Wrestlezone’s Top 10: Gimmick Changes to Championships

May 24, 2013

Number 5: Rocky Maivia to The Rock

The Rock

It was not easy for Dwayne Johnson. He struggled immensely in the WWE as Rocky Maivia, a happy and fun character that debuted at Survivor Series in 1996. He was the sole survivor for his team. This meant great things ahead right? Wrong. Maivia was booed and the crowd turned on him quickly. Johnson knew he could make something work, but had problems finding it. Well, we all knew what happened soon after. Maivia was gone and The Rock was born. Multiple championships, Hollywood hits, and classic matches later and we have ourselves The Rock. He is the most successful mainstream professional wrestler in the modern era. Dwayne Johnson needed to be himself. Maivia, although paying tribute to his family, was not being himself. The Rock was Dwayne Johnson. The rest is history.

Josh controls most of the creative writing and ideas for the show on a weekly basis, as well as an on-air talent.
Aside from working with WrestleZone, Isenberg began his career in Broadcast Journalism interning at ESPN and worked with CBS Radio for three years. He has also had the opportunity to interview some of the best athletes and performers alive, including Andrew McCutchen, Ben Roethlisberger, Chris Jericho, Billy Gunn, Karl Anderson, Matt Hardy, Steven Strasburg and others.
Currently, Josh Isenberg works for Major League Baseball in their Advanced Media Productions. He grew up in Pittsburgh and went to Point Park University, which is where Chair Shot Reality is filmed each week.
His life outside of his obsession with wrestling include being a savant for Seinfeld, NFL, NBA, MLB and many television shows. He also has an undying love for musicals, which includes many shows he was a part of in high school. Some of his favorite wrestling moments can be linked to such superstars as Edge, The Rock, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Great Khali.

Follow @JoshIsenberg4