You probably have heard of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, the pro wrestler who made the jump to full-time Hollywood actor a few years ago. If you've seen him onscreen, you know he's a charismatic guy in any role he plays. If you've ever heard the Rock on the mic (and chances are, if you have a television set, you've seen him on the mic once or twice), you know he's damn entertaining. Wrestling fans knew this man as Rocky Maivia before the rest of the world knew him as the Rock, and we knew that, while he was great in the ring, he was unsurpassed on the mic in front of millions (and millions!) of fans.
When the Rock left wrestling for a while to film "The Scorpion King", fans were eagerly awaiting his return. When he came back, however, his entire attitude changed. He was no longer the ass-kicking "people's champion" we knew. He was now an arrogant ass with an enormous ego. While fans were meant to revile this new Rocky, instead they loved him. This was, at least in my opinion, the Rock at his absolute best.
For the benefit of theO, here are great moments in the era of "Hollywood" Rock.
The Rock makes a surprise appearance in Toronto. The fans were ecstatic to see their beloved people's champion return. This was short-lived, however, when the Rock delivered his trademark "Finally..." catchphrase with an interesting twist. He then proceeds to verbally run down the inhabitants of Toronto, as only he can.
During this time, Rocky would embark on a memorable feud with the Hurricane, of all people. The barbs the Rock would hurl at the 'Cane were priceless.
Here, the Great One has a chat with Eric Bischoff. He clearly displays his new prima donna attitude here. And may I add, he plays it to perfection.
The Rock would clash with Steve Austin for the last time at Wrestlemania, but before that, he held what was dubbed "the Rock Concert". This was absolutely classic. They did it one more time after this, but it didn't have the same feel.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed this viewing of the Rock's "Hollywood" era. It was a lot of fun to bring it to you!
-Flint
