Are we to blame?

[The Wolf]

I was watching Hulk Hogan The Ultimate Anthology and it got me thinking. Did we the fans drive The Rock away?
Now before you all go and say no and I am crazy hear me out.
Build up had Hollywood Hulk Hogan do everything anti-face. He used a hammer; tried running him over, hit and run the Ambulance The Rock was in.
The big night came at WrestleMania 18 and the crowd BOOed The Rock for most of the match.
This is when The Scorpion King was coming out and we didn’t see The Rock to much that year then The Rock returned for 19 and we have not seen him wrestle since.
So could we be the reason The Rock left?

 

[Pabartl787]

No, the Rock left to pursue a dream. Nothing more, nothing less. You can't fault the guy really. We all have dreams and if we had a chance to do it, would we drop what we are currently doing to pursue it? I would. He achieved all he could in WWF(E). Multiple World champ, IC champ, tag team champ. What else is there for him to achieve?

 

[The Wolf]

And how many others have the same or better resumes and do movies and stayed.

Also dont forget to give the Rock credit for that. I saw RAW too

 

[Jay85]

He left in his prime, as opposed to leaving ten years past it. It's his health and career. There are people who made movies and stayed, but he wanted to be an actual actor, so he left completely. That made his comeback more meaningful. I don't think the boos bother him because he is awesome as a heel. He just wanted a new challenge.

 

[Jackal960]

Let's be honest here.. Not from our standpoint but from the wrestlers. Being a wrestler is not the best thing to do for your life. You put your body, your health, your life on the line every time you step on that ring. More often than not you get money for getting booed. There are simply hundreds of pro wrestlers who died before the age of 35. If you stayed on to the top of wrestling for some years, whats to point of continuing and risking everything (especially when you earn 10 times more in Hollywood) I think the main reason for Rock to leave is not us, its actually anything but us...

 

[Dragon]

And how many others have the same or better resumes and do movies and stayed.

Also dont forget to give the Rock credit for that. I saw RAW too

could you tell me who made movies and stayed that had just as a successful movie career as the Rock?

Hogan? (Mr. Nanny) Cena? (Marine) Kane? (See No Evil) Piper? (Frogtown)

I can't think of any.

 

[Azane]

He decided to take his career in that direction. I doubt it has anything to do with fans, I mean, even switching Media, the most important thing to Rocks career are still his fans. a good portion of his acting career are carry over Wrestling fans who remember him from last decade. If he didn't want anything to do with fans he would of dumped entertainment all together. We're still to see if he's going to spend more time in wrestling, even if it's not a Physical position.

 

[shafe_41]

The Rock left when his contract was up to pursue bigger dreams, less demanding schedule, and less physical lifestyle. A fake championship of something an 8th, 9th, or 10th time is hardly going to be a reason for him to stay. He had nothing else to achieve. He beat perhaps the biggest star in the history of the business on the biggest stage in the history of the business at one of the best Wrestlemanias in the history of the business. If you're looking beyond that... you're crazy.

We saw him wrestle at WM20 with Foley against Evolution. He wasn't done at WM19.

 

[ptsheridan]

could you tell me who made movies and stayed that had just as a successful movie career as the Rock?

Hogan? (Mr. Nanny) Cena? (Marine) Kane? (See No Evil) Piper? (Frogtown)

I can't think of any.

Dude, Piper did They Live. One of the best cult classic movies out there. And to the OP, if what you're saying is true, then I would blame Canada for driving The Rock away cuz they were the ones who totally turned Hogan into a face that night.

EDIT: Also, as shafe_41 stated above, his last match was the super crappy tag match with Foley against Evolution to put them over.

But no, The Rock had planned to leave before that night to further pursue his acting career.

 

[ptsheridan]

No, the Rock left to pursue a dream. Nothing more, nothing less. You can't fault the guy really. We all have dreams and if we had a chance to do it, would we drop what we are currently doing to pursue it? I would. He achieved all he could in WWF(E). Multiple World champ, IC champ, tag team champ. What else is there for him to achieve?

Wrestlers don't look at championships as major accomplishments like you're inferring. They consider great matches that they perform (win or lose, cuz it doesn't matter) as major accomplishments.

 

[dizzle1119]

could you tell me who made movies and stayed that had just as a successful movie career as the Rock?

Hogan? (Mr. Nanny) Cena? (Marine) Kane? (See No Evil) Piper? (Frogtown)

I can't think of any.

Roddy Piper did THEY LIVE, and that movie is quite possibly the most awesome slice of cheese EVER. It definitely contained one of the funniest fight scenes in history. That's a fact.

I'm gonna agree with ya, though. Many wrestlers have been in films, but The Rock is an actual movie star. Doesn't matter if you like his movies or not, all of them get wide theatrical releases and most if not all have turned a substantial profit. No other wrestler can claim as much.

 

[WunNightStan619]

I used to wonder the same thing actually, if The Rock was at all angry at the fans or felt under appreciated. But now that i look back and listen to what he's been saying i really dont think its anymore than him wanting to achieve more and go on to bigger and better things.

And lets be honest here, pro wrestling is no longer respected as it wunce was. Its kinda scoffed at these days, mainly due to the poor quality of the show in recent years. BUt i dont blame the rock for distancing himself from wrestling at all. He had to in order to be taken seriously as an actor

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

Dude, Piper did They Live. One of the best cult classic movies out there. And to the OP, if what you're saying is true, then I would blame Canada for driving The Rock away cuz they were the ones who totally turned Hogan into a face that night.

EDIT: Also, as shafe_41 stated above, his last match was the super crappy tag match with Foley against Evolution to put them over.

But no, The Rock had planned to leave before that night to further pursue his acting career.

They Live was awesome but usually cult classics become so by virtue of the fact that they absolutely bomb in the theater and don't make as much money so while Piper's movie will live on, it can hardly be called a "success." Rock on the other hand has been in some major studio movies, whether they are any good is besides the point, he has made some money for hollywood and has made a ton of it from hollywood.

You can't say the fans drove him away from wrestling by booing him or not appreciating him. He just got to the point where he got bigger than wrestling and could make way more money for way less work, who in their right mind wouldn't do that? ESPECIALLY when it is doing something they enjoy. The fans actually are what at least got Rock to come back a few times, look at right now, he came in to help save Mania and believe me he is definitely doing that because the lack of star power going in was staggering. He has the new fast and furious movie coming out but he hasn't mentioned it once, this appearance is for the fans and the business. Like an earlier poster said, wrestling is not a good business for a human being, the bumps, the schedule, the pay all do not make it worthwhile if you have something better on the table. If Hogan had blown up after Rocky 3 or if Suburban Commando wasn't the corniest movie then he would have probably not came back either and would have stayed in Hollywood.

 

[wushady]

I was watching Hulk Hogan The Ultimate Anthology and it got me thinking. Did we the fans drive The Rock away?
Now before you all go and say no and I am crazy hear me out.
Build up had Hollywood Hulk Hogan do everything anti-face. He used a hammer; tried running him over, hit and run the Ambulance The Rock was in.
The big night came at WrestleMania 18 and the crowd BOOed The Rock for most of the match.
This is when The Scorpion King was coming out and we didn’t see The Rock to much that year then The Rock returned for 19 and we have not seen him wrestle since.
So could we be the reason The Rock left?

I'm sure getting booed against Hogan had nothing to do with him becoming a full time actor. He had already filmed The Scorpion King before Wrestlemania 18. He stuck around a little while longer to win the Undisputed Title just to drop it to and put over Brock Lesnar.He then left to film the Rundown before returning as a heel to face Hogan again at No Way Out 2003.

He then faced and beat Austin at Wrestlemania 19 at the end of the match a lot of fans in attendance were cheering for him. He stuck around another month to put Goldberg over at Backlash. In that match the crowd was really behind him even though he was the heel and they shit all over Goldberg. He did another film or two. Then returned to tag at Wrestlemania 20 with Foley to put over Evolution.

Toronto fans have a long history of cheering heels and booing faces. Plus the were behind Hogan for more nostalgic reasons than they were anti Rock.
He simply had a better opportunity in the film industry and took it.If fans hated him so much they wouldn't go ape shit when he's mentioned on TV or when he makes rare appearances.

 

[dre day]

We r not 2 blame cause if u look at it, the rock made the best choice he couldve made. Now if u look at all the greats that didnt make it out in time most of dead or all fucked up, its rare u find 1 that aint. Hogan power slammed damn near every gaint it was, look at em now vody all fucked ex wife took all his shit. Flair broke as hell from a wild life on the road his son a dope feind. Bert brother died in the ring wife left and the last time i saw him he was in pretty bad shape.Austin he got money but his legs and knees aint shit. Where would tripe h if he were 2 retire without bein married 2 steph, with the rest i just named body fucked up and pockets broke. So with the rock he did the right thing so he wont have a crappy life like the rest. Wrestlers make nice breed as long as they stay in the business cause it really aint noway out

 

[Pabartl787]

Wrestlers don't look at championships as major accomplishments like you're inferring. They consider great matches that they perform (win or lose, cuz it doesn't matter) as major accomplishments.

So your saying they really don't care if they win a title? I doubt that. All I am saying is that he probably did all he wanted to do in the sports entertainment business and who are we to hate him because he left.

 

[GrandSword]

Rock got paid more money(10 times), didn't have to be on the road 300 days a year away from his family and didn't have to put his body or health on the line every night. The WWE is more like acting anyway than say RoH ... it was the evolution of his carerr to move to that step. And what he said the other night was a bit of a shoot when he mentioned that if he could be successful then it would open the doors for other wrestlers to move to that movie level...

The attitude era was successful because it seemed to have a begining and an end. Austin and Rock were hot and then they left it to the next generation, but guys like HHH and Cena have been around the main event for so long that WWE has started to once again slip inot the predicatble and some times boring stage. Thank goodness for guys like Wade Barrett who have come along and brought back some interest.

Rock had every right to leave and make the next step.