The Rock Says Know Your Role, Jabroni

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we celebrate The Rock on the 25th anniversary of his WWE debut.

What’s your favorite Rock promo or catchphrase?

David Gibb: I liked when he would ask someone a question and then immediately tell them their answer didn’t matter.

Steven Jackson: If You Smell What The Rock…Is Cookin! *I raise my eyebrow perfectly I might add*

John Corrigan: The Rock roasting everybody in the 6-man Hell in a Cell remains hilarious 20 years later.

Jack Goodwillie: Wow, this roundtable should be a doozy. Although The Rock only had a WWE window of six years or so, any promo post-1998 could be in play here. Meanwhile, the man has more catchphrases than I can count on two hands, thumbs and all. As far as catchphrases go, as much of a ring “One…..on one…… with The Great One” had to it, you have to go with “check you into the SmackDown Hotel,” just because it inspired the name of one of the WWE’s flagship shows. Not only that, but “SmackDown” for a long time was the name on the tip of everybody’s tongues when it came to WWE. It’s kind of like when people ask, “are you watching UFC?” when I’m actually watching MMA. By that same token, I would hear people call anything WWE or wrestling related “WWE SmackDown.”

For promos, there are a few that come to mind. While I don’t like the “Boots 2 Asses” catchphrase as much as some of his others, the initial promo he used to confront John Cena with was great and showed he hadn’t lost a step. I also remember a promo where he dressed down each of his opponents at Armageddon 2000, working in some hilarious impressions. Then, of course, there are The Rock Concerts, the Eddie Guerrero face off where he compared him to Cheech and Chong, his sit-down face-to-face with Austin and the promo where he became The Rock to begin with. I’m not even gonna try and choose just one.

What’s your favorite movie The Rock has been in?

Gibb: I’ve got a ton of love for The Rock, but looking at his filmography, I’ve somehow missed most of it. I have a soft spot for his cameo as the Disney Channel version of himself in Fighting with My Family.

Jackson: I’ve a real soft spot for The Scorpion King. The role was perfect for The Rock.

Corrigan: I’m like Gibb – I’ve only seen a couple of The Rock’s movies. I liked The Rundown, but Walking Tall gets the nod. When the casino henchmen sliced him up, you knew the smack was going to be laid down.

Goodwillie: I’ll be the first to admit I’ve binged The Rock’s movies because his on-screen presence is so infectious that no matter whether he’s acting in a comedy, drama or action film, you’re always going to come away with it being entertained and feeling good. I don’t know if I’d call what he does these days acting so much, as so many of the characters he plays are essentially Dwayne Johnson with a different name and occupation. That speaks more to The Rock himself than his acting ability, which is totally fine by the way!

Ballers was one of my favorite projects The Rock ever worked on. But there wasn’t much to the character he played that wasn’t already true of The Rock off screen. He played a big, tall, bald, former defensive end for the Miami Dolphins. Did I just describe Jason Taylor? Perhaps, but even Ballers is self-aware enough to make the joke itself, which is part of why I enjoyed it so much.

Sticking strictly to the big screen, I’ve always been able to take something positive away from The Rock’s movies, whether it was because it was a great movie like Gridiron Gang or because it was a hot mess and a bit of a spectacle like Rampage. My favorite Rock movie though is a little of both, and that’s Walking Tall. It’s a must-see for anyone remotely interested in action movies.

What’s The Rock’s greatest match?

Gibb: The best match he was in? The one with Hogan at WrestleMania X-8. The best showcase for him at a time where having a great match solidified the trajectory of his career? The I Quit match with Mick Foley at Royal Rumble ‘99.

Jackson: The Rock vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X-8. Yes, the matches against Mick Foley, HHH and Steve Austin were great. I was really close to choosing Austin vs. Rock III from WM XIX as it was an emotional end of an era, but the Hogan match will ALWAYS stand as a historic moment.

Corrigan: The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X-8. Many of today’s top stars, including Cody, name this as their favorite match. The Toronto crowd absolutely made this, going nuts for the Hulkster and even booing The Rock. Everything these two icons of different generations did drew a huge pop, and with Hogan’s age, they were pretty limited. After the past decade of WWE prioritizing legends and part-timers over the current roster, it’s nice to see an instance where Vince McMahon made the right decision as to who puts over who.

Goodwillie: The Rock, the wrestler, has always been underrated and a lot of that has to do with how strong his promo game was during his main run. I feel the same about Austin. Their characters were both so strong that it would sort of suppress any good feelings people would have of them in the ring. Was The Rock going out and hitting tope suicidas and 450’s? No. However, he was an incredible athlete with an early knack for this as a third-generation superstar, and he is also one of the greatest showmen pro wrestling has ever seen. Sounds like the make-up of a great wrestler to me, not to mention, I loved his punches.

Again, same can be said for Austin. Speaking of Austin, it’d be tough to say The Rock’s greatest match is anything other than WrestleMania XVII, because while he did come out on the losing end, it was as epic as advertised with an even more epic conclusion. I won’t fault anyone for saying the Hogan match is better, though, especially if they subscribe to Al Snow’s theories on what makes a great match. I won’t rehash that, but one more that comes to mind is Vengeance 2002 with The Undertaker and Kurt Angle. It’s an A+ match, but what’s fascinating about it is how inherently different each of the combatants are as wrestlers. Boy, did they make it work, though.

What’s The Rock’s greatest moment/angle?

Gibb: His rivalry with Triple H while Steve Austin was away holds up as some of the best material of the hottest period of all time. Don’t make me pick a single moment out of it.

Jackson: The Rock’s greatest moment is tough as there are so many, but I’d say it was when he returned to WWE in early 2004. Coming out on RAW to team with Mick Foley at WrestleMania XX gave me goosebumps!

Corrigan: Whenever The Rock sang, it was magical. The original Rock Concert was tremendous, but I still love The Rock and Stone Cold doing a duet on the last Raw before Survivor Series 2001. They’re just days away from the final battle between The Alliance and WWE, yet they’re crooning “Delta Dawn” and “Margaritaville.” The crowd loved it, the wrestlers clearly loved it and when all was said and done, The Rock left his arch-rival laying.

Goodwillie: His debut was pretty great and often gets overlooked when his career gets talked about. It’s not often wrestlers will be put over to that extent in their television debut these days. I’ll emphasize television debut, because nowadays, and even back 20 years ago, it wasn’t uncommon to have a wrestler change companies and get put over strong.

Take Chris Jericho’s debut for example, one of the greatest of all time. But for as good as that was, remember, Jericho had been on TV with WCW for three years or so to that point. When The Rock had his dominant outing at Survivor Series ’96, it was the first time most fans were laying eyes on him, so that’s pretty special. Aside from that, I’ve always had an affinity for The Rock Concert. The original one in Sacramento is a classic.

Is The Rock on your WWE or pro wrestling Mount Rushmore?

Gibb: WWE, yes. Pro wrestling, no. (I mean, there are only four faces up there…)

Jackson: It’s really tough. Definitely WWE, but not professional wrestling. However, I don’t have qualms with people adding him in.

Corrigan: Let me just start off with burying Goodwillie for suggesting Michaels, Triple H and Hart have a case for the WWE Mount Rushmore, but Bruno Sammartino is nowhere to be found. So, the four faces on mine are Sammartino, Hogan, Austin and Undertaker. If it was a Mount Rushmore of talkers, Rock would certainly be etched in stone.

Goodwillie: Pro wrestling? No. The longevity isn’t there, and that should be a prerequisite for being on the pro wrestling Mount Rushmore. Even for a WWE Mt. Rushmore, it would be difficult. You’ve got McMahon, of course if you want to include him (I would). Even if you didn’t, you’ve then got four spots to give to the following: Hogan, Austin, Cena, Rock, Undertaker, Michaels, Triple H, Andre the Giant and Bret Hart. In the past, if I were to not include Mr. McMahon, I would say my WWE Mt. Rushmore has to be Hogan, Austin, Cena and Undertaker, but I can always be swayed.