What if The Rock had never left WWE?
The Rock was one of the definitive stars of WWE’s Attitude Era, second only to Stone Cold Steve Austin when it came to connecting with WWE fans of that time. There’s little question it was his tremendous success as a wrestler that paved the way for him to become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, becoming the general consensus pick for greatest crossover mainstream star the wrestling world has ever produced.
But what if The Rock had never left WWE?
We can debate when The Rock truly became a part-timer, but even at the most generous estimates, he spent less than a decade working full time with WWE. He was a big enough star, who left the company young enough that it’s no exaggeration to suggest he might have single-handedly changed the course of history for the largest wrestling company in the world.
This article speculates about five potential outcomes if The Rock were to have stuck with WWE, and never left to pursue a career in the movie business.
#5 Randy Orton kills his legend
When The Rock started to go Hollywood, WWE fans started to reject him at a level unseen since his rookie year. Some of that’s owed to it being clear The People’s Champion was leaving, and fans growing wary of this abandonment. Some of it, too, had to do with fans growing tired of The Rock and thus readily cheering fresher challengers like Brock Lesnar and Goldberg.
One rivalry that Rock just missed was a proper feud with Randy Orton. As a fellow third generation blue chipper, it would have been a natural story to tell. We got a glimpse of what a program between the two might have looked like when The Rock made a brief return in 2004 to back Mick Foley against Orton and Evolution, but that feud was never about The Legend Killer vs. The Brahma Bull.
Had Rock stuck around, this feud would have been inevitable and given their respective trajectories, Orton likely would have gone over to better cement his place as a rising main eventer.