The Rocks Raw segment...

[rge2010]

Apologies but cannot find a thread devoted to Raw? Has it gone?

Anyway The Rock made an entertaining return to Raw which saw viewer ship rise by 18% on the previous week. The segment was long but I enjoyed it and Rock was in very good form. I do have a few things I need to get off my chest...

a) I thought his segment with Big Show was a little odd. It was almost heel like teasing Show and making him 'cry'.

b) Has The Rock shrunk? He looked tiny compared to Rusev who is only 6 foot tall!

c) Will there be any heat on him for the fan dressed as Hogan?!

d) Did anyone see any seeds planted for his Mania appearence?

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I had a few complaints about the segment, though it has more to do with management than the Rock.

Now, allegedly, and I do mean allegedly, there's said to be some major heat backstage once again regarding Lana. I read something a few days ago suggesting that the heat was major, though it didn't specify what it was about, and that the Rock's comments towards her during the segment were part of a "punishment" tactic. I don't know if it's true or not, I'm leaning more towards that it isn't, however I thought the comments were a little over the top. I know it's all made up but it just strikes me as kind of odd that WWE would have the Rock say such risqué things on live television in this day and age. However, if it is true that it was part of some sort of "punishment", I think it was sorta classless trying to sort of "shame" her on national television by inferring that she's a ****.

My biggest complaint, however, lies more with WWE management because, once again, the Rock's segment highlights just how much Vince limits the talent nowadays. With the exception of a handful of guys on the roster, nobody else in WWE could've gotten away with a fourth of what the Rock said & did during the segment as Vince would be so far up their asses that you wouldn't be able to tell where he ended and they began. You hear the response he gets and I've little doubt there are guys on the roster who could also have the fans hanging on their every word if Vince loosened up the noose he has around their necks. Again, aside from a pretty small number, anyone else would have found themselves fired or spend much of the rest of their WWE career jobbing out on Main Event and Superstars.

As for the Rock planting the seed for a WrestleMania appearance, it's possible but it's not going to be a wrestling appearance. He'll be out there on the mic, doing his thing, tossin' out one liners left and right.

And no, there's no heat on him for interacting with the guys in the crowd. Again, it's just an example of how much freedom WWE affords Attitude Era guys like Rock or Austin. The Rock's promo wasn't scripted as WWE basically lets him go out there and say whatever he wants to say. I mean, even if it did rub some of the officials the wrong way, so what? The Rock happened to be in Miami doing some work and probably appeared on Raw for free. Given the fact that he's the biggest action film star in the world making $25 to $30 million per film, the Rock wouldn't care if Vince was backstage foaming at the mouth.

 

[the_peoples_adam]

a) I would love to see The Rock turn heel one more time like around 2003. There was nothing odd with that. It was pure entertainment. Something like this happened when Rock confronted Randy Orton in 2004 and was led out by Eric bischoff that too on miami..

b)Nah..Thats bcoz Rusev was standing near the camera and its something with the camera angle..

c) Heat on The Rock..Do you think he cares about heat..Do you think Vince will bring heat upon the biggest star he has produced..Never..The Rock does stuffs like these whenever he appears on RAW..and by the way HULK HOGAN whatever bad he said and done aint matter coz HOGAN is still the greatest among all period..

d) I dont see any seeds planted for a wrestling match..He is not available to wrestle at WM32..But he may appear as an enforcer or something else..Maybe in the corner of USOS..So in that sense seeds are planted for his WM appearance in a non wrestling capacity..

 

[Mustang Sally]

Will there be any heat on him for the fan dressed as Hogan?!

Don't know about heat but I do believe the segment did contain Rock going off-script, simply for the fact that the masquerade guys were visually effective, but had nothing to say, even though Rock gave them the opportunity. I figure if they were plants, they would have been talking their parts. That they didn't made the whole scene awkward.

Did anyone see any seeds planted for his Mania appearence?

Not unless he's going to be taking on New Day by himself......which wouldn't exactly get the WM32 turnstiles tumbling. No, this appearance was strictly for Rock to entertain; I don't believe he was setting up anything. Perhaps WWE has been embarrassed in the past by disappointing Raw ratings following a major PPV and wanted to boost them by adding a segment that had nothing to do with fallout from Royal Rumble.

If so......mission accomplished.

 

[BaconBits]

1. Who cares. The Rock's whole shtick is ripping on folks, regardless if he's face or heel. It's been his shtick since he became The Rock way back when. And Big Show's shtick has been him crying/almost crying for a good 5+ years now.

2. The Rock is smaller than Rusev, but that's because they have different body types. The Rock is more of a "show" muscles type of guy, and Rusev is more of a "go" muscles type of guy. Height-wise, Rock is still a couple inches taller, though. The camera angle made it seem Rusev is the same height.

3. LOLOLOLOL. Fuck no.

4. The only thing he "planted seeds for" was that he confirmed in person that he'll be at Mania. It'll going to be an appearance like it's been the past couple years. Some filler shit somewhere during the show. If he gets any kind of physical, it'll be like it was last year, a few punches, or perhaps a Rock Bottom.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

His segment with Big Show was great. It was hilarious and felt real.

His segment with Lana was also great. The politically correct media was offended by it, but who cares? Everything everyone says offends someone.

His segment with the fans dressed as wrestlers was great as well and something WWE needs - wrestlers going off the script.

Finally, his segment with New Day was the best segment in years. The Rock was great as always, but New Day was especially impressive. There were many memorable quotes. "Llama penis" "You can't say that on TV!" "I did it for the paycheck" "Big Mama didn't like that!" "The other black dude I don't know is ready" "How about we talk about the black guys you do know" Then I actually got excited when the Usos came out, something that has never happened before.

Basically, everything the Rock said and did felt real and unscripted. Today's wrestlers can take notes because that's how you do promos.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

a) I thought his segment with Big Show was a little odd. It was almost heel like teasing Show and making him 'cry'.

He was busting Show's balls and it was funny. Show played it perfectly with the crying as that has because a humorous part of his legacy.

It is not clear if the Rock was full of shit or not but now Show can claim to have won a Rumble.

b) Has The Rock shrunk? He looked tiny compared to Rusev who is only 6 foot tall!

Don't know, didn't notice, don't care.

c) Will there be any heat on him for the fan dressed as Hogan?!

No, the value of a ringside Raw ticket will now increase with the possibility that the Rock will put you on camera one day and give a wrestling fan the moment of a lifetime.

d) Did anyone see any seeds planted for his Mania appearence?

I can't see Rusev being in a very notable spot at Mania therefore a physical run in with Rock may be more likely. Not a match but some confrotation where Rusev gets humiliated more.

 

[Rocky84]

-Definitely agree with everyone that The Big Show segment was funny, and not at all awkward. Rock is always a dick to everyone...whether he's heel or face. Show played it perfectly by breaking that computer.

-No he hasn't shrunk...it was the camera angle. But Rusev is thick as hell...Rock is thinner and taller. Btw, what he did with Lana..Rock has always done similar things with other girls...like Lillian Garcia for example. He's always making lewd comments towards women. I think Vince let's the older guys get away with more because it's in their nature. They come from a time period where it was anything goes. To have them back with limitations wouldn't be authentic, and probably wouldn't even go over well with them...so much, they might not even come back. That's partially why Batista left in 2010...he had enough with the PG crap.

-Heat for that? He already came out and kind of cleared Hogan publicly (said, we all talk shit behind closed doors)...he didn't care about heat for that, so how would that little segment cause any? Also, those guys are always front row at all the Miami shows..I always see them when I go. The Miami crowd always chants Randy Savage for him.

-I saw absolutely no seeds planted for Mania. Like none. I thought he'd comment on Reigns and HHH, but we got nothing. The only possible seed planted was that there would be a similar situation happening at Wrestlemania. Maybe with another group of guys like the Social Outcasts or something.

 

[OYDK]

a) I thought his segment with Big Show was a little odd. It was almost heel like teasing Show and making him 'cry'.

Rock's character is a heel. Always has been.

b) Has The Rock shrunk? He looked tiny compared to Rusev who is only 6 foot tall!

You act as if Rusev is tiny tiny man. Dude's a beast. Rock's a couple inches taller, but side by side Rusev is double the width.

c) Will there be any heat on him for the fan dressed as Hogan?!

Yeah. Heat on the Rock. What are they going to do, stop him from showing up at Mania...

d) Did anyone see any seeds planted for his Mania appearence?

Unless he's going to spend the night beating on The New Day or banging on The Lana than no.

 

[Piss Bucket]

How about no? I was very surprised on Raw when he did the Rock Bottom and People's Elbow on the New Day, I thought for insurance reasons he can't wrestle because he's making Baywatch the movie?

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

How about no? I was very surprised on Raw when he did the Rock Bottom and People's Elbow on the New Day, I thought for insurance reasons he can't wrestle because he's making Baywatch the movie?

He only did two moves. I wouldn't necessarily call that wrestling.

 

[ComeOnVince]

I hope he wasn't planting seeds for Wrestlemania, unless they are going to waste him on Rusev, Miz, Big Show or in a New Day / Uso feud.

The whole segment fell really flat to me and was a waste. Lots of forced moments and awkward silences. WWE is still trying to piggy-back on former days by trotting the Rock out. Jericho's first real interaction with New Day was superior to Rock's.

I like the Rock. Always have. But these kinds of things are pointless to me and for the bigger picture moving toward WM32. But a great moment I'm sure for the live crowd in attendance.. but just more mismanagement of time and talent by WWE.

It's still crazy to me how 3 hours can be so... empty. Even with appearances like this.

 

[Azane]

Usos vs New Day 7, With The Rock in the Uso's corner, so they get some kind of reaction, Rock ends up doing a Rock Bottom and Elbow on Xavier, Again.

Only match I could see coming from the segment, although I do believe that WWE is going to keep pushing their Samoans with The Rock trying to get behind him, between Jimmy, Jay and Roman, they're all getting such poor reactions and Rock can try to bridge the whole thing.

In my Mind though, Im gonna pretend it's nothing to do with Wrestlemania, and we just had a segment for fun, while the rest of the program is being so super serious about the road to WM.

 

[Rocky84]

He only did two moves. I wouldn't necessarily call that wrestling.

Well technically he did tear his peck muscle delivering the Rock Bottom to Cena at Mania 29...was fine the whole match except that one little part. I was surprised he risked it myself to be honest.

 

[LBGetBack]

The Rock was hilarious....that's as hyped up as I've ever seen him I think. Just shows how good he is on the mic when he's cut loose. Not everyone is "The Rock", but I'm convinced there's some guys and women on the roster that would be much better if given the chance to cut loose.

 

[A11oftheLights]

It was just your typical rock appearance. Threw out the usual lines before hitting the rock bottom on somebody. The walk backstage was hilarious because it wasnt the usual thing the rock does when he returns these days, once he hit the ramp you knew exactly what was going to happen.


Doesnt mean it wasnt entertaining

 

[Oldschoolersrule]

I thought the part of the promo where Rock was interacting with talent in the back was hokey. I understand his shtick is to put people down and all, but the whole thing of ending everything with the "But hey, you alright!" to me just had a Jimmy Walker "DI-NO-MITE!!" feel to it. HOKEY!!

Now, as for the confrontation with The New Day, I thought it was great. I wasn't a big fan of these guys individually, but together they click good. They came out, got some heat with the Rock, got some heat with the crowd when they tried to back out, the Uso's coming out got a decent pop (from what I could tell watching the TV). I haven't laughed that hard in a while.

As for seeds for Wrestlemania, this could set up a 6 man with new day, though I doubt it. To me, Rock seems more concerned/promoted for main event matches, or a run in type role. I don't see him taking a mid to upper mid card man tag match at mania.

 

[Piss Bucket]

He only did two moves. I wouldn't necessarily call that wrestling.

Maybe not, but he's still got to be careful, if he so much as broke a fingernail while doing moves his insurance company would have a fit.

 

[rbv13]

Just tossing a thought out there. As pointed out by Dark Lady during the LD the fans dressed as the legends began the show clearly visible. When Rock did his interaction with them they were located on the opposite side. I wonder if WWE moved them for being a distraction but offered a bit of goodwill by including them in the segment.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

The Rock didn't do anything out of the ordinary considering all the things he's said and done on TV, he does what he thinks will get over and 9 times out of 10 he's absolutely right. If WWE officials are upset about this then quite frankly they should be upset with themselves for even putting Rock on television because they should be smart enough by now to know when you give The Rock a mic and TV time there's a decent chance he's going to go off script, he's done it hundreds of times in the past so why would this be any different?

All I know is the fans seemed to enjoy it and if Vince and Co. want that much control over what happens on their TV then be smarter than give time to a guy who often does these things.

 

[ilapierre]

I had a few complaints about the segment, though it has more to do with management than the Rock.

Now, allegedly, and I do mean allegedly, there's said to be some major heat backstage once again regarding Lana. I read something a few days ago suggesting that the heat was major, though it didn't specify what it was about, and that the Rock's comments towards her during the segment were part of a "punishment" tactic. I don't know if it's true or not, I'm leaning more towards that it isn't, however I thought the comments were a little over the top. I know it's all made up but it just strikes me as kind of odd that WWE would have the Rock say such risqué things on live television in this day and age. However, if it is true that it was part of some sort of "punishment", I think it was sorta classless trying to sort of "shame" her on national television by inferring that she's a ****.

My biggest complaint, however, lies more with WWE management because, once again, the Rock's segment highlights just how much Vince limits the talent nowadays. With the exception of a handful of guys on the roster, nobody else in WWE could've gotten away with a fourth of what the Rock said & did during the segment as Vince would be so far up their asses that you wouldn't be able to tell where he ended and they began. You hear the response he gets and I've little doubt there are guys on the roster who could also have the fans hanging on their every word if Vince loosened up the noose he has around their necks. Again, aside from a pretty small number, anyone else would have found themselves fired or spend much of the rest of their WWE career jobbing out on Main Event and Superstars.

As for the Rock planting the seed for a WrestleMania appearance, it's possible but it's not going to be a wrestling appearance. He'll be out there on the mic, doing his thing, tossin' out one liners left and right.

And no, there's no heat on him for interacting with the guys in the crowd. Again, it's just an example of how much freedom WWE affords Attitude Era guys like Rock or Austin. The Rock's promo wasn't scripted as WWE basically lets him go out there and say whatever he wants to say. I mean, even if it did rub some of the officials the wrong way, so what? The Rock happened to be in Miami doing some work and probably appeared on Raw for free. Given the fact that he's the biggest action film star in the world making $25 to $30 million per film, the Rock wouldn't care if Vince was backstage foaming at the mouth.

Oh JackHammer. Always finding any way possible to demonize Vince while propping up your man crush, the King of TV's turning off, Preparation H. I agree with Bret, this year's Royal Rumble may have been the absolute worst one in history thanks to the ending and everybody just laying around to put over Triple H (what's this push at now, 20 years?). That's a more legitimate complaint against WWE management than whining they won't let everybody else on the roster be bold like the Rock. Fact is there is only one Rock pal. You can't have loony toons Reigns or that no talent Miz out there talking about how flexible Lilian Garcia was last summer. They are replacement level bozos! None of their mid carders they call main eventers could hack it anyway..That stuff is who Rock is and if he can't be Rock then why should he ever bother coming back to help boost the otherwise god awful ratings they would have had without him (just think of all the fans out there who refused to tune in to watch Triple H). What is RAW at nowadays? A 1.8 rating? Lenny LeRoux and Lodi drew better ratings for WCW in 2000!

The Rock's segment was absolutely hilarious. I boycotted RAW and actually cancelled the Network that day after the atrocious Rumble. But low and behold there's this amazing 15-20 minute segment on youtube where The Rock just goes and upstages Triple H's title win in every which way. His belittling of The Miz was appropriate, his talking down about WWE vs Hollywood with Paul Wight ridiculed Triple H's shit product and his words for Lana and Rusev were some of the most truly hilarious moments in this never ending PG Era nonsense. I just knew I could find you on here whining that it's all 'Vince's fault.' And all that good stuff probably was his fault. Vince was there in the flesh on camera and probably demanded the show and guys be edgier than normal to make up for his son-in-law's rotten ass programming and also the bullshit rumble.

Just SO easy to blame a senile looking 70 year old roid rager for all the problems, but let's just keep this mind. First, Vince doesn't look like he's with it at all. There's NO way he's been in control of the writing or final say when he looks like he can barely make sense of what he's remembering to say and do on camera. Secondly, Rock and Vince are probably two of the top 10 wrestling personalities of ALL TIME. They can do whatever they want because the two of them are proven commodities. Fuck the publicly traded company nonsense, fuck Triple H and his controlling everything to revolve around him..It's time to give the fans what they want. Nobody wants to see jobber like mid carders like Dolph and StarDust anymore. We're all sick to death of the Bellas and thankfully one of them might be gone for a while..And nobody wants to sit through a 46 year old Triple H title reign. I remember when Savage was 46. He won a title for a day in WCW and everybody complained, even Triple H who called Savage, his wife's ex lover, a dinosaur! And his wife's dad thought Savage was too old to main event and tried to make him a color commentator when he was just 39! Brock's age! When Hogan, the greatest wrestling entertainer in the history of the business, was 46 and had the WCW title everybody had been complaining about him holding the younger guys down for over half a decade. But everybody's ok with this?? Triple H doesn't even have one tenth the charisma or credibility of Hogan or Savage. This 20 year push is a million times worse than the one year push Bill Watts gave his son Erik! Worse than anything Dusty Rhodes or Kevin Nash ever booked for themselves.

Back to the point. Lana's in trouble? Perhaps because she won't break up with Rusev and sleep with some of the more disgusting higher ups that have been trying to split up wrestler/diva couples for the past 30 years (see Macho Man, Skip, Johnny B Badd, David Flair, Kidman, Matt Hardy, John Morrison and now Rusev). The two of them really should just leave. They're being buried and guys like Triple H running the show just want to split the two of them up in real life. Just look at the Rumble. Rusev was first eliminated. In reality, had he been built up properly over the past year and left unbeaten, he could have legitimately been the one to face off with Reigns. But no Triple H needs to add to his legacy. He can give himself 30 world titles and stick around till he's Vince's age. He's never gonna be in anyone's top 10 or even top 20 of all time. He is exactly everything Bret Hart has had to say. He's just an average mediocre worker. If they could ever just get him off TV and away from the behind the scenes stuff, WWE could potentially become an average mediocre product again.

 

[d_henderson1810]

Have you people forgotten something?

I think that the Rock will have a major contribution to Wrestlemania-i.e. he will be at ringside for the main event.

Originally, there was going to be the Rock v Triple H at WM32. That was why they had that segment at WM31 last year where the Rock confronted Triple H and Steph (and then called Rhonda Rousey into the ring).

However, because the Rock is filming "Baywatch" and couldn't get insurance to wrestle, he can't do the match with Triple H.

However, I am tipping that Triple H will be defending his WWE Title against Roman Reigns at WM32. I tip this because it wouldn't make sense for the Authority to go after Roman unless there is some pay-off.

Now, Roman is related to the Rock. So I can see the Rock showing up on RAW again, leading to WM32, and confronting Triple H and telling him that he will be in Roman Reign's corner at WM32.

This will divert some heat away from Roman, since the chants for the Rock will divide the crowd between those cheering the Rock and those booing Roman. Also, maybe it could lead to the Rock giving Triple H the Rock Bottom after the match to close out WM32, and set up a match between the Rock versus Triple H at WM33. That's what I tip that the Rock will do at Wrestlemania.

 

[sMark]

There are many guys who works for WWE
There are some guys who can request things and get away with some (Taker, HHH, Cena, Orton)
There are some who really doesn't need WWE, but obey to Vince (Jericho, Lesnar, Austin)
And then there is The Rock, who WWE wants on their shows by any means necessary...if anyone will get punished, it's The Usos - WWE will not be stupid enough to "punish" The Rock, Roman is on the rise, so Usos get the punishment if there some.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Have you people forgotten something?

I think that the Rock will have a major contribution to Wrestlemania-i.e. he will be at ringside for the main event.

Originally, there was going to be the Rock v Triple H at WM32. That was why they had that segment at WM31 last year where the Rock confronted Triple H and Steph (and then called Rhonda Rousey into the ring).

However, because the Rock is filming "Baywatch" and couldn't get insurance to wrestle, he can't do the match with Triple H.

However, I am tipping that Triple H will be defending his WWE Title against Roman Reigns at WM32. I tip this because it wouldn't make sense for the Authority to go after Roman unless there is some pay-off.

Now, Roman is related to the Rock. So I can see the Rock showing up on RAW again, leading to WM32, and confronting Triple H and telling him that he will be in Roman Reign's corner at WM32.

This will divert some heat away from Roman, since the chants for the Rock will divide the crowd between those cheering the Rock and those booing Roman. Also, maybe it could lead to the Rock giving Triple H the Rock Bottom after the match to close out WM32, and set up a match between the Rock versus Triple H at WM33. That's what I tip that the Rock will do at Wrestlemania.

Remember when The Rock helped Roman Reigns at Royal Rumble 2015? That didn't go so well.

If any wrestlers deserves the WWE Title in the main event of WrestleMania, then they shouldn't need a legend or anyone to take some of their boos away.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

There are many guys who works for WWE
There are some guys who can request things and get away with some (Taker, HHH, Cena, Orton)
There are some who really doesn't need WWE, but obey to Vince (Jericho, Lesnar, Austin)
And then there is The Rock, who WWE wants on their shows by any means necessary...if anyone will get punished, it's The Usos - WWE will not be stupid enough to "punish" The Rock, Roman is on the rise, so Usos get the punishment if there some.

Why would you punish the Usos for something The Rock did? Why would anyone get punished in the first place?