at the 2002 Royal Rumble.
3 Brock Lesnar
Fans knew that The Rock was heading for Hollywood, and he was booed out of the building in his WWE Championship title defense against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam 2002. Rock was taken aback, but the Next Big Thing was in fine form.
Lesnar dominated the match with ease, and he absorbed everything that Rock threw at him. Nonetheless, Brock made history as the youngest WWE Champion in WWE history at the age of 25, after he put Rock away with the F5.
2 Goldberg
There was a blockbuster main event at Backlash 2003 between The Rock and Goldberg. It was Goldberg's first match since he joined WWE on the Raw after WrestleMania 19.
Unquestionably, there was a sense of inevitability with Goldberg going over in his first WWE match. Nevertheless, Rock was thriving as a heel in his Hollywood Rock gimmick, and Goldberg opened up his WWE account with a huge win.
1 John Cena
For the second consecutive year, The Rock and John Cena headlined WrestleMania. This time The Rock entered as the reigning WWE Champion and his championship was at stake with Cena looking for redemption at WrestleMania 29.
They failed to replicate their WrestleMania 28 match, but unfortunately, Rock had an adductor injury that hampered the quality of the bout. However, it didn't take a rocket scientist to work out that Big Match John was going to get his revenge, and he beat Rock to once again be the WWE Champion.