The Rock’s spectacular return to WWE for the road to WrestleMania 40 was an integral part of the company. The Most Electrifying Superstar in all Entertainment made, as he would say, wrestling cool again with his heavy involvement in the feud between The Bloodline and The American Nightmare Cody Rhodes leading up to The Show of Shows and wrestling alongside Roman Reigns to defeat Rhodes and his partner, Seth Rollins on WrestleMania 40 Saturday.
Over the years The Rock has been part of some of the most memorable feuds and moments in the history of WWE. The Brahma Bull rose to the ranks and became one of the most popular superstars to ever step foot inside the squared circle.
As The Rock made his sensational return to the ring this year after eight years, we take a look back at those 5 WWE Superstars who last pinned The Hollywood sensation.
1. John Cena earns redemption and respect from The Rock
John Cena and The Rock were embroiled in a heated feud that began in 2011 upon his return to WWE from Hollywood. Their rivalry culminated at WrestleMania 29 on April 7th, 2013 when the Cenation leader defeated The Rock clean on the Grandest Stage of them all to win the WWE Championship.
The victory over The Brahma Bull further cemented the former 16-time WWE Champion as the biggest star of the company during that era. This was Cena’s redemption extracted after defeating The Rock at WrestleMania 29 since The People’s Champion handed him a huge loss at WrestleMania 28 the previous year.
2. Goldberg made The Rock ‘NEXT’ upon WWE arrival
Before losing to John Cena at WrestleMania 29, The Rock’s last loss came at the hands of the WWE Hall of Famer, Goldberg. Goldberg was one of the biggest superstars of his time who had an impressive undefeated streak of 173-0 matches during his WCW tenure.
On April 27th, 2003, WWE hosted Backlash where Goldberg squared off against The Rock in a one-on-one match in the main event. Following an exceptional battle, Goldberg prevailed over The Final Boss becoming the final superstar to beat him before he took for Hollywood full-time.
3. The Rock rolled up by a Hurricane
The Hurricane has to be the most surprising name that has pinned The Rock in his WWE career. The Hurricane, also known as Shane Helms in WWE was one of the most popular and comedic performers that captivated the audience in his own unique manner and persona of being a Superhero.
The Rock faced Hurricane in a singles match on March 10th, 2003, edition of Monday Night Raw. Both the Superstars were involved in a heated feud that culminated in this singles match in which The Rock dominated the star he labeled as ‘The Ham-Burgular.’ However, to the shock of many, The Hurricane was able to get a roll-up victory after The People’s Champion got distracted by the appearance of his iconic foe, Stone Cold Steve Austin.
4. Brock Lesnar beats The Rock to become the youngest champion
Brock Lesnar is arguably the most dominant WWE Superstars of all time. The Beast Incarnate is known manhandled multiple main-event Superstars in the WWE in his run and has a presence like no other who garnered an impressive accolade at the expense of The Rock.
A young Brock Lesnar squared off against The Rock for the WWE Undisputed Championship in the main event of WWE SummerSlam 2002. After a hard-fought battle, The Beast Incarnate was able to put away The Final Boss after hitting him with an F-5 and winning the match to become the youngest WWE champion in history.
5. Before Icon met Icon at WrestleMania X8
The legendary feud between Hollywood Hulk Hogan and The Rock was dubbed as an Icon vs Icon. Two of the greatest of all time were engaged in a heated feud for months that culminated at WrestleMania X8 where The Rock defeated Hogan in a double turn that saw the fans cheer for the villain, Hulk Hogan, and turn their back on the babyface, The Rock.
However, in the build-up to their eventual clash at WrestleMania, Hogan’s faction, The New World Order competed in a match against Stone Cold and The Rock on March 11th, 2003 edition of Monday Night RAW wherein an anti-climatic ending, Hogan punched The Rock, hitting him with a big boot and covered him for the three count after delivering him a thunderous leg drop.
What do you think about these WWE superstars who have pinned The Rock? Share your thoughts in the comments.