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The Rock made his wrestling debut at WWE Survivor Series in 1996, wrestling under the name Rocky Maivia.

It was an eight-man elimination match, with two teams of four, and the fresh-faced rookie looked completely different.

Watching the footage, Johnson revealed how he leapt into the ring and tried to give the camera attitude, but faced the wrong way.

(Image: WWE/YOUTUBE)

Later, when he was the last man standing from his team, he revealed how the crowd of 22,000 started chanting his name.

"They did something in that moment that defined my career and literally changed my life in one night," he said.

Then he eliminated one of his two remaining rivals, Crush, and told him something never revealed until now.

Crush, by going along with plans to have The Rock win, was giving the rookie a boost with the crowd.

So Johnson, as he hooked his rival's leg for the referee's count, whispered something in his ear.

The Rock recalled: "The referee was counting one, two… you'll see my head down and I was actually speaking to him.

"As I'm pinning him I'm saying to him 'thank you so much brother. I appreciate that.' I heard him say, 'I got you brother'."

He then eliminated his last rival, Goldust, and once again turned to the camera to show off — still unaware that it was behind him.

(Image: GETTY)

He recounted: "This night, aside from me wearing some bright-a** blue wrestling gear and a really awful haircut, it was a very special night.

"This night really kicked off and defined my career, and there's an old saying in show business, if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.

"Well my very first night in New York they embraced me like a son and since then I've had nothing but gratitude and love for New York, the WWE, and all those guys that put me over."