What began in May with a series of cryptic text messages to the phone of Kurt Angle has become quite possibly WWE's most intriguing storyline over the past six months as Jason Jordan was revealed to be the Raw general manger's storyline biological son. 

Jordan, 29, whose real name is Nathan Everhart, broke free from a tag team run on SmackDown Live as one half of American Alpha and quickly established himself as a viable singles star, capable of believably sharing main event spots opposite the likes of Roman Reigns. The journey in getting there, however, was a bit non-traditional as Jordan has executed the role of whiny babyface so perfectly in order to draw boos that he soon began drawing comparisons to The Rock's debut run in WWE as Rocky Maivia. 

Count WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley among the growing number of current and former pro wrestlers happy to chime in on just how bright Jordan's potential continues to be. 

Although Foley, who preceded Angle as Raw GM until his on-screen firing last March, couldn't help but chuckle at the idea of putting Jordan's name in the same sentence as The Rock so early, he was quick to explain the reasoning for his laughter during a guest appearance on CBS Sports "In This Corner Podcast" on Wednesday. 

"Yeah, I don't know, the Rock comparison might not be fair to anyone but Jason is certainly one of the most enjoyable guys," Foley said. "You hear me laughing during it. No one audibly screams due to an injury like Jason. It's almost as if he is screaming the words, 'Look at me fighting my way through this injury. Admire me for my fortitude.' 

"There is a lot of potential there and this is one of those storylines that people scoffed at, at first, that is really picking up momentum and could lead to some interesting places."

The main difference between The Rock's 1996 debut and the reaction Jordan has received comes down to intention. Maivia was booed by then WWF fans as a babyface who felt forced. The negative reaction, however, built the foundation for the character The Rock would evolve into following a heel turn. 

As Angle explained to CBS Sports in December, Jordan's ability to draw boos as a babyface has been the result of a much more calculated plan by WWE chairman Vince McMahon. 

"You know what's crazy? Everything that the fans have gone through the last three or four months, most of the fans can't stand him," Angle said. "A lot of the fans are saying, 'He's getting the wrong kind of heat because we really don't like him for real.' 

"Everything that has occurred up until now, Vince [McMahon] already knew how they were going to react, so this has been working. As many fans will say 'it's not working' and 'get rid of him' or 'I'm not buying it,' now that the storyline has started to span out and develop further, it was a good fit. Jason is doing a great job, and he has carried the storyline very well." 

At 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, Jordan has certainly delivered from an in-ring perspective. In fact, Angle would place him in the "top three or top five" in all of WWE. But Angle went on to credit Jordan's ability to improve on the microphone in such a short time with making the storyline work so well. 

From Foley's perspective, Jordan has gone a long way in making the daunting task of filling out a full episode of Raw with consistently entertaining content that much easier.

"So you take a guy like Jason, throw in an Elias, who is picking up steam, and throw in a guy like Drew Gulak, who is just good television and a great counter point to a more flamboyant Enzo Amore, and the steadiness of The Miz, and the great wrestling (which I think is a constant) and all of a sudden the three hours isn't as insurmountable as it may seem," Foley said. 

"Guys are just going all out to do the best they can every week. Whether it's Cesaro and Sheamus being dealt what they thought was a bad hand when they teamed up and turning it into one of the highlights of the year; to someone like The Miz, who comes over from SmackDown and continues to excel and continues to make every segment he does must see. Or someone like Elias, who finds his way into a character and allows us to watch the evolution of that character on a weekly basis. So there is always someone who is picking up the ball and running with it."