The Undertaker Recalls Early Thoughts On The Rock After WWE Debut At MSG

"This kid ain't long," The Undertaker apparently said after watching a young Dwayne Johnson make his debut at Survivor Series in 1996. On his "Six Feet Under" podcast, 'Taker shared his initial skepticism about the future "People's Champion."

"When he debuted in Madison Square Garden, and he was Rocky Maivia, I was like, 'Oh, this kid's done. It's over,'" 'Taker said. "Especially in the Garden, right? They will flat-out just annihilate you right out of the get-go, and sometimes you can't recover. And he's coming out, and he's got the curly hair back then, and they're telling him to smile. And they're just booing the s*** out of him...Little did I know. I guess I got that one wrong."

After weeks of hype packages for "The Blue Chipper," the super saccharine Maivia glad-handed his way to the ring at Madison Square Garden to team with Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Marc Mero and Barry Windham in a traditional Survivor Series elimination match. Maivia was the sole survivor of the contest, last eliminating Goldust. WWE's attempt to position the squeaky-clean Maivia as a babyface was a tough pill for many fans to swallow. He turned heel in August of 1997 after recovering from a knee injury, which is where his charisma really shined.

"He's worked really hard," 'Taker said. "He was always a student. He was always, like, writing stuff down and asking questions. Incredible, incredible work ethic."

Although there were initial grumblings among some fans over the execution of creative, The Rock's last in-ring performance at WrestleMania 40 was mostly praised. Coincidentally, The Undertaker came face-to-face with his former "Attitude Era" rival in the match. Now many are speculating if The Rock will return for WrestleMania 41, as the seeds for a potential Rock/Cody Rhodes program have been planted.