5 Surprising names that hold victories over The Rock
The unselfish top guyThe Brahma Bull, The Great One, The Most Electrifying man in Sports and Entertainment – however you wish to glorify him, it is quite obvious that the Rock is one of the WWE’s most gravitational mainstream stars and that his name still carries the corresponding brand value in and out of the squared circle.Perhaps during his hiatus John Cena is undergoing the very same emancipation, in some senses, that eventually sparked the Rock’s transition from the WWE to Hollywood, but a telling difference between the two is the notorious reputation one possesses for holding down talent while the other was much more of a magnanimous team player when it came to putting over other Superstars.Immortalized though he may be on the WWE’s metaphorical Mount Rushmore, The Rock was responsible for putting over quite a few up and coming Superstars who then went on to cement their own legacies in the WWE – not least the likes of Chris Jericho and Brock Lesnar.While the two aforementioned Superstars were arguably main event material right from the get go, the true humility and team spirit of the Rock shone through in the instances when he also put over mid-carders that quite obviously were destined to remain so for the entirety of their careers.With reactions ranging from incredulous surprise to chuckling disbelief, it is a testament to the Rock’s popularity and fame that his star did not wane regardless of which Superstars were fortuitous enough to score victories over him; that being said, here is a look at 5 names that do hold surprising victories over the former 10 time World Champion.
#1 Steve Blackman
Initially made famous by his MMA-based wrestling style during the heyday of the Hardcore championship in the company, Steve Blackman has unfortunately been relegated to an afterthought in WWE lore thanks to the family-friendly programming that is a flavour of the day.
Still, as hardcore fans of the Attitude era would remind you, he did provide an interesting moment or two when he was with the company; one of which being his shock victory against the Rock in between an on-going feud with the Nation of Domination.
Perhaps the victory could be accorded better to the cracks that were appearing within the Nation that subsequently fuelled the Great One’s solo run, but D’Lo Brown’s unwitting assist to Blackman allowed him to put away the Rock for a three count and possibly, in hindsight, also cement one of the more lasting moments in his legacy with the company.
Unfortunately for Blackman, while his exploits in the Hardcore division were undoubtedly stellar, his alliance with Ken Shamrock against the Nation of Domination probably highlighted the crests of his non-hardcore career with the WWE, the remainder of which was sadly reduced to a mixture of sex toys and stand-up comedy.