![He says he starts losing interest if don'teet up often [closed]](https://cdn.sstatic.net/Sites/interpersonal/Img/apple-touch-icon@2.png?v=17e836faa592)
The seven matches The Rock’s does not want fans to see before WrestleMania
If his status for WrestleMania 41 is uncertain, The Rock’s status as a wrestling legend is not. In 2025, Dwayne Johnson is regarded as one of the biggest names in Hollywood, a genuine blockbuster sensation with hits, including Fast and Furious franchise, Moana and Jumanji under his belt. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson sits on the board of TKO, effectively WWE’s parent companyWWE Though an absolute definition of a ‘household name’ – everyone knows who The Rock is, right? – the Miami native came from relatively humble beginnings, and owes much of his fame and fortune to the wrestling business. Debuting in WWE in 1996 at the Survivor Series in New York’s Madison Square Garden, he hit the heights early on after a relatively short training period under the company’s developmental umbrella. Before too long he was a mainstay of the Attitude Era – arguably WWE’s most popular and memorable period in time – and well on his way to the first of his eventual ten world title reigns and his current position on the Board of TKO – the company that owns WWE. He is, years removed from his wrestling prime, responsible for many a classic. His WrestleMania trilogy with Stone Cold Steve Austin stands the test of time, as did his work with Triple H in the late 1990s and beyond. As with almost any other performer, however, Johnson has had his fair share of bad days at the office. Quite whether fans will see him this Saturday or Sunday at WrestleMania 41 remains to be seen, but there will have been a fair few nights The Great One might’ve wish fans hadn’t been able to see him at all. As such, talkSPORT has compiled a good-natured but handy list of some of the lesser lights of The Rock’s in-ring career, and the bouts for which he likely wouldn’t want you be trawling Netflix, YouTube and beyond for… Triple H: Future rivals as young pups The Rock and Triple H, now at the head of WWE as its creative force, wrestled in the better part of 200 matches involving each other during the course of their in-ring careers. Among their early meetings was a February 1997 clash at In Your House: Final Four, at a time the young Rock pup was Intercontinental Champion. The pair were early in their respective WWE journeys at that point and, though they tried to quicken the pace with a flying crossbody, DDT and a neat German suplex from which Rock would win, the fact the match is remembered for what happened at its conclusion than before the bell speaks volumes. Goldust had come out to distract Triple H – then Hunter Hearst Helmsley – leading to the debut of Triple H’s new bodyguard, who we’d later come to know as DX icon Chyna. WWE/NetflixThe Rock and Triple H would go on to have far more memorable meetings than their In Your House: Final Four effort[/caption] That was unforgettable – the 12 minutes that preceded it, not so much. A WrestleMania first for young Rocky The Rock featured at WrestleMania for the very first time in 1997 as Mania 13 aired from Chicago. It was a fairly routine night for the young grappler who’d later go on to become one of the biggest icons in the business, but something clearly felt off. Fans weren’t buying this fresh-faced Intercontinental Champion. He beat The Sultan – who would later become Rikishi, for those keeping score – with the help of his dad, wrestling legend Rocky Johnson. As a good guy coming out on top, it was fine enough, but you could feel a resentment building within the WWE fanbase who resented the force with which ‘Rocky’ was, in their minds, being force-fed to them. That very narrative served to sew the seed for Rocky Miavia to morph into The Rock, so all’s well that ends well. Decades later, though, it still feels like his match at WrestleMania 13 doesn’t fit. The Rock V Hulk Hogan – Not a classic No, before you say it, it’s not that one. Their meeting at WrestleMania X8 is the stuff of wrestling folklore – two wrestling legends leaving it all laying to the adoration of a thronging Canadian crowd. The Rock wasn’t always the finished article of style, charisma and athleticismGetty The original Hulk Hogan-Rock tussle was a far brighter affair than the re-run Presumably the epic at Mania and the reception it got was all WWE needed to convince them to run the match back again at No Way Out in 2003. Going a spritely 12 minutes, Hogan and Rock delivered another solid affair in terms of its star power: the crowd – Canadians again – lapped up seeing the legends go at it, but the ending left a taste bad enough to threaten the legacy of the original. A rogue referee, interference and steel chair – with Vince McMahon at the thick of it – allowing Rock to avenge his Mania defeat (sort of) with a pinfall win. A Deadly Game with The Undertaker The Rock ended the 1998 Survivor Series as WWE Champion after a stunning heel turn (he became a villain, the bad guy of the piece) that saw him align with McMahon to become the Corporate Champion – a pla
If his status for WrestleMania 41 is uncertain, The Rock’s status as a wrestling legend is not.
In 2025, Dwayne Johnson is regarded as one of the biggest names in Hollywood, a genuine blockbuster sensation with hits, including Fast and Furious franchise, Moana and Jumanji under his belt.
Though an absolute definition of a ‘household name’ – everyone knows who The Rock is, right? – the Miami native came from relatively humble beginnings, and owes much of his fame and fortune to the wrestling business.
Debuting in WWE in 1996 at the Survivor Series in New York’s Madison Square Garden, he hit the heights early on after a relatively short training period under the company’s developmental umbrella.
Before too long he was a mainstay of the Attitude Era – arguably WWE’s most popular and memorable period in time – and well on his way to the first of his eventual ten world title reigns and his current position on the Board of TKO – the company that owns WWE.
He is, years removed from his wrestling prime, responsible for many a classic. His WrestleMania trilogy with Stone Cold Steve Austin stands the test of time, as did his work with Triple H in the late 1990s and beyond.
As with almost any other performer, however, Johnson has had his fair share of bad days at the office.
Quite whether fans will see him this Saturday or Sunday at WrestleMania 41 remains to be seen, but there will have been a fair few nights The Great One might’ve wish fans hadn’t been able to see him at all.
As such, talkSPORT has compiled a good-natured but handy list of some of the lesser lights of The Rock’s in-ring career, and the bouts for which he likely wouldn’t want you be trawling Netflix, YouTube and beyond for…
Triple H: Future rivals as young pups
The Rock and Triple H, now at the head of WWE as its creative force, wrestled in the better part of 200 matches involving each other during the course of their in-ring careers.
Among their early meetings was a February 1997 clash at In Your House: Final Four, at a time the young Rock pup was Intercontinental Champion.
The pair were early in their respective WWE journeys at that point and, though they tried to quicken the pace with a flying crossbody, DDT and a neat German suplex from which Rock would win, the fact the match is remembered for what happened at its conclusion than before the bell speaks volumes. Goldust had come out to distract Triple H – then Hunter Hearst Helmsley – leading to the debut of Triple H’s new bodyguard, who we’d later come to know as DX icon Chyna.
That was unforgettable – the 12 minutes that preceded it, not so much.
A WrestleMania first for young Rocky
The Rock featured at WrestleMania for the very first time in 1997 as Mania 13 aired from Chicago.
It was a fairly routine night for the young grappler who’d later go on to become one of the biggest icons in the business, but something clearly felt off. Fans weren’t buying this fresh-faced Intercontinental Champion. He beat The Sultan – who would later become Rikishi, for those keeping score – with the help of his dad, wrestling legend Rocky Johnson.
As a good guy coming out on top, it was fine enough, but you could feel a resentment building within the WWE fanbase who resented the force with which ‘Rocky’ was, in their minds, being force-fed to them.
That very narrative served to sew the seed for Rocky Miavia to morph into The Rock, so all’s well that ends well. Decades later, though, it still feels like his match at WrestleMania 13 doesn’t fit.
The Rock V Hulk Hogan – Not a classic
No, before you say it, it’s not that one. Their meeting at WrestleMania X8 is the stuff of wrestling folklore – two wrestling legends leaving it all laying to the adoration of a thronging Canadian crowd.
Presumably the epic at Mania and the reception it got was all WWE needed to convince them to run the match back again at No Way Out in 2003.
Going a spritely 12 minutes, Hogan and Rock delivered another solid affair in terms of its star power: the crowd – Canadians again – lapped up seeing the legends go at it, but the ending left a taste bad enough to threaten the legacy of the original. A rogue referee, interference and steel chair – with Vince McMahon at the thick of it – allowing Rock to avenge his Mania defeat (sort of) with a pinfall win.
A Deadly Game with The Undertaker
The Rock ended the 1998 Survivor Series as WWE Champion after a stunning heel turn (he became a villain, the bad guy of the piece) that saw him align with McMahon to become the Corporate Champion – a play on having previously been The People’s Champion, you see.
That itself was great stuff; it was a launch to one of the greatest heel spells in WWE history and The Rock excelled in the role. Unfortunately, the absolute mess that helped us reach that point in the show was a 16-man elimination style tournament that left fans in the area needing to take in 18 matches once all was said and done.
Many were rushed and haphazard as a result one being an eight-minute scramble between The Rock and The Undertaker (Rock had already beaten Big Bossman in three seconds to get that far). Taker and Rock spent much of the match outside the ring brawling, before things moved inside, to cue interference from Boss Man and Kane to allow the Brahma Bull to win by disqualification. All rather messy.
John Cena: Not Once in a Lifetime
John Cena and The Rock, two absolute behemoths of the wrestling industry, collided in a Once in a Lifetime affair at WrestleMania 28, a clash so big that WWE effectively gave it a one-year build up.
Rock won in the end – dispatching Cena with a People’s Elbow – in a match that delivered in terms of its execution and star quality. It was so good, WWE clearly felt, that despite its billing as a one-time only thing, they decided to do it again a year later. The WrestleMania 29 outing, which saw Rock pick up abductor and abdominal injuries and Cena win, wasn’t really as well received.
The two icons can’t have helped the injuries that slowed down the pace of the finale, but one has to argue why – apart from the undoubted ton of money they and everyone made from the second match – they were even back out there at all.
Survivor Series 1999: Not as advertised
The main event scene in WWE was in turmoil as we dipped into the latter months of 1999. Going into Survivor Series, though, fans were due a treat: a triple-threat WWE Championship match pitting champ Triple H against The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Austin, however, was hit by a car earlier in the show (yes…) as a way to write him out of storylines and to accommodate real-life neck surgery he badly needed. Reflecting the rush job of it all, WWE inserted The Big Show into the mix as a replacement, despite the fact the giant had already wrestled and won what was effectively a four-on-one match earlier in the night.
Not unsurprisingly, the final match ended up being a fairly glib affair, packed with interference from McMahon and DX. The time and planning able to be afforded to it (i.e. none), was clear and, despite fans getting a surprise in Big Show winning at the end, it’s not one that’ll live long in the memory of The Rock.
Survivor Series 1996: A debut to remember
How can any list of some mildly cringy in-ring moments of the career of The Rock not include that fateful night at Survivor Series for his debut?
Yes, we’re not sticking the boot into the Rocky here – it was his first high-profile match in WWE and, all things considered, he performed superbly, pulling off a typical babyface (hero) comeback by overcoming the odds to eliminate two men in the multi-man elimination match to win the contest for his team.
Rock himself, however, has never made secret of the fact he now feels less than fondly about his look on the night. The haircut was wild, and far removed from the cool and slick People’s Champ that followed. As for the outfit? Well… Whatever you do, don’t seek it out. On Netflix. Before WrestleMania.
