WWE: Ranking the Top 10 Greatest Promos of All Time

Credit: WWE.com

The Rock Turns His Back on the People

While the Rock as a baby face was one of the most entertaining characters in wrestling history, his brief heel run as “Hollywood Rock,” in my opinion, was the best version of the Rock. After so many years of Rock doing it for the people, he finally turned his back on the people, because in his mind, they turned their back on him.

This promo took place on Raw in Toronto, Canada, and had it taken place anywhere else, I don’t believe this promo would have been as great as it was. Toronto of course holds some of the most passionate WWE fans out there, and their reactions to this promo the whole way through really enhanced how well it worked for the Rock to establish himself as a heel.

The Rock’s continuous mocking of this Toronto crowd was great, starting with him making fun of the fans cheering when he would say “Toronto.” Rock would go on to explain that it was in Toronto the year prior at WrestleMania where the Toronto crowd was booing the Rock out of the building in his match with Hulk Hogan. Rock calling the Toronto crowd “Mother Canuckers” also gets a thumbs up.

The Rock also mentions how he was not voted as superstar of the decade by the people, but instead “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was. This promo worked so well because Rock’s reasons for turning on the people were clear, and they made sense. Rock’s ability to take those motivations and shove it in the face of this Toronto crowd was quite entertaining.