20 years ago today, The Rock made his WWE debut

[Everlong]

It was survivor series 1996 at Madison Square Garden, and Rocky Maivia made his debut. Who would have known that 20 years later he'd be arguably the biggest blockbuster star in the world?

[Str8Shooter]

It's nuts that as popular as he was in wrestling, he's now even more popular outside of wrestling.

In fact, that's a good question to pose. Is The Rock the most famous wrestler ever?

[AkydefGoldberg]

Yes he's been tweeting about some of his moments since his debut 20 years ago, finishing off with the WM19 win over Austin in what was the latter's final match. Watching the ending to the match, incidentally, made me realise how much in pain Austin was in. He'd been hospitalised the night before and was in agony taking those Rock Bottoms at the end.

But on Rock, when he made The Scorpion King, don't think many people felt he'd go onto be known more for his movies than a seven year wrestling career but he is now. Although having said after his initial foray into acting, there was a period when he was struggling a tad with poor films but as he's noted in interviews, returning to his physical DNA and embracing who he is has seen him in some big movies from a numbers perspective. Even watching him on Ballers, he's become a more natural actor.

[KaiserGlider]

In fact, that's a good question to pose. Is The Rock the most famous wrestler ever?

Without a doubt.

[ShaneOfan]

It's nuts that as popular as he was in wrestling, he's now even more popular outside of wrestling.

In fact, that's a good question to pose. Is The Rock the most famous wrestler ever?

I mean the Hulkster has to still be up there, but I would say Rocky is indeed the most famous. Especially because he benefits/benefited from having most of his career be during the internet era. It allowed for WAY more exposure.

[Ace]

It's nuts that as popular as he was in wrestling, he's now even more popular outside of wrestling.

In fact, that's a good question to pose. Is The Rock the most famous wrestler ever?

I mean the Hulkster has to still be up there, but I would say Rocky is indeed the most famous. Especially because he benefits/benefited from having most of his career be during the internet era. It allowed for WAY more exposure.

Recall that Hulk Hogan is iconic because wrestling was still a household program. When that shift changed, Hogan was still huge but he's mostly famous because of his work in the comapny. He propelled it to the top.

The Rock has made the same successful life outside of the ring as the one he had inside the ring. He did change his world completely during 2004ish when dropped wrestling for the time & focused only on acting.

My point is that they'really both famous but for somewhat different reasons.

[The Legend]

It's nuts that as popular as he was in wrestling, he's now even more popular outside of wrestling.

In fact, that's a good question to pose. Is The Rock the most famous wrestler ever?

I mean the Hulkster has to still be up there, but I would say Rocky is indeed the most famous. Especially because he benefits/benefited from having most of his career be during the internet era. It allowed for WAY more exposure.

Hulk Hogan is the most popular wrestler ever during his wrestling career for wrestling, but Rock has become the only wrestler to become more famous after wrestling.

[Hanley!]

I reckon Hogan would rival Rock for being the most famous wrestler ever. He'd probably be more well known by older generations than the Rock is, though Rock would be more well known by younger generations. They're both essentially household names though. I'd also say Hogan is the more famous of the two for his wrestling. Rock became more famous once he became an actor.

Weirdly, I'd say Austin was the most popular wrestler of all time, but in terms of worldwide fame, he's a distant third. If that. There are other wrestlers who would rival him.

[KaiserGlider]

Hogan would be more known to older generations than younger ones, but The Rock is in the media all the time. These old people would have be pretty shut off from popular culture to not have heard of The Rock. And is Hogan really a household name outside of wrestling nowadays? He had a minor appearance in a Rocky movie, the Hogan Knows Best show on VH1, and recently the Gawker stuff, but that's nothing compared to what The Rock is doing.

I agree with Austin being a distant third, and I think Undertaker is on that level as well.