He's been in 7; Empire State, Snitch, Pain and Gain, FF6, GI. Joe, Hercules, and Journey 3, plus the two that are supposed to be released next year and the one that's scheduled for 2016. I guess we have different interpretations of what "huge" is. When I say a huge hit, I'm mostly talking about a movie that is constantly advertised and hyped. A movie that has"grand openings" and gets a lot of attention from the media and public. I'm not referring to how the movie does in the box-office, maybe I should have clarified. I guess "huge" isn't the right word.. more like internationally publicized. 400-500 mill is only raked in by the best of the best movies... not many can pull that of
Never heard of empire state. And it was Journey 2 not 3. All major company releases have grand openings, just ones with more commercial tie ins or award potentials get more widespread coverage of those premiers. And thats all paid advertising by the production company any way as they plaster positive info about a movie to try and get people to go and see them. Just look at Hercules (7/25/14). A 100$ million dollar budget that brought in only 72$million box office. And that budget doesn't include any advertising or promotion expenses. Pain and Gain(4.26.13) less then 50$million box office. Snitch(2.22.13) barely 42$million. F&F 6 (5.24.13) and GI JOE (3.28.13) only two of his movies in last 3 years to break 120$million. Jounery 2 (2/10/12) had 103$million. F&F 5 (4/29/11) 209$million.
Going over his movies, he has 3 movies that broke 200$million, and 4 others that broke 100$million. However, only one of them could be considered a starring role and it was a sequel. The rest are either sequels of films that were going to be successful with or without him or they are movies were he was a supporting or secondary role (other guys and get smart). the FF movies, GI JOE, Mummy Returns are his higher grossing roles, but as mentioned, he wasn't the 'star' of the films
This is called a mutually beneficial agreement. Rock comes back to give the WWE a huge payday (which he has done for the past few years) and in turn, the WWE plugs his movies. This does not mean that the The Rock solely comes back because he wants to plug a movie. If he wanted to create buzz for his upcoming films, why wouldn't he just show up and take an authority role instead of stepping in the ring almost every time. If he was SOLELY thinking only about his movie, he wouldn't risk hurting himself.
I never said he did it solely for the movies. He did after all get a pretty decent payout for his WWE appearances. But to suggest that one of the main driving concerns hype of his appearances isn't about trying to draw attention to his rather modest box office returns is just as foolish as claiming that it isn't an issue at all.
Semantics man. Facts are, Lesnar and Punk both left their respective companies for one reason or another, and decided to get into something that would continue to make them a lot of money. The reasons are mute. Whether Lesnar gave a shit about WWE or not, the point is he came in and was handed the world along with a fat paycheck. Punk will go into the UFC, he will be handed a spot and he will make a fat paycheck. Also, your last point only checks out if you believe everything CM Punk says... seeing as he has contradicted himself a NUMBER of times, I wouldn't really count what CM Punk says as fact. To be fair, same goes for WWE.
Vince and wwe have a much longer history of confirmable bullshit said/done to workers than whatever 'contradictions' people claim Punk has said in his statements. I'm not saying I believe every word out of his mouth, as every story has too sides, but the timing of certain actions on the part of WWE is too slick to be anything other then deliberate.
If Punk is pissed off at Lesnar for "taking a spot", than he can't be surprised when MMA guys now get pissed off at him for doing the same thing. Punk has even said that the irony is not lost on him... he basically admits it.
The Difference of what Punk did vs. what Brock/Rock did, is when Punk has his debut, he might be taking a spot, but he isn't taking a sport from the top tier talent. He's going to be working people in a similar position of just starting out in UFC with 1-2 matches under their belts and not going immediately to be come the primary focus for the story fighting against the top of the line draws or champs right from the moment he shows up on a UFC card.
And if he came back and didn't work a full schedule? Would you be just as outraged as you are about Lesnar and The Rock?
If he comes back and doesn't work a full sched and does same thing as Brock/Rock I won't care about that, I will be disappointed in the hypocrisy of that action. I'm not outraged about Brock Rock not working a full sched, but I am annoyed that they become the primary focus, and Brock for one doesn't do matches except for a few PPVs, Has the title and doesn't defend it or even appear on tv for weeks at a time. That outrages me. If he was only part time, but wasn't handed the title, or made the attempt to show on a semi regular (not all shows, say every other raw or smackdown for 2-3 appearances and matches-even squash matches against jobbers) I wouldn't care one way or the other. But handing guys like that the title is ridiculous and a slap in the face to every member of the roster who works their ass off 5 or 6 nights a week trying to get to the level to just have a shot at that title the person and company doesn't seem to care about. That pisses me off.
WWE is also a stronger roster with Brock Lesnar and The Rock and to say it's not would be foolish. These two guys are probably the two biggest draws on the roster, and again, have actually earned their spots. That point can not be debated. Punk is starting lower on the card because he would get his ass kicked against the UFC champions and that's the ONLY reason he won't fight them right off the bat. You saw what happened with Brock Lesnar, and to be fair, the guy is a monster with a monster collegiate wrestling background. I actually wouldn't MIND that much if CM Punk was put in a title match off the bat, because at least that would prove he can hang with the best and this isn't just some bucket list hobby. The fact that he's at the bottom shows that he doesn't have the skill to make too much of an impact higher up on the card.
Even Lesnar when he orig left WWE didn't immediately start against UFC's top guys but had to work his way there. And no I don't think Lesnar has earned his spot. He wasn't around long enough his first run to lay any claim to having earned a spot or paid his dues. He was never in it for anything other then a way to get money and attention to transition to what he felt he was more legit in first his attempted NFL career and then when that failed, WWE didn't want him around so went to UFC, and even if there was some interest on WWE's part at the time, UFC was offering much more money and less or a work load and that's what he wanted.
As for Punk being at the bottom showing he doesn't have the skill, I think it shows that he's being cautious in his attitudes towards the UFC roster. He knows he's taking a spot someone else has worked for (hence the mention that he understands the irony in his actions), he has enough respect for the roster and the work they did that he isn't stealing shots or spots for those who are proven successes in the sport, instead sliding into a spot against others who are unproven and just starting out.
Maybe you would like to see those matches, but the majority of fans would probably be pretty angry that Lesnar and The Rock's brief appearances are wasted on the likes of Kane, Mark Henry, or The Miz. Also, I'm pretty sure Lesnar has worked with both Big Show and Mark Henry? Correct me if I'm wrong because I might be off on that point. I mean it could work, but really Lesnar vs Sandow? The Rock vs Titus O Neil? They've earned better than being put with glorified jobbers. And there's that word again... earned.
First off, I have never felt that Lesnar earned anything. Everything was handed to him and he didn't appreciate anything that was done for him. But that's another thread altogether. For this one and my comments, IF they come back, I'm not saying they need to have a full sched. Even a match every other week against established workers that they might have a history with (Rock vs Kane) or that were put in spots that had been their's before they left (Lesnar vs Henry) and then work with the younger guys and put them over, even if they win the matches, let them show what they can do against former top talents.
How are new stars going to emerge if they aren't given the chance to shine against top talents either current or former talent returning? Imagine if that was your attitude towards a yet, foolish looking man just starting out and going by the name Flex Maivia? Or how about a young Jack Mason, Mean Mark Calous, Terry Bolea, Randy Poffo, Michael Hickenbottom? If the top guys weren't willing to work with them and help them improve, there'd be no Rock, No Mankind, no Undertaker, Macho Man, HBK. Call them jobbers if you want, but there's no way of knowing where the next break out star is if you don't give people a chance to work with the current top level guys.
Titus vs Brock, or Rusev vs Brock would allow both Titus and Rusev to show that they are real beasts in the ring and showcase their power against a known quantity in Lesnar instead of against less known talents. Rock vs Ziggler could be an insanely entertaining match, as could Rock vs Cesaro. There's a lot of room to play with when you have what, 3hrs Raw, 2hrs Smackdown, 2 hrs Mainevent, 1hr NXT to try and fill. When Rock and Lesnar were breaking in, established stars did what they could to help them break out and learn the biz and now it should be their turn to pass their knowledge and experience on to the younger generation. This goes for anyone who comes back after an absence. Golddust is doing it now with Cody. Jericho did it for several people on his various returns. Its what tradition calls for, but their egos refuse.
