The Rock Reflects on the 26th Anniversary of His Iconic WWE Debut

The Rock Reflects on the 26th Anniversary of His Iconic WWE Debut

The Rock (Image Credits- WWE/ imgFlip)

26 years ago, a young boy from Hawaii walked out to the squared circle with the weight of legacy on his shoulders. But little did the world know that “Rocky Maivia” would transcend to become “The Rock,” one of the biggest names in the history of professional sports entertainment and Hollywood.

The Rock recently took to Twitter to look back at his scintillating debut at the 1996 Survivor Series and wrote- “Wow 26yrs ago What a fateful night in Madison Square Garden having my first ever wrestling match for @wwe. That big kid who was willing to be the hardest worker in the room would go on to only become famous for wearing a fanny pack. Seriously tho, what a grateful journey.”

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The People’s Champ might have described his journey in a single tweet, but we know the emotion is stronger within. The Rock’s debut as Rocky Maivia is a fairy tale, a clean-cut, babyface walking out in front of thousands of fans at Madison Square Garden. Maivia came out as a team member of The Entourage to take on the team of Crash and Goldust at The Survivor Series,1996.

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The Rock (Rocky Maivia) would eventually lead his team to victory after remaining as the sole survivor for his team. He eliminated both Crash and Goldust. He got a huge push on his arrival as just within months of his debut he won the Intercontinental Championship from Triple H (known as Hunter Helmsley then).

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From “Rocky Maivia” To Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: A Throwback To The Rock’s Illustrious Career

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
The Rock debuted as Rocky Maivia on 17th November 2022 at Survivor Series 1996. (Image Credits- WWE)

However, Rocky Maivia’s golden days were over soon in the company as the fans revolted against the character and could not understand why a newcomer with stripe pants was getting this much push on the main roster. Chants of “die, Rocky, die” and “Rocky sucks” were heard during his matches, which led the creatives to ponder on his character.

Maivia finally turned heel and became “The Rock” after joining The Nation of Domination and never looked back since. By the time the Attitude Era arrived, The Rock had reached the level of superstardom with various championships to his name, but moreover he became insanely popular among the fans because of his impeccable mic-skills and in-ring work.

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Soon he started getting movie roles as he first acted in films like Beyond The Mat and The Mummy Returns before bagging his first lead role in The Scorpion King (2002). Soon, The Rock would find indefinite success in Hollywood as Dwayne Johnson, as he is one of the most bankable stars in the film industry and continues to deliver hits at the box office, with his recent hit, Black Adam.

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