Bigger impact: Rock's return or Edge's retirement?

[SD619]

Which of the following events do you believe had a bigger impact on the WWE?

The Rock’s return or Edge’s retirement

(Please discuss about the above events alone and not their entire career)

I personally believe that Edge’s retirement had a bigger impact on the product as a whole. It lead to the draft taking place before planned. Also if he was still active, Christian would probably not have became champion, Del Rio would have won it and we would not seen the great Orton-Christian matches.

Rock’s return, on the other hand, has affected only Cena, who now has a dream WM match.

So, what are your thoughts?

 

[ChickenWaffles]

I'm a massive fan of both but The Rock isn't really "back" whereas Edge was a main event fixture so to me the answer is pretty obvious.

 

[Magma101]

Edge.I can't remember another time where someone retired as a World Champion.

 

[conici]

I have to agree with chickenwaffles Yes I'm a bit of a edge mark but him retiring change the whole face of Smackdown if edge didn't retire we would definitely never see christian as the World Champ or a great Christian Orton feud so Edge's retirement was bigger

 

[Rising Savior]

Well it depends on what you mean by impact. The Rocks return brought a ton of mainstream audience to the wwe. The Rocks return also sets up quite possibly the biggest match of all time when he faces John Cena at Wrestlemania 28. Not to mention without The Rock I don't think mania 27 goes over 1 million ppv buys. While Edge's retirement changed the whole landscape on smackdown
If Edge doesn't retire I believe Del Rio would be the world champion on smackdown right now. I think Orton would of stayed on raw and I don't believe Christian would of became world champion I think he would of turned heel on Edge and feuded with him for a while. I think Edge had the bigger impact because again like I stated he changed the dynamic of the wwe they even had to have the wwe draft soon after his retirement.

 

[asas96]

I say Edge, it was so sudden and he got a shit sendoff. Such an emotional moment. He's only 37, feel so bad for the guy.

 

[boozinjedi]

I would have to say Edge's retirement,It was completely unexpected.

You knew Rock was gonna return at some point in time so it wasn't totally out of left field as it was with Edge.

 

[Mercer the Ruthless]

They were both big in their own way, Edge had a more emotional impact due to him working his ass off nonstop for the company. The Rock came back to a nostalgia ridden crowd.

 

[madrox]

Rock's return, to think otherwise would be kinda silly.

I mean, Rock came back and after the WWE fanbase saw it live on Raw, the rest of them along with the others whether casual viewers or non-WWE fans like myself tuned into repeats of the show or watched on youtube to see what went down.

Edge retired and while some WWE fans did a 180 after complaining about him ruining Kane's World title run with his horrible stuff like kidnapping Bearer to make the Big Red Machine cry, most others seemed to just shrug and go "oh well".

Much as I preferred Christian over Edge, I have to give the guy his due and say he could hold an audience with his promos (after he turned heel and had Lita with him, before that he wasn't really good at all unless he had Christian to do comedy with) but his matches have always been average.

In the long run, Edge's retirement has seemed to be all but forgotten while everyone's STILL talking about Rock and Edge's place has been taken with ease by others and it never really felt like he was ever actually there.

 

[Skairipa Matrix]

without a shadow of a doubt it has 2 b edge's retirement it was such a sad and real moment and as far as i know hes the only person to retire as world champ (unless u count trish stratus retiring as womens champ? which i dont) but its such a shame about edge they had to move the draft to give a new face of smackdown (i still dont get why christian couldnt be the face of smackdown!) and it gave christian his chance in the spotlight on smackdown without edge retiring del rio would have become champ (FML when tht happens ) and christian would have turned on edge leading to them fueding into summerslam or maybe even survivor series......im just disapointed edge and christian didnt get 1 last run with the tag titles but oh well

 

[silrock316]

The immediate future after Edge retired:
WWE obviously had a negative impact by this because Edge was a top guy and him leaving altered their plans greatly as you seen.

The Rocks return:
The Rocks return helps them in a more positive way because he helped with the WM27 draw and he will help the last 3 months leading up to WM28.

So they both made impacts but Edges was a great negative one and The Rocks will only be a more positive one.

Now we won't feel the long term effects of Edges retirement till later when we see if guys like Christian and ADR can really carry the torch that Edge sadly had to pass prematurely.

If they respond well, after awhile, the Edge effect will be gone, it will just be a case of us losing out too early on a great superstar like Edge. If they don't get well responded, then the Edge impact will last until a heel of his kind, well lets say superstar of his kind emerges.

The Rocks positive impact will only be a during his tenure type impact. The ratings may go up a bit while he is there but once he leaves it will go back to business as usual, unless something like a full blown Cena heel turn happens that alters wrestling greatly, then we would see the Rock return have the bigger utlimate impact.

Basically there is a whole lot of wait and see's with this thread.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

Edge.I can't remember another time where someone retired as a World Champion.

Shawn Michaels retired as WWE Champion when he "lost his smile". He came out of retirement about 3-4 years later, but he still retired at the time. No one even thought he would ever come back to wrestle full-time, but he did.

And yeah guys, I think Edge's retirement made more of an impact. The Rock came and left and no one will remember until he comes back at Survivor Series. Edge's absence is felt every single week.

 

[Dan E. Inferno]

Oh, the Rock's return has made a bigger impact by far. I liked Edge, and he was a solid performer, but his retirement hasn't affected a great deal on Smackdown. Christian has been doing a nice job in his place, and the show is ticking along nicely as it would be doing if he were still there.

The Rock on the other hand is the sole reason Wrestlemania 27 drew a million buys, as well as playing a huge role in Wrestlemania 28 being a huge financial success, assuming his appearance goes ahead as planned. Not to mention his feud with Cena will capture the interest of casual fans, i.e. the fans the WWE need to improve their ratings and buyrates. The Rock associating with WWE again for the first time in 7 years is big business, whilst Edge's retirement has changed little. Hence, The Rock's return has the bigger impact.

 

[#hamler]

Oh, the Rock's return has made a bigger impact by far. I liked Edge, and he was a solid performer, but his retirement hasn't affected a great deal on Smackdown. Christian has been doing a nice job in his place, and the show is ticking along nicely as it would be doing if he were still there.

Say what?? You do know they had the annual WWE Draft about a whole month earlier then scheduled because of his retirement right? Edge was one of the top faces in the WWE and was basically the glue that held Smackdown together back when he was around. Notice they completely redone the entire roster now that he is retired.

I do agree with the fact that The Rock is big business. But the fact that Edge retired gave the WWE a huge overhaul. Both RAW and Smackdown's roster changed completely. Face it, Edge retiring had a huge effect on the WWE as a whole. That's taking nothing away from The Rock's return.

 

[Dan E. Inferno]

Say what?? You do know they had the annual WWE Draft about a whole month earlier then scheduled because of his retirement right? Edge was one of the top faces in the WWE and was basically the glue that held Smackdown together back when he was around. Notice they completely redone the entire roster now that he is retired.

I do agree with the fact that The Rock is big business. But the fact that Edge retired gave the WWE a huge overhaul. Both RAW and Smackdown's roster changed completely. Face it, Edge retiring had a huge effect on the WWE as a whole. That's taking nothing away from The Rock's return.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I agree that Edge was a top face and the glue that held Smackdown together, but after a bit of a re-shuffle following the draft, Smackdown is business as usual. Orton replaced Edge as top face on the show, and Christian got the rub from Edge's retirement to establish himself as a main event player. Three or so months after Edge's retirement, I'd argue that he isn't particularly missed. He'd be a useful asset if still around, but he isn't particularly missed. His retirement had a huge effect at the time, but that has since passed, while Rock's return will be relevant right through to Wrestlemania 28. Didn't mean to make it sound like Edge's retirement had no impact whatsoever, just a small impact compared to that of The Rock.

 

[TheKingHustla]

It's relatively easy for me, its the Edge retirement. The Rock's return was big as far as buzz worthy, pop moments, but Edge's retirement changed the complete landscape of the company. It forced the WWE to change up it's entire roster situation and main event situation.

If Edge hadn't retired, he would have been in the SD main event picture with Del Rio, Christian would have been a huge afterthought, Orton and Cena would have been running wild on Raw and a plenty of things would have been different.

The Rock's return didn't really change anything aside from the fact that he and Cena have a rolling "twitter" storyline. It hasn't really changed much on the WWE landscape other than the fact that he'll be at Wrestlemania. I think it could be huge in the future depending on what Rock does after. Will he stay, will he just leave again, that's what will make it different. And seeing how CM Punk has already left with the title, we can't really see Rock winning the gold and then leaving and going shoot movies and stuff with it.

So Edge is huge as far as the impact on the landscape now, and Rock's is great as far as impact possibilities.

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

Edge Retirement, hes been gold for the past 5 years. He's a multi-time WWE and WHC. He was the cornerstone of Friday Night Smackdown. Great on the mic, great in the ring, could work with almost anyone, and he was involved in several story lines.

We'll never get to see how a feud for the WHC between Edge vs Christian would have played out

Oh yeah and the biggest reason him retiring had a bigger impact than the Rock's return, IS BECAUSE EDGE WAS A FUCKING ACTIVE WRESTLER THAT ENTERTAINED ON EVERY SMACKDOWN (some) RAWS AND WORKED HOUSE SHOWS

Edge > Rock

 

[SickJames]

you guys are fucking ridiculous, The Rock's return was perfect in every way including timing and old school fans who watched back in the day when you didnt over expose top talents should get why he isnt on TV every week and that he's brung in main stream unlike Hogan ever did.


Edge's retirement while bad was more good than bad, good that he didnt hurt himself and could walk away not wheel himself away from the ring


We dont feel any hole in the roster due to Edge, hell Shawn's been gone, Taker's gone, HHH isnt wrestling regularly, Y2J's gone, Batista too, they had to build new stars anyway. Rock's return was the best thing of the year and ppl who piss on him still just dont get it and likely never will, if you dont understand it now and I hated having to explain this over and over to ppl why Rock didnt betray WWE how this was all leading to this and was being well executed over time, back years ago

ppl see what they wanna see


the smart thing to do is not have Rock show up week after week, sure Edge was a fulltime talent that retired but look at all the stars we have coming up

look at Punk taking a main spot permanently right now

fact is Edge's retirement didnt damage the roster, it was already suffering and the return of legends headed by The Rock who can put them over helps that more than a retirement will hurt them

bigger impact its stupid not to say The Rock, gone, for 7 years, smart, come back, giving the promo of the year (i liked Punk's too but Rock's still THE main and has proved it this year, WM28 already beat this year's buys)

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Well it seemed like Edge was out for 6 months every 6 months and Rock isn't really back. So I guess neither actually has a whole lot of impact. Although I would give it to Edge because he would come back and get very over before he would get injured again. Rock just kinda shows up when it's convenient for him. Which is good because Cena can say "you said you'd never leave and you left to make another crappy movie" in his promos and add fuel to the fire.

 

[TheViper97]

Well Hold on if The Rock never returned we would've had a more promos between cena and the miz! wrestlemania would have gotton as much buyrates as it did the main event maye just maybe wouldve have been better, The crowd might have been alive instead of dead we wouldnt have cena vs rock at mania cm punks shoot wouldnt have included rocky

 

[Jeff]

I put The Rock's return because once next years Wrestle Mania get's closer I think we will begin to see a huge amount of press for the WWE. Right now yes it may seem as if it is Edge but I think it will eventually be The Rock returning. Edge was a big name for WWE but having him in the WWE will not gain nor I believe lose much viewership. The Rock will be able to draw in former wrestling fans as well as some of the main stream audience and hopefully WWE will be able to keep them as long as they have a strong product at WrestleMania time (In Punk We Trust).

The Rock returning could possibility start a new era in wrestling. Not that The Rock would really be the one leading the era, but The Rock will be able to introduce the audience to the new generation of wrestlers.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Edge's unexpected retirement caused Christian to become World Champion for a week, and as a result the whole Orton/Christian feud. It also changed the landscape of Smackdown, because Orton had to be moved over. You also never know if Edge would have gone to Raw in the draft, or what things would have been like with him in the title picture on either brand. As he proved with del Rio and Ziggler, the man can have a good match at any time in his career, with just about anyone. His leaving was truly sad for the fans and a huge loss for the industry as a whole. That being said, he was definitely on his way out the door in the next year or two if that hadn't happened...possibly sooner. He may have continued his title run, but I don't see anything major that Edge would have done for the WWE had he stuck around. We probably would have gotten the Edge/Christian rivalry we've been wanting, and it may or may not have pleased the die-hard E&C fans. Other than that I can't imagine Edge really impacting the WWE in a lasting effect at this point in his career.

The Rock's return, while brief, brought in a LOT of mainstream attention. It drew the highest WrestleMania buyrate (possibly) in the history of the company, and set up next year's event to be even bigger. His return set up a huge buzz that got fans excited, and kept them intrigued even until the latest CM Punk craze. There's no doubt in my mind that VKM would push Edge off a cliff to have the Rock back in the WWE, and when this whole thing is said and done with John Cena, the Rock's return will have left a bigger impact.

It's not really a fair comparison either. You're talking about a man retiring, and a man coming in and setting things up that haven't all happened yet. So it's hard to know in a year from now which impact will have actually been bigger...

 

[Unsold Bacon]

Edge because they had to derail an entire storyline because of his sudden retirement and he walked off as champion. It's a short answer but it sums it up for me.

 

[hollowpoint]

I voted for the Rock's return for a couple of reasons. One of the main reasons is look at WM27. That card was weak and because of the Rock, they got over 1 million buys on PPV. That alone makes more of an impact than Edge's retirement. What the Rock's return also did was shake the WWE loose of the robotic mondain(sp?) program we were used to seeing and making it something worth watching. His encounters with Cena were up there with some of the best I've seen. It brought people who used to watch back to wrestling.

IMO, Edge retirement was more of a negative impact than anything. Nothing bad on him because I applaud him for leaving on his own terms and walking out as opposed to being carried out. What im saying is that the roster had to do a complete overhaul because SD! was left without a top face and top contenders for the WHC. Now SD! has too many heels and not enough faces and only a few legit main event Superstars.

 

[BillAlfonso]

I think it's apples and oranges.

The Rock's return changed the mainstream appeal of the WWE but Edge changed the presentation and took away one of the few members of their roster that had any semblance of mainstream appeal. Remember, Edge was on a few shows outside of WWE a while ago like Mind of Mencia and I can see him becoming a direct to DVD start like Austin in some respects but probably more like Batista looks like he's doing.

Put a gun to my head and I'll say The Rock's return because he brought a section of people that probably didn't know he was a pro wrestler once upon a time.