Before Fast and Furious, before Ballers, before he became the biggest star in Hollywood, Dwayne Johnson was — and still is, too many — the Rock, an eternal icon of professional wrestling. In his heyday, the Rock was the biggest name in the business, with his bombastic personality, excellent microphone skills, and classic matches with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin and Triple H cementing him as an all-time great of the industry. He was so great, in fact, that it’s sometimes easy to forget that at one point he was perhaps the least popular wrestler on the roster.
Johnson didn’t debut as the Rock. He debuted under the name Rocky Maivia, the name drawn from his father and grandfather’s wrestling identities. Maivia competed with a goofy costume and an even more ridiculous haircut. This didn’t go over too well with fans and quickly they turned on him, filling arenas with “ROCKY SUCKS!” chants regularly. It wasn’t until Maivia turned heel (wrestling-speak for “bad”) and started referring to himself in the third person as the Rock that they began warming to him. He’s since become a legend, but even legends often have humble (and slightly embarrassing) beginnings.