Did the Rock bury the WWE?

[barclayteo]

i agree with u but rock is right u cant see me makes no sense its not like anytime cena does the handwave they always miss punches or anything its a dumb catch phrase it makes no sense! i like cenas charater to a point but he is nowhere near rocks level.

sorry bout qouting you and deleting you whole speech but im on a ps3 and couldnt type anything after your speech.

 

[Isaac Kaye]

I think people need to to put things in perspective for just a second. For a start, the Rock is one the best guys to ever grace the WWE. His promos are the best, he looks and acts like a champion and he gets the crowd involved in everything he does. He hasn't been around for 7 years ffs!

Cena didn't even get a chance to cut a response yet! Plus Cena has been operating under the PG constraints for the past few years! The Rock storms out and kills the PG rules completely. To say the Rock has shown us how lame the Cena character is before you give the guy a chance to come out and talk is totally far fetched.

No argument, the Rock is the best ever, but lets not get caught up in the hype guys.

 

[Sparky]

I don't think he buried anybody. Cena will still get cheered when he comes out next week. the only thing I think he did was make everybody in the back want to step up their game. Listening to the Rocks promo would of made them realize that none of them could do what the rock did on raw. He without making it obvious, hopefully just raised the bar on mic skills. His promo will have no negative effects. Only positive ones.

 

[stylin'andprofilin']

Not to doubt cena and what he has done for the wwe. It probably wouldnt have been as popular for the kids the way it is today without him. However when i was a child i was growning up to people like, HHH, Mick Foley, HBK, Bret Hart, Undertaker. These men showed traits of going from good to bad. The only person not to go from good to bad in the wwe besides cena was hogan (in his day). Did cena get buried by the rock, yes and no. Not to his younger fans, however to a fan like myself, i realize how bad at promos he really is. His wrestling ability has improved ten fold from what it was. However, i do not believe he could make a good comeback from this unless he turns heel.

 

[born_better]

don't thinnk he actually "buried" WWE but certainly gave it a rude awakening....

like someone else said, cena will still get uber cheers come next Monday - mainly because the vast majority of cena fans prolly didnt have a clue who the big black samoan guy who was trashing their hero actually was in the ring (harsh generalisation perhaps but it was backed up by my 8 year old nephew....)

I think it certainly gives VKM food for thought.... I'm sure he may have been worried about the card for this yrs Mania compared to the last few years (brilliantly carried by HBK and Taker)..... so injecting a bit of "old school" in there will certainly add to the number of PPV buys than there prolly would have been before the Rock came on stage.....it will be interesting to see how Vince will actually use him for not only WM but the build up to it....

The pop he recieved and his actual promo were.... well.... fucking brilliant.... fact.... did it bury the rest of the locker room..... yes he did verbally shit on Cena's "legacy" that has taken him years to build in approx 5 mins but that doesnt make him shit..... I think its sent a good wake up call to the rest of the locker room that the best in the business walked into a ring after 7 years and owned it like he had never been away.... it should inspire them, not intimidate them.... it should show them that however good (or awesome) they thought they were, they can do better......how many of those guys in the back could HONESTLY say that if they left and came back 7 years they would even be close to getting a reaction like that.....?

There may be the odd superstar thinking "well if I could say ass and bitch etc then i would be able to do better promos" (by this i mean not better than the rock, but better than how they do at the mo).... well possibly but throwing in a few cuss words does not make you a better talker or performer.....

I think as long as the WWE superstars look at this and get inspired to up their game then The Rock returning and doing what he did can if anything revive the WWE not bury it.... but its up to them at the end of the day....

As for the fans... i do think its important to realise that yes the rock is awesome, yes he owned the ring and had the fans in the palm of his hand, yes there is no one better on the mic.... but like other people have said, that does not make the rest of the current roster shit and forgettable overnight.... they represent the current generation of fans and followers and must have being doing something right because before Monday peeps were talking about how good x superstar or y superstar have been recently.... nostalgia is great but not the way forward....

Therefore nah i dun think he has buried wwe because :
a) it depends on the role of the Rock in the build up to WM
b) It depends on how the WWE superstars react to the Rock's return and the parameters set concerning the level of vocab they are alllowed to use (ie if it becomes more PG 13)
c) it depends on the fans and whether they will drop everything and jump on the rock bandwagon, slate everything else only for 6 months later, and him gone, and they are in a dark dark place feeling all empty and alone because its 2004 all over again

 

[RockSolidMark]

Hi guys,

To answer the original question, Did the Rock bury the WWE? My answer without hesitation would be NO. I agree with the majority of the sentiments being shared here and that is The Rock has only encouraged the rest of the roster to step their game up.
Rock has inadvertently highlighted what was wrong with today's product and what most people have been saying for a long time. The WWE product is getting a bit stale and having the face of the company be a guy that caters to one specific demographic for the sake of merchandise sales is slowly bringing the company to it's knees.

The difference with this PG era and the era's of Attitude and Hogan is many people are divided on what was the best ever era in wrestling. 10 years later, you would expect the same debate to include this current PG era but nearly everyone would have no hesitations to admit this era is no where near the league of its predecessor's. That is saying a lot when people don't rate it good enough to be compared with Attitude and Hogan.

The Rock's return and his laying the smack down verbally on guys like Cena should serve as a wake up call to the current roster. In 20 minutes, Rock showed why no one can come close to him on mic skills and why he is simply called 'The Great One'. But it also highlighted that Rock's star power is unmatched.

The guys today don't get as much freedom as far as creative writing goes compared to someone like Rock. Another problem is today's wrestlers just lack that one stand out person. Very often at times they come across as bland and boring. IMO there is no standout of this era like it was with the previous era's.

However, there's one overriding factor that sets the Rock apart from the guys today and his counterparts from the Attitude era. The Rock has something that I cannot explain in words but when you see it you know he's got it. You cannot teach it or train it. He has such a presence and aura about what he does that it makes everyone weak in comparison.
He oozes that x factor that makes him stand above the rest. He is one of those rare breed of wrestlers who are often imitated but can never be duplicated and unfortunately for guys like Cena or Miz, it's something they cannot simply 'learn'. You either have it or you don't.

Case in point, how many wrestlers right now can garner a massive reaction just by a slight turn of the head and by a raise of the eyebrow? He doesn't have to do anything but stand there and he gets a reaction. It is the way he carries himself that speaks volumes. He walks like a champ, He looks like a champ, He acts like a champ and he talks like a champ. A post I came across while reading some of the articles online sums up what kind of presence Rock has.

I was actually in attendance last night at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Let me tell you, I was sitting right by the ramp and got the opportunity to speak with ref Charles Robinson and some of the camera men too. It was a very nostalgic moment to say the least. When The Rock came out all of the backstage producers and crew workers came out to see the rock's in ring return in person. All the workers and ushers at the Honda Center were visibly bored and "dead" throughout the night until the Great One came out. Suddenly they all turned around and were paying attention LOL. Even the camera man filming The Rock inside the ring was giggling when Rock mocked Cena and his "you can't see me" catchphrase and hand gesture.

(http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/spo..._rock_has_come_back_to_host_wrestlemania.html)

How many people can also make the crowd chant Cena sucks without telling them to do so? The way the crowd lapped up everything he did and the way they hung onto his every word is something that you just cannot teach. It's an artform in itself.

So although I'm sure the wrestlers watching backstage probably know that they would never surpass a rare breed like The Rock, at least they have seen firsthand and experienced how the maestro of promo's operates and would no doubt motivate them to be so much better than they already are. There is nothing like having first hand experience with the best to give you that extra push to be better.


Boy was it great to see The Rock in the ring again. It was like he never left. He was born to be in that ring. He looks so much at home. Damn you Hollywood!

 

[RockyKing]

Now tonight was one of the greatest moments for me in wrestling history. I havent felt the way i did tonight in an extremely long time. But heres the question. Did the rock bury the wwe, not on purpose of course.

The image of the rock standing at the top of the ramp was an image we havent seen from a WWE wrestler in many years. The rock stood there looking like an ICON and presance. I kept saying to myself " now thats what a champion is suppossed to look like " .. Within seconds of talking, or a matter of fact , walking .. He showed just how NOBODY in the back is today.

He basically buried its top star that has been built for 6 or 7 years within 2 minutres. Destroyed his catch phrase , and ruined what he wears to the ring. Now its just laughable when cena continues. He also buried its current champ the miz. Now if anyone thinks that cena vs miz is somewhat important after tonight. IT ISNT. The rock just showed them how they are nowhere near in his league. I wish i was with cena in the back, just so i can see his face when all this was going on.

Basically tonight , the rock showed the world how useless everyone in the wwe is on the mic, even there top guys, and also how they have no charisma.

Does anyone else believe that rock unintentionally just ruined what WWE has been tryin to grow with the youth movement, and even its main eventers , just by talking on the mic?

As an old school fan who started watching in the 70's, the WWE was burying itself well before the Rock got on the mic, he only put the final nail in the coffin when it pertains to this current talent.

 

[Cats Pajamas]

It turned out, it was the Rock, and a smile immediately was on my face. Rock renewed my interest in the WWE, and renewed the interest of many fans.

You're awfully easy to please, Johnny Walker, as most peckerslaps are. Why should the Rock, who doesn't want to wrestle, renew your interest in wrestling? Did you love the cast of McGruber as a guest host, too?

The only thing burying the WWE is the WWE by giving calling acrobats "wrestlers", calling dances "matches", and focusing on Michael Cole instead of a FREAKIN WRESTLER!!!

 

[Long Island Iced WXYZ]

I don't think so.

It was a funny promo, and people will see it as such. It's not going to hurt The "E" much if at all.

He did a lot of damage to Cena though, thankfuly Cena responded with a great promo the following Monday.

 

[stonecoldstv86]

The Rock did semi Bury the current WWE product. But he just weighed down an already sinking ship. He comes out and cuts a promo not scrippted by their crappy writers and tied down by PG restrictions. Dose something that you truely don't see much anymore and that is actually cut down a wrestlers charecter. Which yes we have wrestlers today talk about other wrestlers to get heat but they don't really tear eachother apart. We just have heels saying about how they are better then the crowd and the other wrestler. Then faces coming out going I am here for all of you guys I really hope not to let you down.

But you have The Rock come back after 7 years and tear down the WWE's golden boy of the PG Era John Cena also the Miz. However in tearing them down he didn't say anything that wasn't pretty much in the back of most guys minds over the age of 12. He just did it in his own way. Then he did something that people were waiting to see for about a year now and that was shut Cole up.

Now with all that said I think the thing that buried WWE more then The Rocks promo was Cenas. Cena goes from Super Cena back to Thug Cena. Which basically showed Cena of the PG era can't keep up with the great one, dosn't even stand a chance. So lets dig out the old gimmick from 5 or 6 years ago to give me a chance to go head to head with The Rock. Which with that move it shows that not even their golden boy today the Super Cena thinks he can't keep up in the charecter he is today. Instead going back to the one that got him to go from heel to face and got the people to love Cena.

Which with both promos it shows how dumbed down the product is today. Basically showing the PG era is just an easy way out for WWE and their lazy writers. We have wrestlers basically doing the same promos every week. Which yes the great, Hogan, The Rock and Stone Cold all have catch phrases but they would change up their promos while at the same time throwing in their catch phrases. But today it's just all the same with the names changed. Plus on a side note with this, reason that matchs don't seem as good, go back and watch stuff from 6 years ago and farther back, wrestlers have their signature and finishers but to get to the point where they would use a signature and finisher they would ahve a bunch of diffent moves. Which today about every wrestlers has a set move set. They don't go outside of their maybe 8 moves. Which once again it is dumbed down for kids. Kids eat it up they see their favroite wrestlers pulling off moves they seen on tv every week. But don't want to see them do something new they want the favorite stuff all the time.

Now back to the point, with Cena pulling out thug Cena for the Promo it hurt WWE. It shows and reminds some of us Cena has it. He can cut a promo that is not just the same old cheesy crap that Super Cena has been doing over the last 5 years. Which can get us to releize how held back the WWE is keeping their wrestlers with the PG era and the writers writing every line of a promo instead of leting the wrestlers help build their charceter and just let them go out there and see if they can do a promo without it being scripted.

Which a quick side note, the Miz's promo didn't help at all either. He stuck to the same promo stuff he always done week in and week out showing how bad he is at cutting a promo.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

Let's be honest here. The truth is this: the Rock worked hard for the WWE, and he bled and sweat for WWE. He was an obvious star for the company, while he was working, he had to put up with all the bullshit from the Kliq because of their jealousy of his natural charisma and his emerging popularity. He did everything he could for the company putting over lesser talents because Triple H and Austin thought they were above doing it. He found another career and left the business. Could he have left better ? Of course he could but that's not his fault, WWE chould have given him a proper send off, which they didn't. Fans are furious calling him a sellout. What a ridiculous attitude. He knows his fans made him and he bust his ass for them each and every day, that's all any performer owes his fans. He's thanked his fans plenty of times. To ask for more than that, imo, is absurd. What gives any of us the right to tell a performer that he doesn't have a right to explore another opportunity to support his family ?


He's spending his time to establish himself as an actor, which takes time and a lot of dedication. It means he has to shoot the film, he has promote the film, it means he' s extremely busy. He gets dissed by Triple H on Raw as a B rate actor. Rock hosts the WWE HoF he gets dissed by Rick Flair at the Hall for leaving to go to Hollywood. Then Cena, this pathetic little punk decides to question the Rock for not coming back for so long. Every one thinks (especially in the entertainment business) that because they have an opinion the world has to hear about it. How absurd. Why would a main eventer ask a previous main eventer to come back and help the company ? You think Hulk Hogan asked Bruno Sammartino or Bob Backlund to help him when he was in the main event ? You think Austin called on Hogan to come his rescue ? Of course not. They did it on their own and kept their eye on the ball and did what they could as the main eventers. Cena (Triple H and Flair also) needs to stop being a little bitch and lead his company the best he can instead of crying about how come former main eventers don't visit enough. The Rock doesn't need to apoologize to any one for leaving or not coming back sooner.

So Rock comes back and attacks Cena for running his mouth. Cena deserved it. Cena responded quite well calling Rock a *** and questioning his love for the wrestling fans. Cena has a right to respond but the fact is, it's his fault for starting this shit. No one elses. The fact is WM has Cena, Triple H and Taker and a host of others wrestling and WWE was so desperate to make sure it made money they begged the Rock to return as Host. What says that the roster isn't cutting it in the money making department than that ? Can Cena see that ?