The Rock Talks Wrestlers Lobbying To Have Him Removed From WrestleMania XV Main Event

[Chrome]

The Rock Talks Wrestlers Lobbying To Have Him Removed From WrestleMania XV Main Event, Steve Austin - WrestlingInc.com

On Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's recent Facebook Live Stream, the former WWE Champion talked about other professional wrestlers wanting to squash his WrestleMania 15 main event match against 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin.

"What makes that [match] so special was because it was my first WrestleMania as Heavyweight Champion and there were so many dudes in the locker room who were trying to squash that main event," Rock said. "It was like a long ass line that formed to Vince McMahon's office where all the top guys, many of them, were trying to stop that main event. 'Rock has no business being in the main event', 'he's a young kid', 'he's a rookie', 'he has no business being in it', but Vince had wanted that main event and one dude, the only dude, by the way, who could say 'yes' or 'no' to it, was Steve Austin and that cat went to them, the old man, Vince, and came to me, and he was like, 'I want you to be [my] partner. You're my partner - you're my dancing partner in this thing.'

"I appreciated that so much and just in that moment, we created just this great bond of trust and we went on to headline three other WrestleManias. We went on to break records. We went on to break every attendance record, every arena record across the United States. It was amazing and it was a hell of a run."

The Rock called Austin a "good man " and a "very good friend". On Austin putting his name on the line for the Rock, the Rock concluded, "I'll never forget it. I appreciate that, Steve."

In addition to talking about memorable professional wrestling matches, the Rock provided workout and diet tips To watch the video in its entirety, click here.

Any idea who was trying to stop that main event?!?!

 

[Con T.]

Shawn.

 

[Chrome]

Sidenote: That video in the OP is 30+ minutes on facebook, watching the whole thing and listening to all the old time stories he shared.. I have a hard time understanding how anyone could dislike The Rock.

 

[jmt225]

Shawn.

Shawn wasn't in the company at the time.

My guess would be Taker. He knew his match was going to be shit and probably resented Rock at the time for getting the ME with the hottest act in the company.

Sidenote: That video in the OP is 30+ minutes on facebook, watching the whole thing and listening to all the old time stories he shared.. I have a hard time understanding how anyone could dislike The Rock.

Agreed. He's a genuinely good person.

 

[Chrome]

Agreed. He's a genuinely good person.

He went through a lot apparently (listen to Mark Henry's story on Jericho's podcast) but in the end...greatness prevailed.

[youtube]83GousvuxTs[/youtube]

Those bastards wanted to jump him and put shit in his food

 

[Alastor]

I have a hard time understanding how anyone could dislike The Rock.

New guy gets into the business and fast-tracked to the top over the guys already there. Many people would resent that in most line of work, especially in a business like wrestling where workers spend so much time travelling together and building camaraderie.

 

[Alastor]

Shawn wasn't in the company at the time.

My guess would be Taker. He knew his match was going to be shit and probably resented Rock at the time for getting the ME with the hottest act in the company.

Shawn was still around. My guess is it was the Kliq and maybe Foley's buddies like Al Snow that lobbied for the Rock to not be in the main event.

 

[Con T.]

Shawn was still around. My guess is it was the Kliq and maybe Foley's buddies like Al Snow that lobbied for the Rock to not be in the main event.

Shawn was also lobbying for a one on one match between Mankind and Austin, at Wrestlemania.

Granted, that comes from Have a Nice Day, but I don't imagine Foley as a liar. A bit of an ego, yes, but not a liar

 

[Nate DaMac]

It was definitely Shawn. It's been openly spoken about by several people. I'd assume Hunter was in on it as well.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

So much Hunter I'm sure

 

[OYDK]

I always heard that it was Shawn and Hunter lobbying to get HHH in the main event instead of The Rock.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Gotta go with Triple H and possibly Shawn just because he didn't work as a performer by that point. I don't see it being Foley as he just busted his ass to get Foley ready and The Undertaker doesn't seem like the type that would try to squash Rock, especially at that time. Triple H makes the most sense as it could've very easily been him who got the nod to turn heel at Survivor Series if he wasn't recently injured and you know Shawn would've had his back.

I'm gonna go with that as it seems to make the most sense.

 

[Uncle Sam]

The story according to Mick Foley is that it was planned to be a three-way between Steve Austin, The Rock and Mankind for the WWF title at WrestleMania 15. Shawn Michaels, who was working backstage at the time, possibly in an attempt to oust The Rock from the main event, stood firm that the main event of WrestleMania should never be a triple threat. However, it was Mankind who got dropped from the match instead.

Of course, it was a mere five years before Michaels himself was main eventing WrestleMania in a triple threat, the cunt.

 

[#tamale]

I could see it being Undertaker. You think he was happy wrestling Big Bossman at Wrestlemania?

I keep waiting for Russo to chime in. "Bro, Rocky was going to be buried but I convinced Austin that this guy was going to be bigger than sliced bread and Austin turned to me and called me a genius. God honest truth bro!"

 

[Lee]

http://www.wrestlezone.com/editorials/515885-russos-road-stories-vol-5

That's Russo's take.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

http://www.wrestlezone.com/editorials/515885-russos-road-stories-vol-5

That's Russo's take.

Too bad Shawn wasn't around next year for that Fatal 4 Way Elimination for the title. That match had no business being anything but HHH vs. The Rock

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

http://www.wrestlezone.com/editorials/515885-russos-road-stories-vol-5

That's Russo's take.

That's one of the most interesting articles I've ever read on this site.

Mick Foley definitely deserved a WrestleMania main event. Unfortunately, there was never a good time to do it. I could imagine his excitement and disappointment because of Russo's messages. The fact that Foley understood makes me gain a lot of respect for him.

Also, I never knew how big of a prick Shawn was backstage. Ultimately, Austin vs. Rock was the better main event, but there were better ways to handle that situation.

Back to the original topic, I can understand how other wrestlers wouldn't want Rock to be in the main event. He was very young (compared to other WM main eventers) and fairly inexperienced. Like I said before, it was ultimately the best decision.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Shawn and Hunter. If anyone else was involved, probably the rest of DX and maybe Jarrett.

Doubt it was Taker. He was helpful to The Rock and put him over a couple of times in late 1998. Even if he did lobby to have him removed from the main event, I don't see what he would've gained from it. It's not like Vince would've put him in the WM main event with Austin instead, they had already faced each other on PPV in 98 two times.

I think it was just Shawn and Hunter, and Rock only said it was a "long line of guys" to make it less obvious who he was referring to since he has made up with Shawn and Hunter.

 

[therockiswwf]

Remember how mad Punk was at Miz main eventing Wrestlemania? Miz commented on that by saying everyone should have that attitude. If they are not the main event, they should be mad.

Same situation here.

 

[Stone Cold Tea]

Agreed. He's a genuinely good person.

Totally true man. My mate started seeing this girl a couple of weeks ago and she said she didn't like The Great One and that he was a fake guy who only did it for the publcity.

SideNote; Anthony Joshuas Heavyweight title match was short than the time it took me to write this post. I just sat here through 3 hours of shit boxing waiting for this to not even see the fucking fight because I was typing

 

[Slash-LN]

Why wouldn't it be Undertaker?

Undertaker has a reputation for wanting to do what's best for business. You really think having a rookie in the main event is best for business in the mind of an old school guy? Fuck not it isn't.

You think it was just one or two guys?

He said it was a long ass line of all the top guys. Many of them. And Steve was the only one who told Vince he wanted Rocky to be in the main event.

So yeah, Shawn and Hunter are clearly MANY guys. I bet Taker was there. I bet Foley was there. I bet Kane was there. Big Boss Man maybe. Even though Bob Holly wasn't a top guy I bet he was there. I could see Jeff Jarrett there since he thinks he knows everything about wrestling and how to book. Maybe Owen Hart. Big Show maybe.

I could see all those guys talking to Vince. And with X-Pac being part of the kliq I bet he'd go in there and talk to Vince if Shawn was pushing to have Foley in the match.

 

[Shocky]

I thought HBK was common knowledge? Rock and Michaels had legit beef.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

Remember how mad Punk was at Miz main eventing Wrestlemania? Miz commented on that by saying everyone should have that attitude. If they are not the main event, they should be mad.

Same situation here.

And I gotta say, as my unpopular opinion, I totally think that The Miz deserved the spot.