Former WWE Superstar defends The Rock's family from "negative marks"

The Rock is among the most polarizing figures in WWE after he returned on last week's SmackDown. While the megastar has been a fan favorite for the majority of his career, he has received much criticism for seemingly taking away Cody Rhodes' spot against Roman Reigns at WrestleMania. Some online trolls have even dragged The Great One's family into this, which hasn't sat well with Ryback.

The Big Guy was a part of WWE between 2004 and 2016, feuding with several top names and winning the Intercontinental Championship. While Ryback is currently away from pro wrestling, he often shares his thoughts on the business. Amid widespread debate about the Undisputed Universal Title match at 'Mania, some Twitter users have sent death threats to The Great One's daughter, Ava.

On a recent edition of Ryback TV, the former Intercontinental Champion highlighted how pro wrestling was going through a challenging phase, and the online trolling of Ava was making matters worse:

"The Rock's daughter, Ava, has deleted her X account because she is getting death threats from the "marks" of professional wrestling. Pro wrestling has a hard enough time as it is, as well as the pro wrestlers because you see, pro wrestling fans are typically perceived as the lowest on the totem pole of society," Ryback said. [0:00 - 0:22]

Ryback mentioned that while there were several supportive wrestling fans, others were "negative" and 'hateful'":

"What a lot of people don't realize is that fans, the 'negative marks,' not the good fans, we're not talking about good, healthy people that just love things and show support. We're talking about the negative hateful 'fanbase,' which is known as 'marks.' Those are the hateful ones!" he added. [0:38 - 0:54]

Ava was forced to delete her Twitter account after receiving death threats from fans. She previously clarified that she had nothing to do with the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship storyline.

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The Rock has been on the receiving end of "Rocky s*cks" chants

When The Rock debuted in WWE, he was met with "Rocky s*cks" chants from the audience. Now, decades later, he is hearing them once more. In recent weeks, fans have expressed their displeasure about The Great One's involvement in the Reigns-Rhodes angle through the abovementioned chant.

The chants first returned on the latest episode of Monday Night RAW during the opening segment featuring Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. Since The People's Champion has been a beloved figure for years, the adverse reaction reportedly shocked many within the company.

Many WWE fans are clearly unhappy about the company's rumored plans for The Rock, Roman Reigns, and Cody Rhodes. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the megastars.

What are your thoughts on the hate The Rock is getting? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Please credit Ryback TV and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use any quotes from the article's first half.