Ex-WWE Star Pinpoints Moment The Rock’s Career Took Off

The Rock might be one of the biggest wrestling stars of all time, but when did his career finally begin to take off in WWE?

Heralded as WWE’s first-ever third-generation star when he made his in-ring debut at Survivor Series 1996, it was a slow start to life in the ring for the blue chipper.

The fans didn’t take to the man then called Rocky Maivia, quickly turning on him despite WWE’s best efforts to build a new hero. Famously, once Maivia joined the Nation of Domination and became a heel, things began to change. But one of his old rivals thinks The Rock was always a special talent.

The Rock Saw Things Differently

Speaking with Wrestling Live Online, former WWE Intercontinental Champion Ken Shamrock explained what set The Rock apart from everyone else in the company from early on:

You could tell immediately that his mind was different than everyone else’s.The way that he saw things, how he put matches together, being able to tie in what I did to what he does, being able to have those different swerves when it came to the finishes or even in between in the middle of the match.He just had that mindset that he’d see things before they happen. I saw right away, the mindset was there.

He started to develop that as we were doing our matches together. He started feeling very comfortable and confident in the direction that his character was gonna go.

Shamrock noted that it was when The Rock split from The Nation of Domination and began cutting promos that things changed instantly:

The minute they got him out of the Nation, the minute they handed him the mic, stars went off. It was just unbelievable.I don’t think I’ve ever seen a transformation like that in my life that quick, where literally they just handed him the mic and game over.

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