The Profile of The Great One
Real Name: Duane Johnson
Weight: 275
height: 6'5"
Home: Miami, Fl
Other Names: Rocky, Rocky Miavia, People's Champ, Great One, Brahma Bull
Finishing Moves: Rock Bottom, Peoples Elbow
Titles Held: WWF Champion(3), WWF Intercontinental(2)
Background:A graduate of the University of Miami, and a third generation wrestler(his father is former WWF tag champion Rocky Johnson and his grandfather is WWF great "High Chief" Peter Maivia), Rocky got his start in 1996 in the USWA. Known as Flex Cavana, he won the USWA tag team championship and made a big impression for a wrestler with such limited experience. In the Fall of 1996, Maivia made his debut in the WWF, appearing at the 1996 Survivor Series. Maivia won his Series match in front of the Madison Square Garden crowd, and continued to look impressive. Maivia's stardom continued to escalate. He remained undefeated going into 1997, and on February 11 of that year, he upset Hunter Hearst Helmsley on a special edition of Raw to become the Intercontinental champion. Maivia would hold the title for three months before losing to the more experienced Owen Hart on April 8, 1997, on Raw. Despite his success, Maivia was unable to gain the support of the fans. Perhaps he was put into the spotlight too early. Regardless, the chants of "Rocky Sucks" could be heard whenever he appeared, and people would bring signs saying "Die Rocky, Die" to the matches. Shortly after his title loss to Owen Hart, Maivia suffered a knee injury and disappeared from WWF action. Upon his return to the WWF in the Summer of '97, he was a changed man. Maivia joined the Nation of Domination, and developed a new cocky attitude, as well as a new killer instinct. After joining the NOD, Rocky began to find himself in higher profile matches. He became the top contender to Steve Austin's Intercontinental title, and on December 8, 1997, he was awarded the belt after Austin forfeited in order to go after the world title. Although Faarooq was technically the leader of the Nation of Domination, The Rock started taking over the faction, and even added Olympic strongman Mark Henry to the group without Faarooq's permission. It wasn't long before Faarooq was attacked and kicked out of the NOD, with the Rock taking over as the leader, or "ruler" as he puts it. With The Rock at the helm, the group transformed from the Nation of Domination to The Nation. They acquired the services of Owen Hart, showing that they weren't a black-only group. Each individual member gained notoriety: Mark Henry as the WWF's top powerhouse; Owen Hart as a technical wizard with a new killer attitude; D-Lo Brown as one of the most improved wrestlers in the world; and Kama as a tough brute with martial arts experience. It was The Rock however that became a superstar. He developed famous catchphrases like "Smell what the Rock is cookin'?". He started using a "People's Elbow" move that even the biggest Maivia haters found themselves cheering for. Most of all, he became one of the top wrestlers in the world, seemingly unbeatable. At the 1998 Royal Rumble, the Rock met his match as he defended the Intercontinental title against Ken Shamrock. Shamrock defeated Maivia for the title, but the decision was reversed on a technicality. The two would lock up in matches and brawls repeatedly over the next few months, and most times it was Maivia that ended up flat on his back. Next came Wrestlemania XIV in Boston, Massachusetts. The Rock once again defended against Shamrock, and he was once again beaten to a pulp by the challenger. Maivia submitted to Shamrock's ankle lock submission, but Ken refused to release the hold and was disqualified. Again, The Rock was saved. In the early Summer of 1998, The Nation developed a feud with another prominent group in the WWF, D-Generation X. Two respective leaders of the two factions, The Rock and Hunter Hearst Helmsley, engaged in a feud over the Intercontinental title, a championship they'd fought over before. They locked up as part of the King of the Ring, with Maivia coming out victorious due to outside interference. The feud then heated up, with the two doing battle across North America. They squared off at IYH: Fully Loaded in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls Match, a match that went to the time limit. They also engaged in several brawls on Raw is War that included the other members of both the Nation and DX. At Summerslam 1998, The Rock and HHH locked up once more, this time in a Ladder Match. In what some consider the best match on the card, Helmsley was able to climb the ladder and grab the title belt, thus giving him the match and the championship. The Rock remained a top contender for the title, and also received tag team title matches alongside Owen Hart and D-Lo Brown. The Rock's popularity continued to escalate. Although he was supposed to be the hated leader of the Nation, he was cheered whenever he appeared, with his "People's Elbow" move becoming the move everybody wanted to see. After the Rock ran into the ring to save D'Lo Brown from Kane and the Undertaker (only to have Brown take off and leave Maivia alone against the two brothers) on Raw, the face turn began. The Rock defeated Kane one-on-one during a live episode of Raw, and later pinned the Undertaker during a tag match alongside Mankind and Ken Shamrock against UT and Kane. At IYH: Breakdown in September of 1998, Maivia took on Mankind and Shamrock in a triple threat cage match to decide the number one contender for the WWF title. The Rock won and thus became the top contender. It was inevitable that the Nation would split, and that they did. Owen Hart went his own way, and D'Lo Brown and Mark Henry formed a team and attacked the Rock on more than one occasion. Maivia defeated Brown on Raw, but was upset by Henry at IYH: Judgment Day thanks to Brown's interference. The Rock's massive popularity soon got the attention of WWF owner Vince McMahon. Vince explained that he had a problem with the people, and therefore he had a problem with the People's Champion. He forced the Rock to take on Ken Shamrock for the Intercontinental title, stating that if Maivia didn't win the title, he'd lose his ranking as number one contender and would also lose his spot in the WWF title tournament that had been announced for the 1998 Survivor Series. The Rock won the match by DQ, but didn't win the title and thus lost his ranking. One week later, Vince told the Rock to fight Mark Henry, saying that if he won he'd get his spot back, but if he lost he'd be fired from the WWF. The Rock was victorious, and took out his frustrations against McMahon by hitting the Rock Bottom and People's Elbow on the boss. After all that, who could have thought that it would turn out to be a sinister plan? At the 1998 Survivor Series on November 15, 1998, the Rock competed in the 16-man WWF title tournament. He went to the tournament finals thanks to McMahon's "corporate security" the Big Bossman, and then it happened. Deja vu from the year before, the Rock put the sharpshooter on his opponent in the finals, Mankind. Vince McMahon (standing at ringside) promptly called for the bell, and in the process declared the Rock the new WWF "corporate champion". Following the Series, a feud between The Rock and Mankind developed. The two did battle at IYH: Rock Bottom in December of 1998 in a match that Mankind had won with the Mandible Claw before McMahon stated that the Rock wasn't pinned and didn't submit, therefore is still the champion. Then on December 29, 1998 (in a match aired January 4, 1999) the Rock was defeated by Mankind in a no-DQ on Raw, following a chair shot to the head by "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Not about to bow down in defeat, the Rock challenged Mankind to a re-match, virtually agreeing to any sort of stipulation. Mankind continuously denied the Rock's request, but after the former champ said "I quit" (meaning, he quit trying to get a match) Mankind accepted,saying they'll have an "I Quit" match. The battle took place at the 1999 Royal Rumble. Following 11 chair shots by the Rock to Mankind, the champion passed out. The Rock then put the microphone in his face, and the words "I quit" were heard. As it turned out, Mankind had never said those words during the match. Instead, he'd said them during an interview earlier in the night, and the Corporation dubbed them over the speak system during the match. The Rock remained the WWF champion, but another re-match was granted. This time it was an empty arena, falls count anywhere match (taped January 26, 1999) that aired during the Superbowl halftime on a show called "Halftime Heat" on January 31, 1999. Mankind would ultimately use a forklift to pin the Rock against the ground, enabling the referee to count to three. The Rock's second WWF title reign had come to an end. However, on an edition of Raw is War not much later, The Rock defeated Mankind yet again to become the WWF Champion a third time. He did so in a ladder match when "The Big Nasty" Paul Wight came down and chokeslammed Mankind off the top of the ladder allowing the Rock to climb up and grab the belt. The next contest for the Rock was at Wrestlemania where he faced Steve Austin in a championship bout for the World Title. Even though Steve Austin walked out the Champ, The Rock was still and will FOREVER be The Peoples Champ.
Thanks to The Rock-The People's Eyebrow for the background info.
