The Rock reveals Vince McMahon's advice that backfired in WWE
The Rock is one of the greats in the pro wrestling business and one of the main reasons for the success of the Attitude Era. But, it wasn't necessarily sunshine and rainbows for him in WWE as he struggled at the start of his WWE career as a babyface.
The Rock on the advice Vince McMahon gave him that didn't work out
The Rock spoke about his early years in WWE in a recent interview with Jay Glazer of FOX Sports and how he got a lot of boos from the WWE Universe after using the advice that Vince McMahon gave him.
The Rock said that the WWE Chairman - whom he considers his mentor - told him to smile and be a cheerful babyface which the WWE fans didn't think was "authentic".
"You know, I was told by Vince McMahon, who was a very close friend of mine still today, is a mentor in the world of business, he would tell me, 'You gotta go out there, you gotta smile, you just gotta... you just gotta smile!' This was my rookie year, so you can imagine. Smile! So, I said OK, and again, you're pissing vinegar... you're ready to get out there and bang, man. And he said, 'I want you to be... you're grateful that you're here, so you gotta smile.' And then I would go out and I would hear these fans, they just knew that I wasn't being authentic. You know, and they would be like... 'You f--king suck!' And I would smile, 'Hey, thank you, man! I know I do, right?' I gotta smile." (H/T WrestlingInc)
The Rock then spoke about how he requested McMahon to give him some time to get on the mic, when he joined The Nation of Domination faction. He said that he asked the WWE Chairman to give him two minutes on the mic and that if he wasn't good enough he would never ask to get on the mic again.
The heel run with the faction transformed his career and he adopted a gimmick that earned him widespread fame in the years to come.