WWE’s 5 Greatest Double Turns
By Tim Sherry
2. The Rock and Mankind
We all know the career path of The Rock. A happy-go-lucky babyface that was completely rejected by the fans, to Nation of Domination member, to Corporate Champion, to mega-star. But what a lot of people forget about is the 2-month long period after he left The Nation and before he became Mr. McMahon’s hand-picked champion. During that period, The Great One was red-hot with the fans as he helped out Stone Cold Steve Austin in his feud with Kane and The Undertaker while cutting some of the most legendary promos in his storied career.
Mankind, on the other hand, was working an angle as Vince’s surrogate son, doing all his dirty work and therefore getting a spot in the the Deadly Games Tournament for the WWF Championship at that year’s Survivor Series. He had an easy road in the first 2 rounds as he quickly dispatched Duane Gill and Al Snow before defeating Austin in the semi-finals thanks in large part to a chair shot from Gerald Briscoe.
The Rock took out The Big Bossman, Ken Shamrock, and The Undertaker to punch his ticket to the finals and what seemed like a pretty straight forward story line between the young, popular star and the chosen next champion. However, in a major swerve, Vince betrayed Mankind and gave the belt to The Rock in a replay of the Montreal Screwjob.
The Rock immediately became the most hated man in the WWF and Mankind would become the feel-good story in a feud that lasted another 3 months and included various title changes and vicious battles. The Rock, now as heel would main-event that following Wrestlemania against Austin and would never lose his spot near the top of the pecking order.