Austin Instead of Rock?

[WWEvsJosh]

I just want to start off by saying please don't mention Austin vs Punk. The point of this thread is not if Austin had to fight anyone who would he fight.

If you could choose would you rather see Austin vs Cena or still stick with The Rock?

To be honest I would have liked this feud to be Stone Cold vs John Cena instead.

Now I know people are going to say I don't have patience with the rock and cena feud but I am just going to say it this feud sucks. I don't care if I am called a Rock hater or a cena fanboy but The Rock has really done nothing for me to care about this historic match. I feel like I am watching Dewayne Johnson vs John Cena. He not talking in the third person that much he does not have his hair( and yes I do care if he had hair) he is talking about how he loves the fans( funny people hate it when cena does that) he does not wear his glasses that much anymore and he has found his true love in twitter.

Its just not what I thought. I know I know The Rock never said he would be at every Raw and I know he is doing other things right now and I know he put his time in when he did and I respect him for that but to make this thing work he needs to be their more and be able to build a story not tweets.

With that all being said I truly believe this would be 100x better if Austin was playing the part instead.

Why?

Well for starters he would be able to push the feud better. Cena and Stone Cold are two totally different characters which would even make it better. I also think the whole "embrace the hate" would be better done if it was against Austin and they would not even need Kane. Austin could be there giving Cena stunners, screw Cena out of title matches, and you can even have a part where Stone cold just beats the leaving hell out of Cena(not in a match). Cena could get mad(not turn heel) and then do things to Austin like beat him up and what not. They could even bring in Vince to make it a story about how Cena everything he ever wanted in a superstar and that he never need Austin.

I know what you guys are thinking "They could do all that in the Rock and Cena feud". Really? The reason Cena keeps bring up the fact that the Rock is not there is because there is nothing else to talk about. We are at the same place we were the night after Mania last year. That why Austin would work better. He would be able to come to the Raws to help further the feud and give more for the character to battle over.

What do you guys think? If you could ould you rather have Austin vs Cena instead?

 

[DirtyD79]

I do like Austin better, the problem is if he can still put on a decent match considering the neck problems he's had. If he could still go then I would definately have preferred Austin. To me Austin was The Attitude Era. Sure the Rock was still a big star and Mick Foley and Triple H were important too but Austin was the top dog.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm sure some aren't thrilled with Cena vs. Rock. It's to be expected after all since you can't please everyone no matter how hoard you try. I'd still rather have Cena vs. Rock than Cena vs. Austin in this situation as Cena vs. Rock seem to have believable, legit tension at times.

Probably the overall centerpiece for Cena vs. Rock has been Cena's stance on how phony Rock is, how he's really no longer a WWE guy and is back mostly just to get additional hype for his movie career. This is another example of the WWE using some hotly debated IWC issues to keep the net fans interested and to add some grounded reality to the feud. The IWC has debated for a long while on The Rock. Some hate the guy for leaving, some see exactly why he moved on, some do see The Rock as a transparent opportunist, some still think of him fondly from back in the day, some combination of any or all of the above, etc. and it's generally worked. There's no tension like that between Cena & Austin. Austin is still thought of as a WWE guy, he only left because of his injuries. Also, while Austin looks to be in great shape and despite what he says in some interviews, who knows if Austin is still capable of really going inside the ring or not? Maybe he can and maybe he can't. Plus, it's WrestleMania season. It's the biggest wrestling show of the year and The Rock is one of the biggest and most talked about actors in Hollywood right now, so that's going to garner mainstream media attention and that could lead to even more ppv buys. At this point in time, The Rock is a bigger draw than Austin is, they've simply got a better chance of making more money with him than Stone Cold right now.

Whenever Cena & Rock are both in the ring or talking about this match or whatever, it draws a great response from fans. The fact that we've all been talking about & debating about this match for close to a year is proof that the hype is working and has been working. People are going to be watching if, for nothing else, to talk about how much they enjoyed or were disappointed by the match. Either way, the WWE is looking to clean up at WM this year and Cena vs. Rock will certainly help to deliver.

 

[ProWrestlingFan]

You feel like watching Dwayne Johnson vs John Cena because thats exactly what WWE wants you to think. When Rock returned look at his first promo. He was cutting another clasic Rock promo but after that his promos didn't felt so special because WWE scripted it that way. They want people to hate Rock so that he is the bad guy at Wrestlemania and Cena is better than him.

If it was Steve Austin it won't be the same because Rock returned to WWE after 7 years whereas Austin kept making appearances. It won't be that special if it was Austin vs Cena, not saying that Cena's fued with Rock is that good but people just wanted to see Rock come back to WWE after a long period of time.

 

[WWEvsJosh]

I'm sure some aren't thrilled with Cena vs. Rock. It's to be expected after all since you can't please everyone no matter how hoard you try. I'd still rather have Cena vs. Rock than Cena vs. Austin in this situation as Cena vs. Rock seem to have believable, legit tension at times.

Probably the overall centerpiece for Cena vs. Rock has been Cena's stance on how phony Rock is, how he's really no longer a WWE guy and is back mostly just to get additional hype for his movie career. This is another example of the WWE using some hotly debated IWC issues to keep the net fans interested and to add some grounded reality to the feud. The IWC has debated for a long while on The Rock. Some hate the guy for leaving, some see exactly why he moved on, some do see The Rock as a transparent opportunist, some still think of him fondly from back in the day, some combination of any or all of the above, etc. and it's generally worked. There's no tension like that between Cena & Austin. Austin is still thought of as a WWE guy, he only left because of his injuries. Also, while Austin looks to be in great shape and despite what he says in some interviews, who knows if Austin is still capable of really going inside the ring or not? Maybe he can and maybe he can't. Plus, it's WrestleMania season. It's the biggest wrestling show of the year and The Rock is one of the biggest and most talked about actors in Hollywood right now, so that's going to garner mainstream media attention and that could lead to even more ppv buys. At this point in time, The Rock is a bigger draw than Austin is, they've simply got a better chance of making more money with him than Stone Cold right now.

Whenever Cena & Rock are both in the ring or talking about this match or whatever, it draws a great response from fans. The fact that we've all been talking about & debating about this match for close to a year is proof that the hype is working and has been working. People are going to be watching if, for nothing else, to talk about how much they enjoyed or were disappointed by the match. Either way, the WWE is looking to clean up at WM this year and Cena vs. Rock will certainly help to deliver.

I understand everything you said and it all makes sense and if you like what is going on thats fine but to me in my opinion I think Austin(if there was a choice would be better). When they did Rock vs Hogan there was not a need for real beef between the two because the only thing you really need is that they are two of the biggest starts ever battleing. With Cena vs The Rock you have that but with Cena vs Stone Cold you build more to that and make a good feud out of it.

 

[WWEvsJosh]

You feel like watching Dwayne Johnson vs John Cena because thats exactly what WWE wants you to think. When Rock returned look at his first promo. He was cutting another clasic Rock promo but after that his promos didn't felt so special because WWE scripted it that way. They want people to hate Rock so that he is the bad guy at Wrestlemania and Cena is better than him.

If it was Steve Austin it won't be the same because Rock returned to WWE after 7 years whereas Austin kept making appearances. It won't be that special if it was Austin vs Cena, not saying that Cena's fued with Rock is that good but people just wanted to see Rock come back to WWE after a long period of time.

I dont want to sound like a jerk but i hate it when people say "thats what WWE wants you to think". When Jericho was saying nothing it did not make me want to go against him instead it made me turn off my tv and not even watch the raw segment when he did say somthing. Boring me wont make me want to cheer Cena more(yes i am a cena fan). If you have seen other post by me you would know that i am thinking about not getting wrestlemania this year because things are not picking up like i wished. Maybe i am being a baby but i dont care if they want me to think anything if i dont buy or watch the show that all of theses promos for then it did not help.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

Honestly, I wouldn't want to see a PG or toned down Austin, in a feud, so no, I wouldn't have rather seen Stone Cold vs. Cena.

Plus, with the way all the Lil Jimmies have turned against The Rock, I wouldn't want Austin to have to deal with that.

Finally, isn't his neck still in really bad shape? I wouldn't want Austin to be paralyzed or die in that ring, just because we wanted him to have one more match.

 

[justin71]

Punk vs Austin would be gold the problem you have is that Austin is pushing 50 and he's more injury prone than Dwayne. In the apples and oranges compairison is that Rock left in great shape to make more money and Austin left because of doctors orders.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

Honestly, I wouldn't want to see a PG or toned down Austin, in a feud, so no, I wouldn't have rather seen Stone Cold vs. Cena.

The Rock/Cena feud has been anything but PG. It was nothing but "bitch" this and "ass" that last night. Stone Cold could easily perform given the current limitations.

Well, to clarify, no, he couldn't perform, and it has nothing to do with the PG limit. He's very injured, and most likely rusty. He has no business going anywhere near a ring.

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

Neither because they both need to stay as far away from the WWE as possible.

Austin left for a reason, the Rock left for a reason.

I don't want to see either return for those exact reasons.

 

[Cleavo77]

First off, Great Thread.

I sort of feel like a dumb ass for never putting two and two together that this Feud easily could have been Stone Cold vs. Cena. In my opinion, SC vs. Cena easily would have been the biggest match in years. Not taking away from Rock/Cena, just saying in the grand scheme of things, Rock has always been #2 next to Austin. A close #2 mind you, but #2 nonetheless. He has always been to Austin what Orton is to Cena. It's kinda like Pepsi going up against Diet Coke if you will.

Austin and Cena are polar opposites. Cena cares about everyone. Puts every ounce of his being into this business for the WWE Universe. Austin is more of a shut the hell up and get out of my way before I move you out of the way kinda guy.

The best point I feel you made is that we are in the SAME EXACT PLACE we were a year ago. The sole purpose of that is because Rock hasn't been here enough. One pay per view isn't gonna cut it. Stone Cold does a movie every now and then, but the thing is that Stone Cold would have been there for every segment WWE needed him for. If it had been Austin from the start, I think the feud would be so volatile, so explosive, so HUGE right now, who knows where it would be. Austin by now would have probably driven a monster truck over one of Cena's hot rods, and Cena would have so much more material to "Pipe bomb" with.

I'm not afraid of Austins neck injury because he has said time and time again he will wrestle one more match if done correctly.

Here is my only argument as a devil's advocate. While Austin and Cena have different approaches to things, they definitely have more common ground than the Rock and Cena do. Austin clearly supports his country and his troops. Same as Cena. Austin would likely do any THING for the WWE at any TIME. Same as Cena.

Another point I see

Finally, we know and have seen that Austin and Cena respect each other as competitors. With Rock/Cena we arent really sure how they truly feel about each other. This does increase the interest in the feud, as far as if one of them might snap and say something they werent suppose to. One poster on here said they wouldnt wanna see a PG Austin. I do agree, however, maybe he could still pull it off.

I do think Austin/Cena would have been the way to go. More on screen appearances to better fuel the food. More History. Rock/Cena is building now that it's so close to WM... but I truly think Austin vs. Cena would have been great. Cena wins, retires the rattlesnake for good, they shake hands, share a beer, the torch is officially passed. Goodnight Miami.

 

[Negrodamus]

I do think Austin/Cena would have been the way to go. More on screen appearances to better fuel the food. More History. Rock/Cena is building now that it's so close to WM... but I truly think Austin vs. Cena would have been great. Cena wins, retires the rattlesnake for good, they shake hands, share a beer, the torch is officially passed. Goodnight Miami.

First off Austin will never job to Cena, if Austin-Cena was announced a yr in advanced people would be saying the same thing as they are now how it is getting stale and whatever. The reason we feel is getting stale is because we want to go at it already we cant wait for wrestlemania because we want to know whats going to happen.

I would rather see The Rock vs Cena as The Rock will make Cena look good in the match where as Austin was kind of like Cena in Rarely selling. I want to see the match as it is what is going to make or break the hype.

They also haven't touched other since they each got one on each other a yr ago which makes it interesting as we dont know what to expect physically.
Overall thats the better match. IMO

 

[Gav316]

although Austin v Cena would be good,Austin just does not have the star attraction the Rock does,his promos are amazing especially back in the day,WWE may want Rocky to be seen as the heel but it simply aint happening,Cena is not popular anymore in fact like many other people think he absolutly SUCKS,the fans will cheer for Rocky no matter what however hes not even coming across as a heel so i personally do see it that way,but i will say he did seem abit taken back after Cena had left,but i dont buy into this making notes on his arm hes an actor he remembers huge amounts of scripts for his movies,that was done on purpose,hes not daft enough to think people will not have seen it.

 

[phoenixphreek]

While I do think that Stone Cold vs Cena would've been awesome, I still prefer Rock. For me Rock is better at promos than SCSA, which is where Cena shines. The highlight to most Cena feuds is the build up, not really the actual match. With Rock being so good on the mic I think he creates a better build up, and thus a better feud, with John than Austin could have.

 

[Pedigree1]

NO!! And let me state im a huge huge SCSA fan always have always will be!! Whenever theres real beef real hatred it makes the upcoming match much more interesting!! Given the PG era austin for shit sure could perform with bitch that and ass that as the rock was saying last night!! No problem but Cena v Rock IMO is the better matchup and not because the WWE wants you to think that.

Cena prettty much IMO called the rock out on being a hypocrite!! The rock can say all he wants he loves the business (and i still think he does). But really all the rock is doing is promoting his twitter account and whatever upcoming disney movie he has comoing out!! He is using the business for that and Cena is pissed about that.

A toned down austin IMO wouldnt really fit the bill here and plus austin has been out 8 plus years and a slew of injuries!! The whole centerpiece of this feud is Cena calling out the rock on how phony he is!! And a good point is the rock is the biggest draw out there mister hollywood movie star austin left because he was injuried not running for greenier pasters!

This feud has been going for a year now and i cant wait till WM!! Cena is a company man the rock can come up with all the catchphrases he wants fruity pebbles,missing man parts,kon pow chicken bitch or whatever but remember Cena is fighting for the guys backstage and the his fans!! The rock IMO is fighting for well Dewayne Johnson and himself only!! He as much said so!!

 

[Tyrath]

Honestly yes.. only just for the chance to see austin stomp a mudhole an flip cena the bird

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There you go.


On topic though, no I wouldn't. Austin has been around a lot more than the Rock has. Because of that, seeing the Rock after all this time feels somewhat more special to me. Not to mention, Cena's beef with the Rock makes the feud more interesting. He couldn't really accuse Austin of the same things because Austin quit because he was injured and he has been around the WWE every now and then since then anyways. With Austin, it would've been more just a generation vs generation thing. But with Cena and the Rock they have managed to make the feud personal, which I like. This is not to say I wouldn't want to see Austin wrestle, but that boat has most likely sailed at this point due to his injury.

 

[Shotaro]

Austin retired for medical reasons, so if he were to come back for "one more match" it would have to be worth it for HIM more than just financially. The rock is fine physically, he just changed career paths - his return is a double edged sword but hopefully the boosted Wrestlemania buy rates will expose people to the modern product on the rest of the card (honestly if it weren't invested in the overall product the Lawler/Cole thing would've caused me to try for a refund)

This year there is the possibility of every match we know about being a classic, this wrestlemania needs to do well and it needs to attract new viewers, that is why Rock is back, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[WJDwjdWJDwjd]

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson came back to further his movie career?

Bitch, please. (And I say this in using the term for the sassy affect. Not that you're a woman/female dog or anything of that sense)

Wrestling at this point in Dwayne's life is beneath him. He's a certified movie star with multi-million dollar pay days. He is arguably an A-List celebrity. He doesn't owe it to the Professional Wrestling industry to stick around like he's going to. He entertained people for years, and now he just moved onto a bigger audience. Dwayne Johnson is an entertainer. He didn't have to come back and do this match with Cena. He came back because he wanted to. He's made enough money, made enough people happy with his (better) movies, and (saying this as a fan) I don't blame him for leaving. Professional Wrestling is a dangerous industry. He could have left DIREC-A-LY (in The Rock's voice) after he made "The Scorpion King". He wanted to move onto something bigger. Something new. He even KEPT his Wrestling moniker relevant now that he's making movies.

There are so many performers who have left and went on to do other things. Not all because they necessarily wanted to do bigger things, but people move on. They do other things. For example, look at Chris Jericho. He's in a band, he's ventured into television, and he came back. Why don't some of you chastise Jericho for leaving and trying to do bigger things?

I'm sure if John Cena's rap career or his attempt at a movie career took off like The Rock's, he'd leave and only make part time appearances too. ANY of the "guys in the back" would. Even CM Punk.

Now, enough of that. Onto the topic at hand. Rock or Austin? I'd rather see The Rock vs John Cena. I don't think Austin vs Cena would feel as real as Rock vs Cena does. Cena seems to have legitimate beef with Rock. I'd almost say a certain type of jealousy because Cena's movies tanked unlike The Rock's first couple movies. Cena wants to be a Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson but doesn't have the talent or charisma to pull it off. It feels like Cena is trying too hard some weeks. Maybe it's just because they're from different eras where guys were allowed to fly off the cuff and scripts were a little looser than they are now.

Furthermore, Cena is the anti-Austin. The kids/women love him, and the dudes HATE him. Guys loved Austin and his promos and wanted to be able to beat their boss' ass and pour beer on him/her. Cena is a superhero character. Much more like Hogan back in the day. Austin was always that guy that was so badass that everyone loved him. He spoke his mind, didn't give a damn who he offended, flipped off everyone in his path, and spit in the face of authority. Early Cena was a lot like Austin, but not what we see each week now.

 

[HBKperfect23]

Attitude Era vs Reality Era is Austin vs Cena. Simple as that. I think he would have been their first option if he was retired. Cena vs Rock is the next best option and their real life heat definitly brings a lot to the feud, that being said I think this was booked perfectly in an era where everything is rushed, im pretty pumped for this.

 

[midgensa]

Good thread for sure.

I don't know honestly ... but I must say I am much more surprised by The Rock. I would not have been surprised if he NEVER set foot in the WWE again ... and to have him back is nice. I don't love him, he definitely bothers me in the fact that he clearly is not the same Rock he was before and he clearly is using this to re-elevate himself. But I like having him back. No doubt about it.

Stone Cold always felt to me like he WOULD come back at some point for some match. Thus The Rock feels more like a treat to me. No doubt I would like to see both of them around though.

 

[lazeric]

Im kinda on the fence with this one. When viewed from a marketing standpoint The Rock was by far the best choice becuz of all the media attention he brings with him but from a strictly wrestling fan standpoint I 2 would've preferred Stone Cold. Lets face it who else plays the anti good guy role better than Austin? He could been there more maybe not wrestling every night but there's no way u can tell me he couldn't do a few promos and dish out a few stunners from time to time. Cena vs Rock is not only boring but if Cena loses that is going be the grenade that ends his career. This no way the guy who left for 7yrs should be burying the guy who's been carrying the company. This didn't happen with Rock vs Hogan so WWE needs to be careful before they destroy Cena. On a side note I wonder if Austin is being saved for next yrs WM, maybe for a feud with either Punk or Orton...

 

[Headman]

No, for two reasons. Despite the fact that Austin was far better in the ring than Rock in his prime I think we'll get a better match out of the Rock at this point.

Second, there is no legit heat between Austin and Cena. Austin has had mostly nice things to say about Cena so there's really no jumping off point. Cena and the Rock's "real life" beef helps make this match more interesting.

 

[I Heart Cena]

I absolutely would LOVE to see the Texas Rattlesnake stomp a mudhole into john cena. So yes, I 100% would prefer an Austin-Cena feud.

Austin already punked him out at a Tribute to the Troops. It was great. It'd be so much better than rock-cena.

You're right that Rock isn't wearing the sunglasses or the $800 shirts. He hasn't told cena to know his role and SHUT HIS MOUTH. He didn't breathe in the people's energy like he used to. The Rock could have absolutely destroyed Cena by now, but he chose not to because Vince told him not to do it.

It's disappointing that Rock would rather listen to Vince McMahon than to finish off cena.

 

[Crankjai]

While I agree with alot of what's posted here, and disagree.. I have chose to think *outside* of the box so to speak on this topic.

I don't think it's *not* possible to still see Austin at WM.

Think of it, in a huge selling PPV match of the year.. who better to run in and screw over Cena/Rock than Austin. Alot of people will argue that this is way left field, but I don't think it is.

Austin hasn't even been mentioned as an attraction to WM. This is big because over the last year he was involved heavily in media, behind the scenes and Tough Enough, which to it's credit was a success on television standards, but for delivering real talent it's left to FCW. It doesn't make sense to NOT use him for some degree of closure.

Does anyone think this Rock/Cena match will end fairly? Hogan/Rock was one thing, this is completely different. What's the finish? Goody boy Cena? Bad Rock? Good Rock whose back for a few events after? Dejected Cena? WTF bro.

I think it's a total possibility to bring Austin back, screw over Rock with his typical FU attitude, Superman Cena is reborn again and is back to being the good guy. Rock feuds with BOTH as I think some of his booking after Mania is in Tag slots or re-matches.

Of course none of this could happen and John Cena could just fly to the ring in a spaceship.. you never know.

 

[Marionerro]

Well I would like rather that is Cena vs. Stone Cold because even people's love Stone Cold like The Rock,Cena woudn't be booed as much as now...It would be more interesting....

And u say he doesn't have hair,doesn't have glasses...That tell me that u basiclly don't know almost anything about The Rock..He have hair and wear glasses whan he's heel and now he's face...A BIG FACE!soo he can't wear stuff that make him heel in past...