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The Undertaker is widely viewed as one of the greatest WWE Superstars of all time. In a recent podcast episode, the 2022 Hall of Famer admitted he did not think The Rock would succeed in wrestling after watching his debut.
In 1996, The Rock began his WWE career under the name Rocky Maivia. Although he impressed from an in-ring perspective, many fans disliked the up-and-coming talent's babyface persona.
On Six Feet Under with Mark Calaway, The Undertaker recalled how he thought The Rock's career was all but over after his debut. He also believed that the Hollywood star's family legacy in the wrestling business would not count for much:
"I'll never forget, I remember him [The Rock] coming out at The Garden, he had the funny colored thing on and the whole deal," The Undertaker said. "I was like, 'Oh, this kid ain't gonna make it. He ain't got a chance. He's dead in the water.' I thought him being a legacy [wrestler] would give him a couple of years that he probably wasn't gonna deserve." [From 15:14 – 15:40]
The Rock turned heel in 1997 and joined the villainous Nation of Domination faction. He went on to become the group's leader before cementing his status as one of WWE's most charismatic singles stars.
The Undertaker admired The Rock's willingness to improve
Before joining WWE, The Rock's dreams of making it as a footballer were dashed when he went undrafted in the 1995 NFL Draft. He was also cut from the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League in his first season.
Although The Undertaker doubted The Rock's on-screen persona at first, he could see that his former opponent was always motivated:
"He is the American dream. He wanted to play football – that fell through. There's a lot of times when something like that happens, people cave, and they never rebound. Even when I thought he sucked, he was always motivated, and he wasn't like having a pity party. He was picking people's brain. He was around the guys that knew what the hell was going on and trying to figure out what it was that he was gonna bring to the table." [From 15:52 – 16:34]
In the same podcast episode, The Phenom spoke about the time he lambasted the WWE roster after a disappointing overseas show.
What are your thoughts on The Rock? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Six Feet Under with Mark Calaway and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
