TPWW Forums - Greatest wrestler ever: debate

To rate someone as the best in the world, one must look at the full gamut of factors which have put a wrestler beyond his or her peers. I know some in the tournament have used videos to back up their points, so I’ve constructed a video which is found at the end of this post, giving some examples of the factors I’m going to be discussing. It’s nothing fancy, but it does the job well enough for those who don’t want to watch the multiple matches that are included later.

Let’s get ring work out of the way first. The Rock had a very exciting in-ring style. His offensive style was hard-hitting, flashy and pulled the crowd into the action. His athleticism was especially good at highlighting the impact of not only his own moves, but the offensive flurry of an opponent. The former is most notable in the Armageddon HIAC - Rock almost floats through the air as he connects with his flying clothesline and DDT. Also shown in the video is several examples of The Rock’s selling - using his shoulders and back, he could make a move look devastating, both in a realistic fashion or in an exaggerated fashion. A Stone Cold Stunner would send The Rock reeling to the other side of the ring. A gore from Rhyno would turn him inside out. Rock had a perfect stature, in that he was big enough to battle toe-to-toe with monsters like Kane, but athletic enough to take a hurricanrana from Chris Jericho. While Rock was on the defensive, he actively drew fans into his struggle. Survivor Series 2000 featured an injured Rock desperately seeking revenge on Rikishi, and not only did Rock wince in pain from Rikishi’s assault, but Rock’s own offence became short bursts of fire, as it took so much out of him. It was perhaps the comeback style that was the key to Rock’s success as an in-ring competitor - the way he threw a punch and then dropped to one knee, beckoning the fans to cheer him on as he tried to string together a combo of punches. His wrestling style was first and foremost about maintaining the fans’ interest in the match and making them care about his well-being.

What’s even more impressive is the way The Rock continually developed his in-ring style as he became a main eventer. His offensive arsenal utilized several methods of connecting with the fans. He began to incorporate the sharpshooter as an effective crowd-pleasing transitional moment in a match, by means of punishing the heel and setting up the next few minutes of the match. In late 2000, he added a flying clothesline to his comeback routine, which became a fantastic element of his offence after getting the hot tag. In 2001, he began to use the kip-up which introduced a sense of unpredictability in his matches. This was most prominent at Summerslam 2001, where Rock kipped up and took Booker by surprise with the Rock Bottom. During the same time period, he began to mock his opponents mannerisms during matches, which perfectly tied in with his arrogant character. For example, he’d take the time to do RVD’s thumb-pose before delivering the spit-punch. He even gradually modified his existing move set. The People’s Elbow used to be executed fairly quickly. But then The Rock began to make the move more dramatic by pausing to “smell” the fans, adding atmosphere to the sequence. The best wrestlers are those who manage to change their routine, if even slightly, in order to keep their performances fresh.

The most predictable category in my debate is The Rock’s promos. He produced some incredible comedy over the years, through impersonations and put-downs. He could also cut a very serious promo, quickly summarising both the situation he was in and his own arrogant intentions. The Rock’s promo style was very innovative, once again focusing on fan participation. He would look off-camera, as if he could see the fans chanting his name. He’d stop in mid-sentence if the fans began to cheer or boo. He could go on a tangent whilst the interviewer was wearing a shirt over his head or picking his nose. This style of promos catered to both the live audience and the audience watching at home. And we see a lot of current wrestlers trying to emulate that style. Notice how John Cena attempts to mix comedy with a serious promo? Notice how Randy Orton pauses to allow the fans to react to what he‘s said? Notice how Ken Kennedy really wraps his tongue around the words he says, to add emphasis and expression? Even regular bridging phrases used by today’s WWE wrestlers, such as “the fact of the matter is….” and “without a shadow of a doubt”, can be found in many of The Rock’s promos.

I’d be remiss to talk about promos, and not mention The Rock’s catchphrases. God did he have a lot of them. “It doesn’t matter”, “Just bring it”, “the People’s Champion”, “the most electrifying man in sports entertainment”, “The Great one”, Know your role”, etc, etc. Much is made of repetition in wrestling these days - fans are craving for wrestlers to change things up a bit, be it in the ring or on the mic. But The Rock did something truly remarkable - he used repetition and predictability to make his promos and catchphrases even more fan-interactive. Telling Shane McMahon after Wrestlemania 15 that he was “three seconds away, and The Rock means…”, followed by the fans shouting “Three seconds away!”. The fun was knowing that it was coming. Those phrases allowed him to hold the crowd in the palm of his hands. There is no better example than The Rock’s meeting with police officers in Indianapolis in 1999, just after Stone Cold was knocked down, in which Rock declares that the fans would chant his name in 4 seconds. Guess what - they did. Few wrestlers could sustain their popularity with such repetitiveness, especially over such a long period of time. But it was the expectation which made his catchphrases so entertaining.

Now we come to one of the biggest reasons why The Rock has his stake to the claim of best wrestler in the world. He had one of the most entertaining and multi-dimensional characters of any wrestler I’ve seen. Everything about him dripped with personality and charisma. From his cocky, arrogant demeanour, both towards interviewers and his fellow wrestlers, to even his fashion sense and speaking in the third person, The Rock made a concerted effort to stand out from the crowd. What’s more important is how he channelled his character into everything he did. During his heel run in 1999, the fans loved to repeat his catchphrases, sometimes even before he could utter them. Rather than just going with the flow, he used this reaction to solidify his heel character. He would appear annoyed and berate the fans for their “sing-along with the Great One”. He made it known that the fans actually meant something and that their reaction could affect him; either by inflating his ego as a face or annoying him as a heel.

As I said earlier, his character became an element of his ring work. During his feuds with Mankind and Austin in 1999, he’d carry out some trash-talking on commentary; Backlash 1999 is a particularly good example, as Rock took the time to steal a camera and insult Austin on the announce table. The character-driven ring work was even evident in matches where he played the face. At both Summerslam 2002 and Wrestlemania 18, the fans got on his case despite him playing the role of the good guy. Did he just ignore it and soldier on, like most wrestlers would? Nope. He conveyed that he was genuinely upset with the reaction, and it affected everything from the pace of his wrestling to his treatment of his opponent. At Wrestlemania for example, he glares at the fans chanting “Rocky sucks” and slowly walks towards Hogan to deal out more punishment, only for Hogan to catch him off guard with a low blow. The Rock may have leaned toward the sides of both good and evil throughout his career, as all wrestlers have, but overall he was a truly individual character, whose attitude and emotions could be different depending on the crowd.

His character and mannerisms were also excellent for creating atmosphere. As I’ve highlighted in the video, The Rock’s entrance alone portrayed his emotions and the big-fight feel of the match. At Summerslam 2002, for example, he rushed to the ring to duke it out with Lesnar, after weeks of mind games. But in other scenarios, such as Backlash 2000 against HHH, The Rock stood poised on the top turnbuckle, burning a hole through his opponent with his eyes. This also occurred at No Mercy 2001, with Rock locking eyes with Chris Jericho for quite some time. Not only did it make for epic camera shots and allow the announcers to discuss how the feud came to a head, but it illustrated the magnitude of the match. Going back to the Jericho example, their stare-down perfectly illustrated the clash of personalities and the desire to be WCW Champion. When The Rock was involved, a main event felt like a big deal. It’s a testament to The Rock’s talent that he was so skilled behind a microphone, yet could portray his intentions and emotions so easily with body language; whether it’s a simple stare or a particular posture.

A wrestler can have all these qualities, but they don’t mean anything if the wrestler was unable to express them to the full extent. So what has The Rock done? In terms of his own career, his star began to take off once he was allowed to be himself in 1997, during the Nation of Domination angle. He had several good bouts with Ken Shamrock (particularly KOTR 1997) and HHH (Summerslam 1998) over the Intercontinental Title, before moving into the main event in late 1999. There, he served as the perfect foil against Mankind and Stone Cold Steve Austin, the latter feud rivalling Austin/McMahon and Austin/Hart in terms of Austin’s most memorable adversaries. His character became so popular that Rock turned face, and his “This is your life” segment with Mankind was the highest rated full quarter hour in cable wrestling history In 2000, The Rock became the premier face, competing in several great clashes against the likes of newcomer Chris Benoit and now-fellow main eventer HHH. By the end of his main event run in 2002, he was the first-ever 7 time WWE Champion, a Royal Rumble winner (albeit under shady circumstances ), a Wrestlemania main eventer 3 times in a row and he was one of the few men to hold the WWF/WCW Undisputed Title (before the brand split featured separate World Titles).

In terms of influencing other wrestlers’ careers, it was Rock who was chosen to be the man to give Mankind, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar their first World Title wins (technically Chris Benoit as well ). The Rock’s versatility as a performer has also been effective in his dealings with the mid-card; helping to reinforce Rikishi, Christian and Test’s heel turns in 2000 and 2001 respectively, battling Rhyno and the Dudleys during the Invasion angle, and working with the Hurricane in 2003 to produce not only some great comedy but a serious popularity boost for the superhero (that sadly was never capitalised on). The Rock was a major influence up and down the roster. And how can we forget the arrival of “Smackdown!”, a show named after one of The Rock’s very own catchphrases. In typical fashion, The Rock would claim that it was his show anytime he appeared. WWE's decision to name a second television show after one of his catchphrases was just one example of how big The Rock became. To this day, he’s still one of the few real draws in terms of name value and popularity, and while his movie career perhaps shortened what could have been a longer career in wrestling, those 5 -6 years are a collection of great matches, great promos and proof that some guys can become that good in a very short space of time.