WWE CEO Nick Khan reveals story behind making of a great heel
The Rock and Vince McMahon were two of the biggest heel characters of the Attitude era of WWE. While the character of Vince was that of a bad boss, The Rock was more of a face-turned-heel character. Both the heels had a long storyline with the face of the time, Stone Cold Steve Austin. The storyline worked wonders for WWE, which took the business to a whole new level.
The Rock was not technically a heel from the start. The 51-year-old could not resonate with the fans as a face. The fans did not respond at all for the superstar in the making. Hence, The Rock had a chat with Vince McMahon and convinced him to be a heel. In the words of Nick Khan, the CEO of WWE, The Rock consulted Vince and asked him to let him be the heel.
‘They had a conversation at Madison Square Garden’ – Nick Khan
“When The Rock came in as Rocky Maivia, third-generation wrestler, smiling with the tassels from his arms. Boos throughout. Even worse than boos, no response. The worst. And then all of a sudden, and I’ve heard this story from both individuals involved, the story separately, from Vince and from Dwayne Johnson. Dwayne and Vince had a conversation at Madison Square Garden,” revealed Khan.
In an interview with Bill Simmons, Nick Khan revealed that he had interpretations from both individuals regarding the incident. The WWE CEO revealed that as soon as The Rock went with the proposal, McMahon accepted it. Khan felt that the heel character of The Rock resonated with the fans than the face character of Dwayne Johnson.
“Again, Rock was a face. And Rock said, ‘Let me go out, let me do my thing, let me sort of talk like I talk.’ And Vince McMahon said something to the effect of, ‘Do it. Go, get’em.’ And it was that night, the ‘Rocky sucks’ chants had already started, and all that stuff, where he sort of lit it up, and The Rock took fire,” concluded Khan.
