not allowed an opinion

[Deezy]

Say no more fam

 

[Grim]

I definitely didn't see more of Rock beyond being a midcarder.

I knew WWE wanted more, but he was stuck with D'Lo, Mark and Godfather at a time none of them were doing much.

That ladder match was a starmaker and honestly I'm surprised it took another year for Hunter to get that push, too.

For sure. I think his Survivor Series '96 debut and Thursday RAW Thursday match with Hunter was the highlight of his pre-main event career. Even with some of his more high profile matches such as Austin or Owen, I don't think they were really *that* good as they could have been. Not sure what it was but his 1997 just wasn't very good.

 

[RLStern]

For sure. I think his Survivor Series '96 debut and Thursday RAW Thursday match with Hunter was the highlight of his pre-main event career. Even with some of his more high profile matches such as Austin or Owen, I don't think they were really *that* good as they could have been. Not sure what it was but his 1997 just wasn't very good.

You were a baby in 1997, Rock got over to the point where he was top 3 entering 1998.




0:37 - his first promo after heel turn, considered one of the best of 1997, to the point where they did had Rock cut a similar one again when he turned heel in late 1998 after he became the top draw as a babyface.

15:34 - Promo against Austin he gets so much heat he gets the entire arena to chant “Rocky sucks!”

7:17 - “The Rock is a lot of things, but a thief isn’t one of them”

8:17 - Causing near riots before he even opens his mouth

8:52 - Cuts a great promo before his match with Austin, refers to himself as the people’s champion and the nickname sticks from here on after. Proceeds to get the biggest heat of the night, this man was OVER.

12:49 After McMahon gives Rock the IC belt from Austin, he proceeds to start a near riot saying that he’s their IC champion and the people’s champion, what started as a troll became true as fans would start to cheer him as a heel as time went on.

Who could forget the beeper promo:



This is when he was sticking out from the roster with his catchphrases, wearing the sunglasses, jewelry and flashy clothes, and this in 97.

His catchphrases(except if ya smell, that comes WM 14 to cap this run off),his character, talking in 3rd person, the look and the popularity/heat from 1997 gets him rolling into 1998, where by the end of 1998 he overtakes Stone Cold Steve Austin in popularity and Rock becomes the top draw of the WWF in the fall of 1998 and beats WCW.

 

[Shane]

What exactly did Rock do in the beeper promo? That was all Stone Cold

 

[RLStern]

What exactly did Rock do in the beeper promo? That was all Stone Cold

The sell, that’s the most memorable part of it, people get jumped in wrestling all the time, not everyone sells looking at a beeper with shock like The Rock did.