When The Rock debuted for WWE (then WWF) he was not the wrestler which we love these days. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The Rock debuted under the name of ‘Rocky Maivia’ at Survivor Series PPV in 1995.
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He got so much negativity in his debut match that the WWE Universe had the signs saying, Die Rocky Die for his next few matches. However, things changed drastically when ‘The Rock’ came under the guidance of Ron Simmons, aka Farooq.
Speaking on his podcast, Something to Wrestle With, WWE’s Senior Vice President, Bruce Prichard talked about how The Rock’s fortune changed in WWE after turning heel and siding with Ron Simmons.
Bruce Prichard thinks The Rock and Ron Simmons were like “father-son”
Speaking on the podcast, Prichard talked briefly about The Rock’s relationship with wrestling legend Ron Simmons, aka Farooq. They were the original members of the faction called “Nation of Domination”.
Prichard said that Simmons completely took Rock under his “wing” and helped him out during Rock’s heel turn.
“Kind of father-son-ish. I think Ron [Simmons] really took Rock under his wing and looked at this opportunity to make a new guy. And saw the potential in Rocky [Maivia]. It was a good way to get somebody over, and Ron and Rock got along and he [Rock] went to Ron for advice and he [Ron] was happy to give it.” Bruce said.
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Fast forward to 26 years. The Rock is one of the biggest names in the sports industry today and the company WWE is like a synonym with his name. Not only in the pro-wrestling business, but ‘The Rock’ is also one of the biggest names in Hollywood.
However, with Survivor Series happening this year, there have been many rumors about him coming back to WWE to challenge his brother WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.
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Do you think ‘The Rock’ will return at Survivor Series? Let us know in the comments.