WWF LEGENDS

Before you read this biography of The Rock I must warn you that it is THREE PAGES LONG so read on if you are a true fan

Rocky Maivia, whose real name is Duane Johnson, is the son of Rocky Johnson and grandson of the late High Chief Peter Maivia. He started playing football and was signed by the Miami Hurricanes, Duane started wrestling in the off season, this started in 1995 where he wrestled in the independent circuit.

In 1996 the WWF got interested signed him and sent him to the USWA for seasoning. In the USWA he got the name Flex Cavana, he teamed with Bart Sawyer to win the USWA Tag Team Title on two occasions. The first time they won the title by winning a tournament title, here they defeated Brickhouse Brown and Reggie B. Fine, June 17, 1996. Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee dethroned the champions, July 1. But Flex and Bart fought back and regained the title one week later, but they were only able to hold on the title for a week themselves, because on July 8, Brickhouse Brown and Reggie B. Fine ended their regain. Shortly after this Rocky packed his bag and went to Stamford.

In the WWF, Vince McMahon had found the perfect name for Duane, by taking the first name from Duane's father and the surname of his grandfather making it to Rocky Maivia. The WWF then started to hype the youngsters name on television broadcasts, and Maivia should make his debut at the Survivor Series, November 17, 1996.

The crowd welcomed Maivia at the Survivor Series, where he put on a great showing and became the sole survivor for his team, when he eliminated Crush and Goldust. After his performance at the Survivor Series, every manager in the WWF wanted Rocky in their stable, among the managers where Jim Cornette and Sunny, Cornette played the biggest part in this angle, because Rocky didn't want to have anything to do with Cornette, who then brought out wrestlers to fight Maivia. None of these wrestlers were a big threat to Maivia, but when Cornette brought out Salvatore Sincere a minor feud started where Maivia came out on top.

Rocky also entered the Royal Rumble 1997, where he again showed that he could handle himself, when he was in the ring together with the big guns. Perhaps this got the WWF management to sign Rocky for a shot at the WWF Intercontinental Champion, Hunter Hearst Helmsley. The two clashed at Thursday Raw Thursday, February 13, 1997, the match, was dominated by Hunter, but the end came, when Hunter went for the Pedigree Rocky rolled him up for the pin and won the WWF Intercontinental Title. The crowd was behind the young star, but not for long.

Maivia's first defence of the Intercontinental Title was at In Your House 13, February 16, 1997, where Rocky went up against the former champion, Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Again Hunter dominated the match, but Hunter's rival Goldust showed up and that brought Maivia the victory. With only three days as a champion, people started speculating if Rocky's lack of experience, and thereby lack of skill, would let the crowd accept him in a high profile position as Intercontinental Champion.

They soon got their answer. When the Sultan attacked Maivia, on Monday Night Raw, March 10, 1997, and started a long boring feud, the crowd slowly started the chants of Rocky sucks, and Die Rocky Die. Rocky and the Sultan clashed at WrestleMania 13, where the most exciting thing about their encounter was after Rocky had won, the Sultan and his managers, the Sheik and Bob Backlund started pounding on Rocky, but none other than Rocky's fater Rocky Johnson came to the rescue, before they together fought off the villains.

The fans patience with Rocky Maivia were over, the chants were getting so big that the commentators couldn't ignore it anymore, even though they tried. The next contender was Savio Vega from the Nation of Domination, who pinned Rocky in a non-title match to set-up their match at In Your House 14, April 20. This was one of Maivia's better matches, but he wasn't able to win the match since he ended up on the floor, where a heart punch from Crush stopped Maivia's attempt to get back in the ring, this ended the match as Rocky was counted out.

The WWF knew that they had to do something with the Intercontinental Title, since the fans didn't react to Maivia as they had hoped. On April 28, 1997, Owen Hart dethroned Maivia, who had problems with his knee. After a loss to Mankind at In Your House 15 to Mankind, Maivia got some time off to heal his knee.

Rocky returned to action on August 11, 1997, in a match which saw the leader of the Nation of Domination, Faarooq take on Chainz, the camera spotted Rocky and the commentators were happy to see him again. Rocky the ran to the ring and hit the Rock bottom on Chainz, which gave Faarooq an easy win. After the match, Rocky joined Faarooq in the ring and gave the NOD salute.

The Nation, who had dropped Ahmed Johnson a week before Rocky joined, were in the midst of feud with Ahmed and his gang, which consisted of Ken Shamrock and the Legion of Doom. Rocky also got involved in this feud and it was here that he showed that he had improved in the ring as well as on the microphone. The NOD defeated the LOD at In Your House 18, and at the Survivor Series 1997, Rocky was the shining light on his team, who lost to Ken Shamrock, LOD, and Ahmed Johnson.

After that a racist angle followed between the NOD, the Hart Foundation and Degeneration X, but thankfully it stopped when Bret Hart jumped ship to the WCW. Maivia then wanted a shot at the Intercontinental Title, because he felt that he was the best damn Intercontinental Champion, and the peoples champion. This he told the then IC Champion, Steve Austin, who accepted his challenge after telling Maivia off.

Maivia was mad after this episode, so he ordered the NOD to attack Austin on November 17, while Maivia stole the title and then took of. Austin and Maivia continued to have some funny episodes, which included the beeper 3:16 skit, until they finally clashed at In Your House 19, December 7. Austin controlled much of the match and eventually won.

The day after his loss, Vince McMahon ordered Austin to a match with Maivia, because of Austin's actions the day before. Austin didn't want to fight Maivia again, so he forfeited the belt to Maivia, who once again was the peoples champion, but then got the Stunner. Austin then took away with the title and threw it into a river. But Rocky was the Intercontinental Champion, and with a title in his hand his confidence grew and he started ordering the other members of the Nation around, including the leader Faarooq, who didn't liked to be commanded by the Rock.

Rocky then challenged Ken Shamrock to find out who was the toughest, but Rocky had a plan which involved the other members of the NOD. Shamrock battled them all and won, the last victory came over Faarooq, when Rocky held up a chair for Faarooq to throw Shamrock into, but instead Faarooq hit the chair. But Rocky had another ace up his sleeve, namely Mark Henry, who teamed with Ken Shamrock, but turned on him during a match with Rocky and D-Lo Brown, Faarooq didn't like that Mark Henry had joined the NOD, but Rocky didn't seem to care.

At the Royal Rumble 1998, the Rock and Ken Shamrock clashed. Shamrock dominated the match, but the Rock was the smartest as he hit Shamrock with brass knuckles and then put them in Shamrock's tights. When Shamrock made a comeback and pinned Maivia, he pointed out that Shamrock had knuckles in his trunks which the referee checked and found. Maivia was the awarded the victory by disqualification. Maivia also participated in the battle royal, where he again put up a great showing, he entered as number 4 and was the last man eliminated.

The feud with Shamrock continued and so did the problems with Faarooq. During a non-title match against Steve Blackman, Faarooq got D-Lo Brown to throw in Blackman's weapons to Blackman, who walloped Rocky with them and pinned him. Rocky then tried to make peace with Faarooq and the others by giving them gift, D-Lo, Mark Henry, and Kama got nice Rolex watches while Faarooq got a framed picture of Rocky Maivia. Faarooq wanted to use the picture as a weapon but Rocky saved it.

At Raw is War from March 17 Maivia issued a new challenge to Ken Shamrock, Maivia stated that Shamrock couldn't last 2 minutes with any member of the NOD. But Shamrock defeated D-Lo Brown before the 2 minute mark and was then attacked by Maivia, who with two vicious chair shots sent Shamrock to the hospital.

At WrestleMania 14, Rocky and Shamrock had yet another match, Shamrock started like a tornado and soon he got Maivia in the Ankle Lock Toe hold and Maivia tapped out. Shamrock was declared the new Intercontinental Champion, but he was still mad at Maivia so he put him in the Ankle Lock Toe hold again, Faarooq then came to the ring but he just stared at Rocky and then left. Shamrock didn't release the hold until some officials pulled him away. Again Shamrock went after Maivia, who was carted away on a stretcher and attacked him again, the referee reversed the decision.

At Raw is War, the following night Rocky and the rest of the Nation decided that Faarooq wasn't the right leader for them, so they punked him and then Rocky became the ruler of the Nation. Faarooq then aligned himself with Ken Shamrock and Steve Blackman to take on the NOD. Rocky Maivia also got a co-leader in the Nation, when Owen Hart joined the ranks after turning on Ken Shamrock. Faarooq got a taste of revenge at In Your House 22, where he attacked Maivia before the match, but it wasn't enough to keep the Rock down, who won the match.

Rocky qualified to the King of the Ring tournament by defeating Vader and then Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a strong encounter. At the pay-per-view, Rocky went up against Dan Severn in the semifinal, and with a helping splash from D-Lo Brown, Rocky dealt the first loss to Severn in his pro. wrestling career. In the final waited old nemesis Ken Shamrock, who proved to be too much for Maivia. Since Owen joined the Nation, Rocky have involved himself in Owen's feud with Degeneration X, and DX have also done what they can to provoke the Nation with various skits. Rocky and Owen also lost a tag match to Hunter and X-Pac at Raw is War, July 13, this will really put fuel on the fire.

Rocky put more fuel on the fire the following week, when he helped D-Lo Brow defeat Hunter for the European Title. Maivia also put on a good showing against X-Pac, but the match ended in a disqualification, when Hunter interfered.

Maivia clashed with Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a match for the Intercontinental Title, the match was a best of three falls. Rocky scored the first fall after some interference and then hit the Rock Bottom for the pin. Hunter won the second fall after interference from Chyna. The third fall ended with a time limit draw. Both men put on a great showing and have lead to high expectations for their Ladder Match at Summer Slam.

Even when the odds are stacked against him, Maivia shows just how smart he is, at Raw is War, July 27, he fought Hunter Hearst Helmsley and X-Pac in a Thriple Threat Match. Maivia was on the receiving end for most of the match, but he knew that both men wanted the gold so they stopped each others pinfall attempts and started fighting, when Maivia had had his fun, he walked from the ring and got counted out, smart thinking.

At Sunday Night Heat, Maivia and Owen Hart defeated the team of Kane and Mankind to earn a shot at the WWF Tag Team Champions, Steve Austin and the Undertaker. The match took place at Raw is War, but ended in a double disqualification, when Kane and Mankind and the New Age Outlaws interfered.

Maivia have continued his feud with Helmsley and at Raw is War, August 17, it turned into a bloody affair. In a streetfight match between the Nation and Degeneration X, Rocky and his fellow Nation members together with Jeff Jarrett and Southern Justice beat Degeneration X into a bloody pulp.

The Rock tried to get he odds on his side when he hit Hunter on his bad knee with the belt at Sunday Night Heat. Rocky lost the Intercontinental Title to Hunter Hearst Helmsley at Summer Slam 1998, August 30, in a splendid Ladder Match, where members of both gangs interfered. The end came when Rocky went for belt, he was low blowed by Chyna, which gave Hunter enough time to retrieve the belt. This stopped Maivia's second Intercontinental Title regain.

Getting ready for the main event At Raw is War, September 12, Maivia had an interview where he stated that he was still the People's Champion, he also advised Undertaker and Kane to stay out of his way, the brothers completely destroyed the show from the week before by their constant interference. But actually it was the Rock who put his head in the business of Kane and the Undertaker, during a match between Kane and D-Lo Brown, Maivia came to the ring and whacked Kane with a chair twice. Maivia is ready for the big time.

At Raw is War, September 14, Maivia took on Kane in a hard fought battle, but was on the loosing end as the Undertaker was at ringside, but during the match Mankind ran to the ring and nailed Kane with a sledge hammer, so Kane became easy pickings for Maivia. The Rock paid Mankind back later that night as Mankind was fighting the Undertaker in a brutal match, when the Undertaker wanted to hit Mankind with a sledge hammer, Maivia emerged from a dumpster, which Mankind had brought to the ring, and saved Foley from further damage. The Rock has apparently formed a pact with Mankind, since they came to the ring, when Undertaker and Kane attacked Steve Austin and Ken Shamrock during their match.

The Rock has been strong since the incident and at Shotgun Saturday Night he won a 25 man battle royal. Maivia has obviously struck a deal with Mankind and Ken Shamrock and they protect each other to keep Undertaker and Kane at bay. But Vince McMahon tried to split the team, when he ordered them to face each other in a triple threat match to name the number one contender for the World Title, the match was thrown out the window, when Kane and Undertaker attacked.

A new Triple Threat match with Shamrock, Maivia and Mankind was announced during Sunday Night Heat, but this time the match would also be a cage match, so no one could interfere. The match was great and ended with Mankind brained Ken with a chair, Mankind then started to climb out, but Maivia went for the easy way as he pinned Shamrock. During the match the crowd was behind Maivia, and they celebrated as a bloody Maivia left the ring. Maivia is now the number one contender for the WWF World Title.

The Rock continued his winning streak the next day at Raw is War, where he together with Ken Shamrock and Mankind took on the Undertaker and Kane in a handicap match. The team of Maivia, Shamrock and Mankind used a lot of their time attacking each other, but in the end Maivia hit the Undertaker with the Rock Bottom for the win.

Maivia's step up to the top of the WWF continued at Sunday Night Heat, October 4, where the Rock went eye to eye with Steve Austin, who just had helped Maivia from an attack by Jeff Jarrett and Mark Canterbury. The next night at Raw is War, Maivia squared off against the Undertaker, during the match D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry abandoned Maivia, who got a helping hand from Kane, when he hit the Undertaker with a chair, but the Undertaker was too strong and he Tombstoned Maivia on the chair for the victory.

At Sunday Night Heat, October 11, the Rock was dissatisfied with Mark Henry and D-Lo's actions at Raw is War, Maivia challenged Henry to a match at Breakdown, this brought out Henry and D-Lo, who hit Maivia with the European Title belt. Later when Steve Austin had defeated D-Lo, the Rock made his way down to the ring and got in scuffles with Austin, but they were seperated by the referees, Maivia then went down to the ring and hit the Rock Bottom on both D-Lo and Henry. The next night at Raw is War, Maivia teamed up with Steve Austin to take on the Undertaker and Kane, but during the match Maivia was attacked by D-Lo Brown and Mark Henry. Maivia problems with the dissolving Nation continued at Judgement Day, where Maivia went up against Mark Henry. The Rock had things going his way, until D-Lo Brown came to ringside and held Maivia's legs down so Henry could get the duke.

At Raw is War, the following night, the Rock got his revenge on D-Lo, as Maivia defeated the youngster even though Mark Henry interfered. The next week on Raw is War, the Rock took on Ken Shamrock, before the match Vince McMahon stated that if Maivia didn't win Shamrock's Intercontinental Title, Rocky would be out of the 16 man tournament for the WWF Title and loose his #1 contender status. The Rock won the match but not the title, since Shamrock got himself disqualified when he used a chair on Rocky. McMahon then mocked Rocky by calling him the People's Chump. Later Rocky was arrested by the police, because he had threatened McMahon with murder.

At Sunday Night Heat, the name calling between Maivia and McMahon continued, but Rocky was promised a match to get back into the tournament for the WWF Title, if he could defeat Mark Henry the next night at Raw is War. Before the match took place, the Rock had enough problems getting there, as he was knocked down in the locker rooms. During the match the odds were against the Rock, as D-Lo and the Big Boss Man interfered, but Rocky was able to prevail and came back in the tournament. After the match Maivia went after Vince McMahon, who retaliated with a slap, but Maivia paid back as he blasted McMahon with the Rock Bottom and the People's Elbow.

Survivor Series, November 15, 1998, the Rock won the WWF World Title in a 14 man tournament and aligned himself with Vince McMahon. The Rock's first match was going to be against Hunter Hearst Helmsley, but due to injury he couldn't make it, the Big Boss Man was sent in as replacement, but it only took Maivia 4 seconds to roll him up for the pin. The next victim was Ken Shamrock, whom Maivia wiped out with the Boss Man's night stick. In the semi final waited the Undertaker, but again luck was on the Rock's side as Kane ran in and got the Undertaker disqualified.

Joining the McMahon's In the final Maivia went up against Mankind, it was a hard fought battle and eventually Rocky got Mankind in the Sharpshooter and immediately McMahon called for the bell and the Rock was declared WWF World Champion. After the match Vince and the Rock made fun of the fans until Steve Austin came to the ring. I must congratulate both Vince McMahon and Maivia on a job well done - the Rock was almost as beloved as Steve Austin, and now Maivia is the most hated heel in a federation, which lacks heels.

The next night at Raw is War, Maivia once again celebrated with the McMahon's and renamed his elbow drop to the Corporate Elbow. Austin had a surprise for Maivia though, because when Austin signed his contract he was guaranteed a title shot, which took place later that night. Steve Austin was all over the Rock during the match, but Ken Shamrock saved Maivia from a loss as he pulled out the referee, when Austin went for the pin. The Undertaker then came down and whacked Austin with a shovel, so it looks like Maivia's future challenges won't come from Austin in a while.

At Raw is War, November 23, the WWF got a new commissioner in the shape of Shawn Michaels, who immediately ordered a match between Maivia and X-Pac. During the match Rocky wanted to lay the smack down on X-Pac with a chair, but Michaels took the chair and nailed X-Pac himself. Thereby the corporate powers (Maivia, the McMahons, Ken Shamrock and the Big Boss Man) got a new associate. The next week at Raw is War, Maivia helped the Big Boss Man to the Hardcore Title as the Rock blasted Mankind with Rock Bottom. Later that night Maivia defeated Al Snow to retain the WWF World Title. The Rock will face Mankind at the Rock Bottom Pay-Per-View.

Mankind The Rock has had enough of Mankind's antics and therefore attacked him at Sunday Night Heat, where Mankind fought the Undertaker, but also Steve Austin interfered.

Maivia was scheduled to take on Hunter Hearst Helmsley at the Capital Carnage PPV, but instead Vince McMahon appointed X-Pac as an replacement. Hunter and Chyna tried to interfere on behalf on X-Pac, but it just didn't work out, The Rock won the match. The Rock seems to have the upper hand on Mankind, during a tag team match on Raw is War, December 7, the Big Boss Man handcuffed Mankind to the ropes, while the rest of the corporation started beating him.

Mankind got his revenge on the Rock at Sunday Night Heat before Rock Bottom, as Mankind pasted Maivia with various foreign objects injuring Maivia's ribs in the process. Before the match Mankind had a meeting with Vince McMahon, but he wouldn't admit that Mankind hadn't said I Quit at Survivor Series. The match was hard fought, but in the end Mankind with a help from Mr. Socko got the Mandible Claw on Maivia, who passed out. Mankind won the match, but McMahon grabbed the microphone, and stated that the Rock was still the champ, as he didnt get pinned or submit. After the match Ken Shamrock and the Big Boss Man started beating Mankind, the Rock joined in on the festivities after he had recovered.

The next night at Raw is War, the Rock saved McMahon from a beating from Mankind, who the Rock hit with the Rock Bottom on a car hood. Later he took on old nemesis Hunter Hearst Helmsley in a title match, but with the help from Shawn Michaels and a mystery guy, Maivia came out on top.

The Rock hasn't got enough of Foley, whom Maivia delivered a Rock Bottom to, at Raw is War, December 28, when Mankind had a chance to regain the Hardcore Title.