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The unselfish top guyThe Brahma Bull, The Great One, The Most Electrifying man in Sports and Entertainment – however you wish to glorify him, it is quite obvious that the Rock is one of the WWE’s most gravitational mainstream stars and that his name still carries the corresponding brand value in and out of the squared circle.Perhaps during his hiatus John Cena is undergoing the very same emancipation, in some senses, that eventually sparked the Rock’s transition from the WWE to Hollywood, but a telling difference between the two is the notorious reputation one possesses for holding down talent while the other was much more of a magnanimous team player when it came to putting over other Superstars.Immortalized though he may be on the WWE’s metaphorical Mount Rushmore, The Rock was responsible for putting over quite a few up and coming Superstars who then went on to cement their own legacies in the WWE – not least the likes of Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar.While the two aforementioned Superstars were arguably main event material right from the get go, the true humility and team spirit of the Rock shone through in the instances when he also put over mid-carders that quite obviously were destined to remain so for the entirety of their careers.With reactions ranging from incredulous surprise to chuckling disbelief, it is a testament to the Rock’s popularity and fame that his star did not wane regardless of which Superstars were fortuitous enough to score victories over him; that being said, here is a look at 5 names that do hold surprising victories over the former 10 time World Champion.
#1 Steve Blackman
Initially made famous by his MMA-based wrestling style during the heyday of the Hardcore championship in the company, Steve Blackman has unfortunately been relegated to an afterthought in WWE lore thanks to the family-friendly programming that is a flavour of the day.
Still, as hardcore fans of the Attitude era would remind you, he did provide an interesting moment or two when he was with the company; one of which being his shock victory against the Rock in between an on-going feud with the Nation of Domination.
Perhaps the victory could be accorded better to the cracks that were appearing within the Nation that subsequently fuelled the Great One’s solo run, but D’Lo Brown’s unwitting assist to Blackman allowed him to put away the Rock for a three count and possibly, in hindsight, also cement one of the more lasting moments in his legacy with the company.
Unfortunately for Blackman, while his exploits in the Hardcore division were undoubtedly stellar, his alliance with Ken Shamrock against the Nation of Domination probably highlighted the crests of his non-hardcore career with the WWE, the remainder of which was sadly reduced to a mixture of sex toys and stand-up comedy.
#2 Al Snow
Though the match was eventually decided by interference run by the New Age Outlaws, no one amongst the audience that night in Houston could have been blamed for betting against Al Snow in a match titled as a Brahma Bull-rope match pitting him opposite the Rock.
Having started proceedings with an electrifying promo the likes of which only the Great One could possibly conjure up, what was expected to be a formality of a victory for the Rock against an unfancied Al Snow didn’t quite go to plan for the Brahma Bull.
Ostensibly on Triple H’s hitlist, it was a little surprise that the muscle of the McMahon-Helmsley Era then, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn, ran interference in the match against the Rock – one of Triple H’s chief rivals then.
Ironically, while the McMahon-Helmsley era still holds sway today having braved all the subsequent eras of programming, at least audiences can be assured that the travesty of having another Superstar get one over the Great One could be limited to the likes of an ego assuaging twice in a lifetime showdown against John Cena; a markedly better situation still, you would agree, than suffering a loss to the likes of a messy manaquin weilding gimmick that Al Snow was (in)famous for.
#3 Billy Gunn
In the midst of an eventful 1999, that even included a King of the Ring victory, Bad Ass Billy Gunn who had till then been one-half of the hugely successful New Age Outlaws with Road Dogg was rechristened rather tastelessly as Mr.Ass, but seemed to be well on his way towards the upper echelons of WWE Superstardom.
While his string of victories included big names such as Mankind and Kane, the undoubted feather in his cap was the victory that he scored over the Rock.
Perhaps his program with the Rock only came about due to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s unwillingness to work an angle with him (and who could blame him?), but given the unceremonious culmination of their feud in a ‘Kiss my ass’ stipulation match at Summerslam, Billy Gunn could have hardly fared worse in hindsight anyway.
Maybe his purported push bombed due to a lack of mic skills or the return of other more convincing Superstars from injury, but clearly the capitulation of Billy Gunn’s singles run was evidence that rocking the boat when the sailing was smooth has always been one of the WWE’s most common follies.
#4 Hurricane
In what is easily one of the most entertaining gimmicks of all time, Hollywood Rock found it quite the challenge to manufacture real heat from the crowd; such was his adeptness at executing his persona.
While his main feud when he returned as a Hollywood A-Lister heel was against the retiring Stone Cold Steve Austin, the Rock was regularly hilarious with his guitar strumming and audience dissing exploits.
Such was the entertainment value that the Great One provided as the Hollywood heel that practically any Superstar to be associated with him then would have struck gold; as it stood, it was the WWE’s resident superhero Hurricane that revelled in sharing the spotlight with the Scorpion King.
In a series of rib-tickling backstage promos that followed through for a few weeks, The Rock and Hurricane went back and forth verbally, before Hurricane pulled off an upset victory in their eventual match on an episode of Raw.
Although Hurricane had Stone Cold Steve Austin to thank for the distraction, The Rock’s willingness to put over mid carders and undisputed ability to pull off entertaining segments with just about any Superstar shone through unbridled to the fore – a true yardstick of his greatness that John Cena or indeed Triple H could never hope to replicate.
#5 Rob Van Dam
Probably the highest profile name in this list, it is perhaps not as much surprising as it is justified that a technically sound wrestler of the ilk of Rob Van Dam holds a victory against the Rock.
On the backdrop of the Invasion angle in 2001 that even sowed the seeds of dissent and division within the McMahons, every wrestler held their own personal allegiance to either the WWE or the WCW/ECW Alliance.
While the chaos in the match served as a microcosm of the bad blood between both parties, it was RVD who eventually came up with the roll-up victory over the Rock after Booker T had disfigured a trash can over the Great One’s head.
Considering that it was a Hardcore Championship match and that the Rock could have never been realistically expected to win it owing to his main event status, the victory nonetheless did wonders for RVD’s credibility as a major player for the Alliance and indeed, for the WWE going forward.
While The Rock led team WWE to victory against the Alliance at the traditional Survivor Series 5 on 5 match that ensued, Rob Van Dam ended up on the losing side but would anyway go on to cement his legacy in the WWE with multiple championship runs in the years that followed.
