So now that The Rock is Champion....

[DannyDirtz]

Hi all

I believe and HOPE that we are going to see 2 things happening now that The Rock is the WWE champion.

1) The Rock in action every RAW.
As champion this just seems a given. I really cant see how Rock could win and then only come out to do promos. As champion you need to be there just as Punk and all champions before him was. This is the start of Rock's title defense run. We are probably going to see Rock V Punk again tonight on RAW.

2) Product change.
Since Rock's "partial" return in 2010 , its been shown that whenever he is scheduled to be on a wwe broadcast the viewer ratings increase. Therefore its only logical to believe and hope that ratings will start to go up again. During this time of higher ratings VKM should take the opportunity to start changing the product for the better and holding onto those viewers should Rock leave again.

The WWE is currently milking the Attitude era for all its worth. Weather it be an attitude era dvd or old AE stars appearing for a night , they are doing everything they can to say to the older fans "hey remember this guy! stick around and you might see more of him in the future!" Its all the company has left to interest anyone over the age of 11. With Rock as champion this has been a smart move to get the adult fanbase hyped again.

Lets just hope VKM and wwe creative get their acts together because once Rock , Taker , HHH , etc are too old to wrestle......WWE currently has nothing that will suppress the crowds urge to riot whenever Cena wins or another childish storyline is played out.

[Jon Jones' Jobber]

The Rock doesn't have to be on RAW every week. He's The Rock, the dude can do whatever he wants. They have Cena to fill the spot that would normally be held by the champion and I'm sure you can milk Cena vs. Punk until the time for WrestleMania hits us after Elimination Chamber.

It's stupid to think that The Rock is going to be wrestling on RAW. The Rock and Brock Lesnar are not guys you'll be throwing on free television. Make those fans pay money to see one of the favourites, you don't go giving that up for free considering all the money he'll bring in. Dude draws like crazy.

[Desyar]

All I have to say is THANK GOD!

Now the WWE title has its relevance restored with The Rock holding it. Punk was a mediocre champion but that's all he is. He went from being a good face to a very generic dull heel.

This is a smart move by WWE. Also, Punk as a champ never drew anyway, not to mention that Raw drew the lowest ratings of 15 years during his reign. It must have been embarrassing to be in his shoes at that time.

[rge2010]

IWC marks are crying about part timer Rock been the champ. I think its great and business wise makes sense...

Rock will have the gold in every interview he does for his movies giving WWE mainstream access. Raw ratings will improve now The Great One is the Champ and PPV buys for Elimination Chamber and Wrestlemania 29 will almost certainly beat last years numbers.

Punk has had his gold for long enough, change was needed!!!

[GeneralKarim]

^ tho I agree, mainstream as has been seen these pats 2 years have not helped WWE at all when it comes to ratings.When Brock Lesnar and Rock wont be here anymore to spike them, WWE will have huge problems.

The fact that the single This is Awesome Chant that happened at RR was in the Alberto Del Rio vs Big Show match, speaks miles of the quality of the PPV. the RR match itself was a bust and the main event was just awful.

[gank]

The reality to be honest is this one : he will only compete at elimination chamber and he will bore us to death with his new best friend Cena :|, it will be like we will watch a rerun of their stupid "One in a life time bs". Don't get me wrong i dont hate Rock , i like him but come on he need a better feud not this bs again. I personally wanted a Rock / Lesnar match or a triple threat Punk/Rock/Cena not fruity pebbles part 2.

[Eyrothath]

I am going to make a prediction, I think Rock will hand the belt off to Cena and Cena will act as a placeholder, sort of like a "Defender of the WWE Championship.." since everyone knows the Rock will not always be there and in whatever Hollywood stuff he does he will have the title or when he makes a promo, but I think in a way Cena will be the one defending the title and not Rock himself since the title has to be defended, Cena is probably looking forward to beating the Rock at WM 29 for the title, so he is willing to make sure it stays in the Rocks hands and therefore he will defend it..

This is a perfect time to reign in a new look for the title btw, I think the Rock should use his own custom title, the one that was designed for him but never used on television.

[MCMG]

The Rock has to be on every single Raw (and most Smackdowns) from now till Mania. I am doubtful if he will but i'm certain he should be. The point about the belt design is a good one, he will change it to suit him better.

Elimination Chamber is interesting. For me, he has to be in an actual Elimination Chamber match and obviously win. Mania vs Cena (and Punk) will be a decent match and I'm sure it will draw. I can't see him walking out of Mania with the belt. He will be gone by June 1st at the latest.

[Mr. J. O'Material]

Originally Posted by GeneralKarim

^ tho I agree, mainstream as has been seen these pats 2 years have not helped WWE at all when it comes to ratings.When Brock Lesnar and Rock wont be here anymore to spike them, WWE will have huge problems.

You do realize pay per view buyrates were significantly up from last year, partially off the back of Brock Lesnar and the Rock, right? Right, sod off with that; I had friends who called me and said they watched a WWE PPV for the first time in months last night, and thought it was great.

The IWC is really overthinking what the casual fan wants, or what the casual fan thinks. You see Rock and Cena for the title, and think disappointing... The casual fan sees Rock with the title, and thinks, "now I want to see why Rock has the title".

I'm not going to say this is the start of a new boom period, but Wrestlemania is going to do the biggest gate in the history of the WWE, probably, and will eclipse last year's record of buyrates. The Rock can keep his part time schedule, and that will happen, I guarantee it. As long as people see and know that Dwayne Johnson is holding the belt, the casual fan will be at least piqued to what is going on.

That's all that matters
And that is what makes money
A lot of money

[boywithbluehanger]

I think this was the best possible scenario. Punk losing to anyone other than Cena would have tainted his reign as far as I'm concerned. If we're really supposed to buy into him being as great as his title reign, then the only kind of wrestler that should be able to take it from him is an iconic great. Besides, other than what Vince/HHH have told many of the backstage people in, "No one is bigger than the WWE.", The Rock actually is. Regardless of how cliche it is to say this around here, having the title in his hands, automatically restores the greatness the championship once had.

Now we have a good reset example of what a champion is supposed to look like, sound like, and be like. CM Punk is not a consistent character and doesn't look the part. Those are his shortcommings. Like him all you want (Hell I like a lot of his pre-2012 stuff) but his look and inconsistent character is the reason why he never drew like Cena's feuds can. He has talent on the mic but in a game where someone like Randy Orton is even considered muscularly small, CM Punk is a dwarf.

The Rock isn't perfect by any means but on his best days he's awesome and on his worst days he's merely great. Seriously, if he makes one flub in a speech he's had a bad day and everyone focuses on it. That's how talented he his. A guy like that doesn't need to be on every RAW or Smackdown. The product needs to catch up to his level and hopefully be inspired by his talents. Punk is a decent start but guys need to aspire to be more like (dare I say it) John Cena, and less like Orton. And by only having guys carry the belt that are "greats" in different or all aspects, is what legitimizes the championship.