Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is arguably one of the greatest WWE superstars of all time. Yet, what led to the fans go berserk seeing The Great One’s name on a Top 10 list? When we talk about The Rock, his stature and aura transcends every imaginable record, accolade, or even list. He reigned as one of the marquee attractions for WWE’s Attitude Era and went on to become a leading man in Hollywood.
But despite that, the fans went on to turn on him for being named in the list of best WWE debuts. Instead, they decided to rally behind another legend who is still relevant in the wrestling business today.
The Rock’s WWE debut came along with severe hype as being the first third-generational talent in the promotion. He made his first appearance at the 1996 WWE Survivor Series event under the ring name ‘Rocky Maivia.’ Billed as the ‘Blue chip prospect’ by Jim Ross, he participated in the traditional 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match.
It was the first time the fans got to witness the future megastar. But according to many, The Rock’s debut didn’t match the label of being called a memorable debut. A recent post by Wrestle Ops on Twitter about the Top 10 WWE debuts invited some heat for The People’s champion.
Moreover, that detraction was also due to the fact of The Rock’s name being ranked above current AEW star and legend, Chris Jericho. Fans heavily supported Jericho’s debut to be much better than Hollywood’s highest-paid actor.
Despite the disagreements that involve the picks, there is a common element that surrounds The Rock and Jericho.
The fans favoring Chris Jericho‘s debut over The Rock is certainly a point of contention. However, it comes with its fair share of coincidence. The Ayatollah of Rock n Rolla’s debut was promoted as the mysterious ‘Millennium man’ arriving in WWE in 1999. The clock counting down his debut finally ran out of time in August on RAW.
The man was finally revealed to be Chris Jericho, debuting his ‘Y2J’ gimmick. Jericho arrived while The Rock was present inside the ring. Jericho’s first verbal altercation in WWE coincidentally happened with The Rock who fans believed to be ranked above in the Top 10 list mentioned above. Furthermore, Y2J’s debut will always go down in history as a night to remember.
Source: essentiallysports.com
