Your favourite version of the Rock

[abhilash81]

Ever since The Rock debuted in 1996, we have witnessed various versions of The Great One.

First, we had the generic face Rocky Maivia, whose always smiling face used to annoy the hell out of the crowd, leading to the now infamous "Die Rocky die" chants.

Then Rock was given a chance to show off his mic skills when he became a member of the Nation of Domination. People began to embrace this character but it was just the start....

Next we got the people's champ, the Bramha bull, the great one, whatever you wanna call him!! This version lasted the longest and provided some of the greatest promos and insults in WWE history. Let alone the superstars, not even the likes of Coach and Michael Cole were spared by the Rock in his promos. The fact that he could wrestle made him a package.

In 2003, we got the Hollywood Rock, who was obviously a heel and was hated for leaving the people for movies and fame. This one's my personal favourite because of his funny disses and insults towards cities like Sacramento, Toronto and Indianapolis. His Sacramento concert was just pure entertainment and still makes me laugh. Here are some of the classic insults which I still remember....
" Yay yay.. he said Toronto!! yay yay that's where we live.. SHUT UP!"
"Finally the Rock has come back to Indianaaaaaaaaa.... who gives a crap!!"
"But I'm sure to come back when the Lakers beat the Kings in May.."

Then we had the 2011 Rock who just sucked to the core in my opinion. His return promo was gold but then it all went downhill from there and it was clear that he wasn't the same electrifying person he used to be a decade ago. Also, I don't know about others but I always saw a stubborn and arrogant look on this version's face.

So these were the several versions of the Rock over the years. Which one was your favourite??

 

[The Perfect Max]

Without a doubt, the Hollywood Rock from 2003 was the greatest of them all. As great a face The Rock was, I have always felt that he was just that bit better as a heel. Having said this, heels are meant to be booed, and with the things The Rock did during this period, it was hard not to cheer him in some way. Regardless of your feelings towards his sudden switch in career, you couldn't deny he was hilarious and absolute gold when it came to the promos.

The disses you mention above are three that I fondly remember, and I think the whole "Rock Concert" idea was genius anyway. He really went to town this time around, and I think that could've been because we hadn't seen him as a heel since, I don't know, prior to 2000? Whether he was or not, I feel this was not only his best heel run, but his best run with the company. Everything from the leather jacket to his ring entrance music, this version of The Rock was fantastic.

 

[GameOver]

everything during the Attitude era was priceless, he was great as a heel and a face whether it was being a self centered cocky ass to being a joker and making fun of the staff and talent it was all gold as far as i'm concerned.

When he left and then came back, wasn't hooked so much.... Though his bit at WrestleMania 30 was the best of the 3 legends gracing that ring.

If i'm gonna chose and it's a tough call, The People's Champ (face) he was just so damn funny and catchy and all the shit he walked over everyone on the mic, hands down noone could touch him not even Austin unless they were being serious.

 

[Catacomb]

you forgot one, my favorite version corporate rock, the battles with mankind were great and the rock was one of the best heels imo. it is just a shame wwf had to turn him and cut the austin feud short in 1999

 

[Trish Stratus]

I liked him since he came back in 2011. It wasn't his best promos, but still some decent ones, decent lines. If some of them could have been shorter, they would have been great.
Some people were saying Cena was better on the mic because he was saying Rock was never there, "which is so true" How does that make him better on the mic?? Being good on the mic is not about how many obvious facts you can give.

I think he did the best he could, in the position he was in. He had to do 20 minute promos, over and over again for a couple of years, mostly about one guy, who's feud didn't evolve much storyline wise. He didn't have much chance to go off and have other matches/feuds, so every time you saw him, it was like, okay another promo about Cena.
Could anyone else have done better? I don't think so. Just because he wasn't as good as he was, doesn't make it bad.
I think his last 4 matches were the worst I can remember in his career, but I think under the right circumstances, he could still put on a very good match.

 

[Dragon Chief]

I wouldn't really say there were really different versions of The Rock, throughout the years his character was essentially the same, same catchphrases, same ring-work, same Rocky. I think the only major change that occurred with The Rock was the transition period from Rocky Maivia into The Rock.

As far as your question goes, I found The Rock most entertaining in 2001-2003, his promos were hilarious, especially the moments he shared with Booker T and Coach. He had some of his greatest matches during this time as well, Rock V. Taker V. Angle, Rock V. Austin, Rock V. Hogan, Rock V. Angle, Rock V. Brock, Rock V. Jericho, Team WWF V. The Invasion, etc...

I also enjoyed his recent run, feuding with John Cena. That was a match I wanted to see since 2005 and those two made the match feel larger than feel. I'm hoping he returns and has one last major feud.

All in all though, I don't think there is a year where I didn't like The Rock.

 

[CotterHavok]

Hollywood Rock was the best hands down. The last phase of his people's champ stuff was gold too. My favorite scene from that time was Rock meeting the nWo. If you haven't seen it, look it up, pure gold.

When The Rock came back in 2011 I was like a little kid at Christmas, but sadly after the first week the Rock left and Dwayne started showing up. No talking in the third person, the one liners and freshman humor that made him the Rock were gone. I found his last run unbelievably boring, and decided that to me, the Rock retired for good in 2003, and Dwayne Johnson decided to give it a go briefly.

 

[FeeltheBANG16]

HollyWood Rock was awesome. He was so good that the fans who were chanting "You sold out" not a few months before started cheering him AS A HEEL. I felt like Rock could just say whatever he wanted at this time without being hindered by being a face. I mean some of that stuff was pure gold like OP mentioned.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

you forgot one, my favorite version corporate rock, the battles with mankind were great and the rock was one of the best heels imo. it is just a shame wwf had to turn him and cut the austin feud short in 1999

Yup. The corporate champion version of The Rock is the best, By far my favourite as well. The huge sideburns, the sunglasses, his ridiculous shirts. Great insults and a great feuds with Foley and Austin. This is when he really came into his own as a performer and it's this version of his character that was adapted to be one of the biggest babyfaces ever.

 

[Pedigree1]

MY favorite rock,was corporate rock.. Loved that version of the rock,cocky,arrogant,and would just spit on our hero's. The sunglasses,the huge sideburns,his Lincoln Town Car,and the fact he stole the Smoking Skull title from SCSA!!

IMO it was during that period that the rock,came into his own.. That is when the Rock was born.. His character IMO came of the Corporate Champion,absolutely that version was genius

 

[InstantAttitude]

Liked all variations of Rock's persona. I'd probably say the height of my markdom was in 2000 with The People's Champion Rock that variation of him is my favorite as he was the top guy in the business and basically everywhere, from TV shows to Music to Magazines it was cool as a fan to see him all over the place that year.

Hollywood Rock is a close 2nd as that gimmick cemented Rock as my all time favorite.

His return in 2011 is just basically a "blast from the past" type run for me as a fan, I enjoyed see it, was it his best work? Certainly not but it wasn't all that bad in my mind. Really didn't matter as I didn't really care what Rock did as my perception on him wouldn't change.

 

[Seosa]

Personally, the absolute peak of his People's Champion period, so early 2001 to Summerslam 2002.

I suppose his career has been...

Rocky Maivia: Bland and Generic.
Nation Rock: Build up of a heat-gaining heel.
Corporate Rock: Pay-off of the build and a new star.
Early People's Champion 1999: 2nd behind Austin as top face.
2000: A genuine star
2001-2002: Seen as an icon and modern legend at the peak of his career, despite the now irritating build up to Mania 18 as "Past v Future".
2003: Heel Gold
2003-2004: Occasional face returns to please the crowd, keep his name in people's minds and see out his contract.
2011-2013: Returning legend who everyone is happy to see but ultimately his return is somewhat of a let-down.

For the record, I was happy at the time when he won the WWE title last year but that was the 9 year old inside me marking out after being devastated when he lost the title to Brock. Looking back, he should have won the World Heavyweight Title and defended that against Cena, but I'm going off-topic.

 

[cmedge]

For me it was the People's Champion babyface from 1999-2002 and Hollywood Rock. I really love both a lot. I found The Corporate Champion a little overrated but was still amazing. The Rock is my favourite wrestler of all time.

 

[abhilash81]

I suppose his career has been...

Rocky Maivia: Bland and Generic.
Nation Rock: Build up of a heat-gaining heel.
Corporate Rock: Pay-off of the build and a new star.
Early People's Champion 1999: 2nd behind Austin as top face.
2000: A genuine star
2001-2002: Seen as an icon and modern legend at the peak of his career, despite the now irritating build up to Mania 18 as "Past v Future".
2003: Heel Gold
2003-2004: Occasional face returns to please the crowd, keep his name in people's minds and see out his contract.
2011-2013: Returning legend who everyone is happy to see but ultimately his return is somewhat of a let-down.

You summed up his entire career perfectly....
I just can't seem to decide between the Hollywood Rock and the People's champ now. Cause both of them were played to perfection.

 

[Angels]

I would have to say people's champion rock was my favorite, with hollywood rock being my second favorite, because it showed a babyface being a bad ass which is something you don't normally see. But hell, even his 2011 rock still had better promo work than 96% of the wrestlers in the back, which tells you how horrible most wrestlers are on the mike nowadays.

 

[Bearhug]

The Rock in any incarnation was and is pure gold. But Corporate Rock is my favourite. Look, promos and aggressive style, very entertaining and "cool" heel. The rise of The Rock as a top player, historical feuds and tons of entertaining.

 

[relentless1]

the best version of the rock was the "evil elvis" version from early 1998 til around early 2000, thats dude cracked me up. he had some of the funniest lines I've ever heard in my life and he was vicious with his promos as well

 

[DarksideEric]

I think my favorite version was around the Rock n' Sock Connection when it originally started. I don't think I've laughed harder than around that time.

 

[Waylon Mercy]

They all tend to blend together under one umbrella, more or less (for me). The Rock was always the most electrifying man in Sports Entertainment. Whether he was the People's Champ, the Brahma Bull, or Hollywood Rock - he was always the best talker in the business. personal favorite moments include, but are not limited to: The Rock and Sock Connection ("This is Your Life"), the arrival of Y2J, the Austin beer truck incident, "Do you like strudel...?", verbal sparring with the Hurricane, and when he made Jonathan Coachman do the Charleston.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

As a Rock fan from around the time he took over The Nation my favorite version of Rock has always been when he was a heel. I think it stems from liking him when no one else did. When talking heel Rock you have Nation Rock (mid carder), Corporation Rock (start of main eventing) and Hollywood Rock (last run before really going to Hollywood). Even though Hollywood Rock was only about a 2-3 month thing it was my favorite. It was with Hollywood Rock I got three of my favorite moments. Rock concert, Rock beating Austin at Mania and the Hollywood opening to his remixed theme. Seriously one of the best entrance themes of all time.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

The Corporate Rock was my favourite version, definitely.

I loved the arrogant style he had, the massive sideburns and the $500 shirts. I prefer the way he spoke too, compared to the cheesier later versions and although he was hilarious as a face, some of his heel stuff was absolutely fantastic.

His feud with Mankind remains one of my favourites to this day, absolutely brutal! Even on WWE 2K14, there are several different incarnations of The Rock, but I always use the retro version with the original "do you smell what The Rock is cookin'?" theme music, the arrogant strut to the ring and with the crowd setting turned to "Heel".

I miss those days!

 

[MCMG]

I pretty much loved all the versions of The Rock. Heel or Face; late 90's Attitude Era or PG Era he simply performed. His mic-skills are second to none and he was pretty good in the ring.

Corporate Rock is probably my favourite. It's the first version of The Rock I remember and it worked so well. He was incredibly entertaining and he was fantastic with his insults. The feud with Mankind sticks in the memory. The Rock was able to be a comedic act but remain hated which is an incredible feat.

His best ring work was when he was a face in 99 and early 2000. The in ring work with HHH is massively overlooked and was easily Rocky's best.

 

[RedRegan1005]

I have always been a huge Rock fan, so I love to cheer for the guy, but my favorite version of him was also his Hollywood-Heel persona from 2003. He had been a face for the last four years, so when he went back to being a heel it was like, oh yea that's right he's an awesome heel! All the jokes he cracked and that smug Hollywood smile of his even made me, a die-hard fan of the great one, wanna see some one whoop his ass! That just shows how good of a heel he truly was cause he could make even his biggest fans hate him. His entrance theme then was also kick ass. The quiet opening. . . . is cookin . . . .BOOM

I also felt his recent return matches were underwhelming. I didn't think they ever did any good story telling with him. It was just "Hey its the rock! he's a mega star from our most popular period of business! So you're going to watch just because of that" Yet they didn't give any real in depth story telling in his feuds. Thats why if he ever comes back for another match I hope he's a heel cause then he might tell a better story.

 

[Meth Head]

Then we had the 2011 Rock who just sucked to the core in my opinion. His return promo was gold but then it all went downhill from there and it was clear that he wasn't the same electrifying person he used to be a decade ago. Also, I don't know about others but I always saw a stubborn and arrogant look on this version's face.

The thing is, The Rock by nature was a complete, total and absolute jackasshole. He did not care who he was talking to, whether it was an authority figure like Vince McMahon or a noob interviewer like Mark Lloyd. He found a way to mock everybody. No one was safe. No matter how hard his victims tried to counter any of his verbal assaults, they lost.

The fact that the Dwayne-Rock hybrid we have today possesses almost none of those original qualities is precisely the problem I have with his current character. He's too soft. There have been only two occasions since his return where he went on full-on Asshole Rock mode, and that was during the return promo and the badass Twitter shoot.

For all the rest of his appearances, he was just being Dwayne. Whether it's the WWE that's telling him to hold back or he is doing it deliberately, I can't say for sure. But what we have today is a watered down version of his old character, and it's pretty damn sad to see.