WWE News: Jim Ross reveals his first impression of The Rock

What's the story?

Recently, Jim Ross was a guest on The Herd with Colin Cowherd to talk about his long and stellar career in pro wrestling.

One name that was mentioned during the interview was Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Ross spoke about what he thought of the legendary former WWE Superstar when he met him for the first time. He knew The Rock would be a star straight away.

In case you didn't know...

Jim Ross is known mostly for being the voice of the Attitude Era. However, his contributions to the wrestling industry as the WWE Executive Vice President of Talent from 1996 up until 2005 may be even more vital.

In his time in this role, Ross is recognized for having signed many WWE Superstars to the company who then went on to success. Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Randy Orton, Triple H and Brock Lesnar being just some of the names to have been brought to the company by Good Ol' JR.

The Rock, may be Ross' best discovery however.

The Rock's father, Rocky Johnson, and grandfather, Peter Maivia, both wrestled for the WWE, and it was not long before 'The Great One' was signed to the company by Ross in 1997 after giving up on his NFL dreams.

The heart of the matter

During the show, Jim Ross spoke about his part in getting The Rock to sign for the WWE.

It was Ross' job to scout people to sign for the WWE, and of course because of Johnson's family name, he drew the attention of the WWE.

Ross reminisced about how he took The Rock out to lunch at a Cuban Restaurant, trying to persuade him to drop his NFL dreams and go for a WWE career like his family.

According to JR he knew The Rock was 'going to be a star' at that very meeting, citing the fact the Rock was 'built like a cannon and had a 'wonderful ethnicity'. Ross said that this, along with Johnson's bloodline in wrestling, was what made his stardom obvious.

Never one to lack confidence in himself, The Rock apparently told Good Ol' JR at the time that he would be his 'top guy'.

What's next?

You can listen to Jim Ross every week on his Ross Report Podcast or check out his regular blogs on his website.

The Rock will continue to make waves in the world that no other wrestler has done before.

Author's take

There is no doubt about it, The Rock had a star look about him from the get go. And, Jim Ross always had an eye for the best of talents.

The Rock will remain in line with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan in the minds of fans when they think of the best WWE Superstars of all time, but over all, there is no one that has been more successful both in wrestling and outside of the business than The Rock.

Well done to JR for his role in spotting someone that would go on to bring the wrestling and then film industry to heights never seen before. Vince McMahon deserves just as much praise for developing The Rock's entertaining ways.

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