By the time The Rock walked into Madison Square Garden on Aug. 30, 1998, for SummerSlam, he had been Intercontinental Champion for nine months, one of the longest reigns in history. He and Triple H battled in a classic Ladder Match, which many consider to be the greatest such match in Federation history. In a grueling 45-minute bout, both Superstars gave it their all, but in the end, a bloody Rock lost his Intercontinental Title. However, he won something much more important, the fan's respect. The crowd, which began rooting for Triple H at the beginning of the match, ended the evening changing their "Rocky Sucks" chants to the familiar chorus of Rocky, Rocky, Rocky! If you have to pinpoint a time and place where the Rock truly became the People's Champ, SummerSlam 1998 clearly stands out as the catalyst that propelled the Rock on to something greater, the World Wrestling Federation Championship.
Although The Nation dissolved on less-than-positive terms, The Rock's tenure in the faction was really what got his career going. Even if the crowd at the time thought that "Rocky sucks," they at least had some sort of emotion when he came out. He was able to learn the craft of speaking on the microphone and develop many of the catchphrases that have made him so popular today.
The Rock's popularity soared over the next few months, and many of his patented sayings were born during this era. Whenever the Rock picked up a mic, the frenzied crowd harped on his every word in anticipation of what he would say next.
At September's Breakdown event in Canada, The Rock defeated Mankind and Ken Shamrock in a grueling cage match that etched the Miami native firmly as the number one contender for Federation gold, much to the dismay of Vince and Shane McMahon. For the next few weeks, The McMahon clan did everything in their power to make life miserable for the People's Champ...
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