The Rock Recalls His Debut With WWE, Calls It A ‘Baptism By Fire’

The Rock made his WWE debut at Survivor Series back in 1996. As Rocky Maivia, he teamed with Jake Roberts, Marc Mero and The Stalker (Barry Windham) to defeat Crush, Goldust, Jerry Lawler and Triple H. Rock was the sole survivor for his team, pinning both Goldust and Crush.

In an interview with Mark Kerr for Sports Illustrated, Rock commented on the debut and explained why it was a big test for him.

He said: “But I’ll never forget, man, just like you backstage, nervous in front of 22,000, especially — just like in Brazil — just like for me in New York City, Madison Square Garden. If it doesn’t go well, that’s your debut. If you don’t win that tournament, okay, well, maybe you’re going to make something of yourself, maybe you won’t. If I don’t perform for that New York City crowd, it’s hardcore, they get a sense that you’re done. So luckily that night, I give a lot of credit to my fellow wrestlers who were like, ‘Hey kid, this is a big opportunity for you,’ because — by the way — Vince told me, came to me earlier that afternoon, and he goes, ‘Do you know what the finish of the match is?’ I go, ‘No.’ He goes, ‘You’re going over.’ ‘The whole thing?’ He goes, ‘The whole thing. You’re either going to sink or swim, and this is going to be baptism by fire.’“