Originally Posted by Noid
I'm pipe-dreaming, I know, but if I had to think of a guy that I'd like to see face The Rock, it would be Sami Zayn. I'd have it start with The Rock returning to the WWE to announce he will do some public appearances for the company, or something like that. He doesn't turn heel, as such, but he does get people hyped about the possibility of a WrestleMania match featuring him, but then turns it down because of how it interferes with his movie schedule and stuff.
During one of The Rock's casual WWE appearances, he goes down to NXT. He's talking to Dusty Rhodes down there and Dusty introduces The Rock to the new NXT Champion, Sami Zayn. In comes Sami, who has just defeated Bo Dallas for the title (Gertner must be hating this idea more and more). The Rock acts all polite, but after Sami leaves, The Rock comically starts making fun of Zayn. He implies that Dusty must be joking, because Zayn does not look he should be the champion of anything. Dusty tells Rocky to settle down, because that kid has more heart than anyone else he has ever seen -- including The Rock when he was just starting out. The Rock acts offended and says that can't be the case, but Dusty reassures The Rock that Sami Zayn is a good kid.
The feud essentially starts there, with The Rock not giving Zayn his due and making fun of him. Zayn tries to shake a lot of it off, but The Rock makes a barb here or there in his RAW and SmackDown appearances ("Even Sami Zayn could beat you..." "I went down to NXT and met their stick-figure Champ"). The Rock is one day doing a sing-along concert thing or whatever when Sami Zayn crashes the party. Zayn tells The Rock that he had to come out here because The Rock will soon be off in Hollywood or something and we won't see him for another year. The Rock tells Sami to watch his mouth and that he's given Sami some flack, but he's going to shove his boot sideways up his ass if he doesn't show The Rock some respect.
Sami then segues onto the topic of respect. "What respect have you shown me, Rock? I never asked for your respect, personally, but I am the NXT Champion and you have done nothing but talk trash about me." Sami eventually challenges The Rock to a match, since they obviously have some personal issues to work out. Why not work it out the WWE way, since they're both WWE Superstars and all? The Rock sidesteps the question, out of either arrogance or perhaps even some sort of offence taken at being challenged. The Rock tells Sami that he wants WrestleMania to actually make money for the WWE, so he's not going to beat the crap out of some nobody.
The Rock continues to jab Zayn, however. In a backstage interview with Renee Young, The Rock gets insinuating and sort of seduces Renee off her feet, pissing off Zayn who always had a bit of thing for her. The Rock could then even perhaps publicly embarrass Renee, cementing himself as a heel, at least temporarily for this feud. Zayn just attacks The Rock, giving us the next stretch of this program -- The Rock actually wanting the match with Zayn. Sami finally provokes The Rock with a promo about how he's always been small, thin, and he doesn't look like a movie star -- but he likes himself, and he's thankful for his size, because it means that when he beats someone bigger he actually has to be better. He likes his face, because he can trust it. His dream was always to be WWE Champion and it's a relief to know that movie offers won't get in the way with that. Zayn then officially calls The Rock out for WrestleMania and says that if he's such a twerp, how about The Rock make that example of him he keeps bragging about, because Zayn is right here and he is ready to stand up for himself and what he believes in.
The Rock then retorts with a promo about how he and Sami Zayn actually have a lot in common. No one believed The Rock would do it either. The people chanted "Die, Rocky, Die," and The Rock has never forgotten that the people did that. But he proved them all wrong, just like Sami Zayn has apparently made a life out of proving people wrong. The Rock warns Sami that if he gets into a match with The Rock at WrestleMania, however, he's not going against a movie star -- he's going against the man that for a while held the record for most WWE Championships ever. You're going against a man who has competed in some of the biggest matches in WWE history. You're going against The Great One.
Sami Zayn then puts his hand out, and The Rock accepts the challenge, before pulling Zayn into a Rock Bottom.
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