Ranking The Rock's 7 Greatest WWE Feuds Ahead of WrestleMania 40 Tag Match

Since returning to WWE at the onset of the year, The Rock has been an incredible asset to an already-electric televised product by doing some of his strongest wrestling work in decades.

The heel turn has rejuvenated his once-stagnant act and given him plenty of fresh material to work with in his heated rivalry with Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins en route to WrestleMania 40.

There, he will step back inside the squared circle for his first official, full-length match in over a decade when he joins forces with Roman Reigns to battle Rhodes and Rollins in tag team action with major implications for the Night 2 main event for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

It remains to be seen what the future holds for The Great One in WWE beyond The Show of Shows, but a long-term storyline with Reigns culminating in a one-on-one bout between them at next year's installment has the potential to be something special.

His recent run-ins with Rhodes and Rollins have produced a handful of memorable segments, but it will be a while before their rivalry reaches the same level as the following unforgettable feuds from Rock's iconic career.

Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle and The Rock were the perfect polar opposites for each other in the early 2000s. The Great One's style combined with the Olympian's substance made for a phenomenal pairing both on the mic and in the ring.

At No Way Out 2001, they had what many believe was their best bout together when Rock managed to best Angle to clinch the WWE Championship.

CM Punk

Rock's last return run from 2011 to 2013 was entirely designed to "pass the torch" to John Cena in the end (despite The Cenation Leader already being a made-man by that point, but more on that later), but it also saw him work with a few other fresh faces along the way, most notably CM Punk.

Their feud was short-lived, but everything from Punk shockingly attacking Rock at WWE Raw 1000 to laying into him on the microphone on multiple occasions to their strong back-to-back matches was sheer excellence.

Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho debuted in WWE interrupting Rock, and the two were synonymous with each other from that point forward.

Their verbal exchanges were entertaining and their string of pay-per-view matches also delivered, particularly in the final few months of 2001 and into the early stretch of 2002.

Jericho wasn't a set-in-stone main event player during the early years of his WWE run, but Rock went to great lengths to make him feel like one by putting him over whenever it mattered most.

Without The Nation of Domination, Rocky Maivia may have fizzled out in WWE instead of evolving into the world-renowned megastar he is today.

He failed to find his footing as a babyface shortly after arriving, so turning heel was exactly what he needed. Joining the Faarooq-led stable provided him with that opportunity, but it wasn't long before he assumed a leadership role because of how quickly he was progressing.

Faarooq was exiled from his own faction by Rock immediately following WrestleMania 14, leading to them feuding over the Intercontinental Championship in the weeks that followed. Rock beat him to retain the title at Over the Edge 1998 to settle their score once and for all.

The rivalry itself was brief, but it played a pivotal role in The Great One being elevated to that next level. Faarooq's wealth of knowledge and experience made him an appropriate mentor for Rock during his initial ascent to the top.

It was also during this period that Rock crafted the character that would skyrocket him straight to the top, and Faarooq was as influential as anyone in ensuring it got off the ground.

Rock and Faarooq were still a cohesive unit in The Nation of Domination during The Great One's rivalry with Ken Shamrock over the Intercontinental Championship in the first few months of 1998.

This was a prime example of a feud where both men benefited from working with each other despite being new to the wrestling scene. As noted, Rock hadn't been wrestling for long by this point, and Shamrock made the jump from UFC to WWE less than a year earlier.

Rock was firing on all cylinders as intercontinental champ but ran into his toughest and most legitimate opposition up to that point in Shamrock.

It was a simple story with Rock doing everything he could to avoid finding himself in one of his opponent's signature submissions and risk losing his prized possession.

That dynamic made for several fun matches between them throughout the year, with Rock escaping unscathed more often than not. The one instance Shamrock successfully got one over on him was when he defeated Rock to become the 1998 King of the Ring.

Rock (virtually) inducting Shamrock into the TNA Hall of Fame in 2020 was a classy way for them to finally bury the hatchet (in kayfabe, of course).

Rock exploded onto the WWE scene years ago Hulk Hogan left for greener pastures in WCW, and in his absence, Rock became the new People's Champion and came close to surpassing him in popularity.

Hogan vs. Rock was very much a "dream match" for many due to it never being considered a realistic possibility for several years, at least until WCW closed its doors and Hogan made his triumphant return to WWE in 2002.

Their WrestleMania 18 match sold itself and needed no additional story. Hogan and his nWo cronies were back to regain the glory, while Rock was ready to defend the company from them.

Hogan walked in the antagonist but was immediately received by the Toronto crowd as the clear fan favorite. To his credit, Rock improvised accordingly and they proceeded to deliver an all-timer based on the electric atmosphere alone.

Rock may have had his hand raised that night, but in reality, the audience were the real winners for having witnessed history unfold in front of them.

Their rivalry didn't end there, though, as they ran it back the following February at No Way Out where The Brahma Bull again emerged victorious, this time in nefarious fashion.

Similar to Rock vs. Hogan, Rock vs. John Cena was another one of those matches that seemed out of the realm of possibility for many years due to Rock leaving wrestling for Hollywood in the mid-2000s.

Once he decided to return to his roots in 2011, it was at a time when Cena was on top as the face of the franchise and the anticipation for them crossing paths was at an all-time high. WWE could have easily rushed through the rivalry at that year's WrestleMania, but it instead took its time with it over the next two years.

This included Rock costing Cena the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 27, announcing their match for 'Mania the following year on the next night's Raw, Rock winning their initial encounter, and Cena avenging the loss in a rematch the year after at WrestleMania 29.

It was an ambitious endeavor, and fans were tired of their feud toward its end, but it was a well-crafted arc with plenty of twists and turns throughout.

The first match delivered on the heavy hype, and although the second go-around underwhelmed, they incorporated realism into their rivalry and were responsible for some of WWE's best can't-miss programming in years.

WWE often sets up storylines for the months preceding WrestleMania to keep certain Superstars busy before they shift their focus to their actual opponents closer to the event.

That was the case with The Rock and Mankind in the fall of 1998 into the winter of 1999. They caught lightning in a bottle with their thrilling rivalry, and the company was wise to capitalize on it.

It started with Rock essentially stealing the WWE title from Mankind in the finals of a tournament to crown a new champ by aligning with the McMahons. That newly formed faction led to Mankind breaking out as a babyface and staying in chase mode all the way through WrestleMania.

They went on to exchange the title in a series of hard-hitting matches, their grueling "I Quit" match at the Royal Rumble being chief among them. Their Halftime Heat clash is another beloved encounter of theirs as well.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin was waiting in the wings for Rock at 'Mania, but the Mankind mini feud allowed The Great One to come into his own as a heel again before that marquee match.

Mankind becoming a two-time world champion out of it was simply the cherry on top.

Rock and Triple H waged war at all the right times during their respective rises to singles stardom and needed each other to test their mettle as top-tier talent.

Their first few run-ins occurred in 1997, but it wasn't until the summer of 1998 that they truly proved themselves as future faces of the company. They brought the best out of each other in their matches for the Intercontinental Championship and made that title feel like the most prestigious prize in the company.

Their ladder match at SummerSlam that year in particular stands out as being one of their most memorable encounters.

Two years later, they rekindled their rivalry in time for WrestleMania 2000 with the WWE Championship up for grabs. Their Fatal 4-Way also involving Big Show and Mick Foley fell flat, but their one-on-one outing at Backlash later that April captured the magic they were looking for.

Even their Iron Man match at Judgment Day 2000 is regarded as one of the greatest of its kind for its exciting execution and chaotic closing stretch.

With Rock now on the board of directors for WWE owners, TKO Group Holdings, and Triple H being in complete control creatively, one can only hope we haven't seen the last of them on screen together.

WWE's Attitude Era boasted the most star-studded roster in company history, but Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin embodied the spirit of that prosperous period more than anyone.

As such, it was only logical that they'd have their fair share of battles together, but the spark they shared every time they faced off was impossible to manufacture.

WWE was unbelievably fortunate to have two talents of their caliber come around at the same time and do big business over and over again.

Their WrestleMania 15 match—and the Intercontinental Championship feud that preceded it in late 1997—merely scratched the surface of what they were capable of. They evolved as performers in the subsequent years before mixing it up in the WrestleMania main event once more in 2001, a matchup many consider to be among the best to ever close The Show of Shows.

As luck would have it, Rock and Austin had the chance to end that era with one more match at WrestleMania 19. That was where The Great One finally conquered his longtime rival on the grandest stage.

Regardless who was in what role, they were instrumental in immortalizing the other and giving fans a feud that defined a generation.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.