Is The Rock Getting Stale?

[Jack-Hammer]

Wow lol!!!!! This thread is a great example of just how fickle the IWC is. A month ago, the internet was a buzz like it rarely is when The Rock makes his return. His return is praised and hailed already as being the most memorable wrestling moment of 2011. His promo is praised as being the most passionate and enjoyable that's been heard in years. now here we are and The Rock is already being called stale????

It's no wonder that the WWE pays no attention to the IWC in general. People have been practically begging, hoping and praying for The Rock to return to the WWE for years and now the guy's stale because he's out there doing EXACTLY what brought him to the dance in the first place and is still every bit as over as he ever was?

Wow, there's just absolutely no way of pleasing so many net fans these days that I don't know whether to be angry, sympathetic or just plain sorry for them. Watching wrestling is no longer about just sitting back and actually hoping, wanting or trying to let yourself be entertained. If the IWC made up the majority of wrestling's audience, it'd be doomed.

 

[KÌNG_UNÐERWÖRLÐ]

To add on, The Rock being back, in my opinion, is just good for nostalgic relief. Is he absolutely needed in wwe right now with all the rising talent? Not really but none of them will every be as big as the Rock cause theres nothing like seeing The Great One, live.

 

[TheKingHustla]

I was one of the millions and millions back in the days, but thats when i was younger. I recently bought some of the rocks dvd's to get that feel of the past (this was months before his return) and i found myself thinking "really? i used to want to see this every week?" i mean, the rock was stale back in his prime. he said the same thing every night. everything was the same. the buildups were exactly the same, the outcomes where the same and everybody always smelled what he was cookin after "the rock says this", he layeth the smacketh down on some jabroni, ate pie, told someone they opinion didnt matter, turned something sideways and stuck it up someones candy ass. it was always the same but back then, somehow, we all waited for it and said it along with him. but now, lookin back, even my wife asked me how i could watch his promo's over and over, and she loves the rock (for totally different reasons). now that he's "back", the delivery of those historic lines aren't as crisp as they used to be, and they no longer excite me. it's like watching a movie over and over and then, 7 years later, someone remakes that movie exactly the same, but with older, less talented actors.

1. Yes, The Rock is stale
2. They should have let "The Rock" die out with the attitude error and leave his legacy alone. I wouldn't have brought him back, but if I did, I would have brought back the heel Rock. the one who made songs about canada and cleveland sucking and blowing off the fans. I would have had him say he was doing it only for the money and that he hated the WWE and it's fans. just for something different. but the WWE wouldn't do that to The Rock. He would lose too much fanfare, even though i think that would have been a better angle in this whole cena thing. cena loves the business and gets boo'd by the fans, but then rock would hate the business, and get cheered? or get boo'd and get cena cheered? there's so many possibilities with that.

 

[Attitude>>>PG]

So let me get this straight...the IWC went from the powerful "Cena sucks"!!! To the dominate and iconic "The Rock needs to come back" to..."Rocky is getting stale"???

LMFAO!!! You people. I prefer he'd didn't come back at all just so you cry babies can suffer in agonizing pain of the "PG and Cena era".

 

[TheKingHustla]

Wow lol!!!!! This thread is a great example of just how fickle the IWC is. A month ago, the internet was a buzz like it rarely is when The Rock makes his return. His return is praised and hailed already as being the most memorable wrestling moment of 2011. His promo is praised as being the most passionate and enjoyable that's been heard in years. now here we are and The Rock is already being called stale????

It's no wonder that the WWE pays no attention to the IWC in general. People have been practically begging, hoping and praying for The Rock to return to the WWE for years and now the guy's stale because he's out there doing EXACTLY what brought him to the dance in the first place and is still every bit as over as he ever was?

Wow, there's just absolutely no way of pleasing so many net fans these days that I don't know whether to be angry, sympathetic or just plain sorry for them. Watching wrestling is no longer about just sitting back and actually hoping, wanting or trying to let yourself be entertained. If the IWC made up the majority of wrestling's audience, it'd be doomed.

I understand what you mean, I just think that all the hype surrounding this moment made the expectations too high for this current day rock to meet. I think everybody was hoping that the rock would come back and turn the WWE on it's head. and he did, a little. but imo, he wasnt even the best part of wrestlemania. stone cold was. stone cold turned his match into a stone cold celebration, filled with stunners and stevewieser's for everyone. even the rocks most memorable promo was which one? the one with austin. yeah, the rock turned it out in the end, but after all of that build up, it fell short. I'm still a rock fan, and i'm glad he came back, but this rock ain't exactly the same rock.

Fact: One of the moments that damaged my teenage life was seeing the rock almost break his legs trying to kip up the other night on raw when he set miz up for the people's elbow. that hurt my heart.

 

[WCWMondayNitroOnYT]

So let me get this straight...the IWC went from the powerful "Cena sucks"!!! To the dominate and iconic "The Rock needs to come back" to..."Rocky is getting stale"???

LMFAO!!! You people. I prefer he'd didn't come back at all just so you cry babies can suffer in agonizing pain of the "PG and Cena era".

I'm glad the Rock is back. Hell back in the day I even grew out my sideburns like the Rock LOL I loved his initial promo when he came back. It seemed heartfelt but lately his promos have just gone back to his catchphrases and that's about it. But if somebody hates catchphrases, they've never been a fan of the Rock because that's what he's all about. I never thought I would say this but in the face-to-face confrontation between Cena and the Rock on RAW, Cena whooped his candy ass. Cena brought that heartfelt emotion and after that promo by Cena, all the Rock had left was wanting to fight him. When it comes to that emotion in promos vs. catchphrases (no matter how awesome they are), the emotional promos always win out.

If the Rock is stale now, he's always been stale. I don't think he's stale. It's just the Rock being the Rock and that's it.

 

[[cL]]

you people really are insatiable. you can't be serious. the Rock, Stale? Ok. So he says the same things every week. But that people is called a BRAND. Its who he is, its what he does, and its the REASON why you wanted him back in the first place. Without a brand, you are unidentifiable. When he says "and the rock means...." you say exactly what he said before it. When he says "the Millions" you say, AND MILLIONS....why? because when you are branded correctedly and solidly, you become what, The Rock, Stone Cold and others like them turn into. Money.
Period. So in the PG era he can't be as edgy as he once was, but for someone who's had to tame himself, he is still and the ROCK MEANS STILL (pun ABSOLUTELY intended) better on the mic than most if not EVERYONE on the roster today.
The Rock is stale....hmph....dumbest thing I have ever heard. And I noticed people talking about his movie career like it wasn't anything.....to his credit, he's starred in more movies than any other wrestler to date, AND, has grossed more than any other wrestler has PERIOD. You laugh at him because he wore a tootoo in the Tooth Fairy...but that was one of the many DISNEY movies he's made. If you're laughing at that then consider this, when you work for disney once you make a killing. When they WANT you to do THEIR movies regularly, you can be rich for life. So...yeah he dudded out with the scorpion king but the fact that he's still in demand and can decide to do a match if he WANTS to or not based on his movie shooting schedule is proof positive that he doesn't NEED to wrestle, he wants to be back. for who? For the people. so Screw your idea of him being stale. He's at least taking them to a PG13 rating an single handedly made two boring wrestlers step up their game. Thats stale to you?
Really?
Really....oooh wait i get it.
You like the Miz.

now it all makes sense.

 

[Attitude>>>PG]

I'm glad the Rock is back. Hell back in the day I even grew out my sideburns like the Rock LOL I loved his initial promo when he came back. It seemed heartfelt but lately his promos have just gone back to his catchphrases and that's about it. But if somebody hates catchphrases, they've never been a fan of the Rock because that's what he's all about. I never thought I would say this but in the face-to-face confrontation between Cena and the Rock on RAW, Cena whooped his candy ass. Cena brought that heartfelt emotion and after that promo by Cena, all the Rock had left was wanting to fight him. When it comes to that emotion in promos vs. catchphrases (no matter how awesome they are), the emotional promos always win out.

If the Rock is stale now, he's always been stale. I don't think he's stale. It's just the Rock being the Rock and that's it.

Oh please... You people knew full well what you were asking for with Rocky returning (catchphrases, promos, and all). You knew him coming back wouldn't change a damn thing within the PG era and even restrict his ability for A+ promos. Now the IWC gets what it ask for and within 6 freakin' weeks you people are already complaining. The sad thing about it is it doesn't matter who makes a return the IWC would still bitch and moan. If Austin never got injured and instead it was him who took a 7 year hiatus you people would complain " all Stone Cold does is drink beer and stun people, he's getting stale" .

 

[The Mighty Tiger]

I understand what you mean, I just think that all the hype surrounding this moment made the expectations too high for this current day rock to meet. I think everybody was hoping that the rock would come back and turn the WWE on it's head. and he did, a little. but imo, he wasnt even the best part of wrestlemania. stone cold was. stone cold turned his match into a stone cold celebration, filled with stunners and stevewieser's for everyone. even the rocks most memorable promo was which one? the one with austin. yeah, the rock turned it out in the end, but after all of that build up, it fell short. I'm still a rock fan, and i'm glad he came back, but this rock ain't exactly the same rock.

Fact: One of the moments that damaged my teenage life was seeing the rock almost break his legs trying to kip up the other night on raw when he set miz up for the people's elbow. that hurt my heart.

So you are agreeing that The Rock has gotten stale but Stoncold doing the samething he always does was the best part of Mania lastnite? What the hell are you smoking Stonecold gave stunners to Booker T & Josh for no reason & Cole who should have got one ended up having the last laugh at the end anyways so how was that the best part of Mania?

 

[WCWMondayNitroOnYT]

Oh please... You people knew full well what you were asking for with Rocky returning (catchphrases, promos, and all). You knew him coming back wouldn't change a damn thing within the PG era and even restrict his ability for A+ promos. Now the IWC gets what it ask for and within 6 freakin' weeks you people are already complaining. The sad thing about it is it doesn't matter who makes a return the IWC would still bitch and moan. If Austin never got injured and instead it was him who took a 7 year hiatus you people would complain " all Stone Cold does is drink beer and stun people, he's getting stale" .

Where did I say he was stale? You need to read my post again. I said that I don't think the Rock is stale! Reading comprehension skills. Learn it! Live it!

I am not complaining whatsoever. I'm glad to have the Rock back and, in fact, I said that his catchphrases is just what the Rock does. Where am I complaining in my post at all?

If saying that Cena had better promos than the Rock then, yes, I am guilty of "complaining." Is that what you feel complaining is?

 

[TheKingHustla]

So you are agreeing that The Rock has gotten stale but Stoncold doing the samething he always does was the best part of Mania lastnite? What the hell are you smoking Stonecold gave stunners to Booker T & Josh for no reason & Cole who should have got one ended up having the last laugh at the end anyways so how was that the best part of Mania?

I think its because there was no build up like there was for rock. everybody expected stone cold to stunner somebody and drink beer, but no one expected him to stunner booker t and josh. and stone cold didnt take over every damn raw leading up to wrestlemania. The only thing rock did was basically irrelevant in the full view of things. he barely hosted anything. even the end was irrelevant because if the original match ended in a draw with miz keeping his gold, why did the match restart, just so the rock could rock bottom cena so miz could do what? oh yeah, keep his gold. they didnt even let cena and miz battle anymore to build suspense for the rock bottom. he just did it right when the match restarted. even when he dropped miz, he stood their waiting. it just seemed so predictable. especially when he went on twitter and claimed the last 10 minutes as his. i knew that at 10:50, rocks music would hit, he'd come out and rock bottom them and celebrate. his music hit at.... 10:51. i dont think anybody saw stone cold stunner booker t before it happened. yeah, after booker got in the ring, everybody who watched stone cold before knew what would happen, but that was only after booker got in the ring. to me, it was just the build up ruined it. they even let the miz and cena battle that horrible match for about 20 and 30 minutes, and the crowd was dead. Why? because everybody was waiting for the rock to come out and get physical. it just seems cheap for such a huge build up just for a handful of below average rock standard promos and 3 minutes of action. Much like they did the snooki thing (which i was actually glad they only had 2 minutes). all that build up for her to do one flip. i guess as a fan i just expected more and felt kinda cheated. i guess its a crime for me to expect great things from one of my favorite wwe legends who rightfully calls himself the great one. I think the real problem is that everybody who is content with the rock's "performance" have their expectation too low. The current Rock can't even be stale right. his performance isn't even on the level close to it used to be. and dont get me started on when he almost killed himself kipping up on raw when he people's elbow miz.

 

[Attitude>>>PG]

Where did I say he was stale? You need to read my post again. I said that I don't think the Rock is stale! Reading comprehension skills. Learn it! Live it!

I am not complaining whatsoever. I'm glad to have the Rock back and, in fact, I said that his catchphrases is just what the Rock does. Where am I complaining in my post at all?

If saying that Cena had better promos than the Rock then, yes, I am guilty of "complaining." Is that what you feel complaining is?

I only quoted you for my eagerness to respond to this thread. Nothing against you. I should have read your post more clearly and I admit it.

However my post still stands for the IWC that there is not one thing to complain about with the Rock coming back. Nothing. You ask for the Rock, well you got the Rock (within the boundries of PG).

Cena's promo stood out better (I admit) than the Rock's on Raw only because it's more suited for his character. Normally Rock would've ate him alive on the mic but he couldn't as he was backed into a corner with the restrictions of the PG ratings and the time limit availible to finish the show.

 

[The Mighty Tiger]

I think its because there was no build up like there was for rock. everybody expected stone cold to stunner somebody and drink beer, but no one expected him to stunner booker t and josh. and stone cold didnt take over every damn raw leading up to wrestlemania. The only thing rock did was basically irrelevant in the full view of things. he barely hosted anything. even the end was irrelevant because if the original match ended in a draw with miz keeping his gold, why did the match restart, just so the rock could rock bottom cena so miz could do what? oh yeah, keep his gold. they didnt even let cena and miz battle anymore to build suspense for the rock bottom. he just did it right when the match restarted. even when he dropped miz, he stood their waiting. it just seemed so predictable. especially when he went on twitter and claimed the last 10 minutes as his. i knew that at 10:50, rocks music would hit, he'd come out and rock bottom them and celebrate. his music hit at.... 10:51. i dont think anybody saw stone cold stunner booker t before it happened. yeah, after booker got in the ring, everybody who watched stone cold before knew what would happen, but that was only after booker got in the ring. to me, it was just the build up ruined it. they even let the miz and cena battle that horrible match for about 20 and 30 minutes, and the crowd was dead. Why? because everybody was waiting for the rock to come out and get physical. it just seems cheap for such a huge build up just for a handful of below average rock standard promos and 3 minutes of action. Much like they did the snooki thing (which i was actually glad they only had 2 minutes). all that build up for her to do one flip. i guess as a fan i just expected more and felt kinda cheated. i guess its a crime for me to expect great things from one of my favorite wwe legends who rightfully calls himself the great one. I think the real problem is that everybody who is content with the rock's "performance" have their expectation too low. The current Rock can't even be stale right. his performance isn't even on the level close to it used to be. and dont get me started on when he almost killed himself kipping up on raw when he people's elbow miz.

The whole Stoncold thing was stupid cause he stunner the wrong two ppl & what he did afterwards was typical Stonecold so I can't see how you can come on here & say The Rock is stale after only being back for a month but Austin isn't when he does the samething ever time he comes back which I'm fine w/BTW. Now I do agree w/u the whole ending to lastnites PPV could have been better but what the hell does that have to do w/Rock being stale? Also what was you expecting for him to say in his promos seeing as he didn't have a match lastnite? He did what he suppose to do hype the crowd up for the show!! I'm not saying the current Rock can't become stale but he has only been back for a month not to mention he is a returning legend you name me one legend that has come back after being gone for years w/a whole new style? I would understand you & others more if a whole year has passed & he hasn't changed much but you guys are just nitpicking & bitching just to be bitching. So for you & others to come out & say he is stale just because you didn't enjoy Wrestlemania when in the end most ppl only cared about this Mania was because of him is just ass backwards to me.

 

[TheKingHustla]

The whole Stoncold thing was stupid he stunner the wrong two ppl & what he did afterwards was typical Stonecold so I can't see how you can come on here & say The Rock is stale after only being back for a month but Austin isn't? Now I do agree w/u the whole ending to lastnites PPV could have been better but what the hell does that have to do w/Rock being stale. Also what was you expecting for him to say in his promos seeing as he didn't have a match? I'm not saying the current Rock can't become stale but he has only been back for a month not to mention he is a returning legend you name me one legend that has come back after being gone for years w/a whole new style? I would understand you & others more if a whole year has passed & he hasn't changed much but you guys are just nitpicking & bitching just to be bitching. So for you & others to come out & say he is stale just because you didn't enjoy Wrestlemania when in the end most ppl only cared about this Mania was because of him is just ass backwards to me.

Yeah, most people cared about mania because rock, but it basically comes down to this, imo, there was nothing ground breaking about rocky. like, during the month, on raw, rock had so many chances to blow cena and miz out of the water. even though the rock said the same stuff every time, he always threw something in there that was fresh. like talking about big shows haircut, or about kurt angle drinking the milk and taking viagra, or about chris jericho's uncle jimmy jack jericho. Rock always threw in something fresh and flashy when he downed someone. this time, he said fruity pebbles. which imo wasn't really that funny when he first said it, but he continued to say it. over, and over, and over, and over again. he also said cena looked like barney's turd.... really? barney? barney's been dead for forever now. He also said a homeless power ranger.... it's like the rock came to the WWE in 2011 thinking that it was 2001, and when the big face to face raw moment happened, the rock got clowned by cena, both on the mic and on the mat. Cena spoke the truth and the rock had nothing to say but i'm gonna kick your ass. Rock shouldn't lose to Cena in any promo. but imo, he lost this promo battle this month.

 

[Clem]

I could stand to hear less "...and stick it straight up his candy ass". I know it's part of his catchphrase, but that part IS stale.

However, all the new material he's come up with to mock Cena, pure gold.

Yabba dabba b*tch, fruity pebbles, fruit loop troop, homeless Power Ranger, etc. All hilarious.

 

[The Mighty Tiger]

Yeah, most people cared about mania because rock, but it basically comes down to this, imo, there was nothing ground breaking about rocky. like, during the month, on raw, rock had so many chances to blow cena and miz out of the water. even though the rock said the same stuff every time, he always threw something in there that was fresh. like talking about big shows haircut, or about kurt angle drinking the milk and taking viagra, or about chris jericho's uncle jimmy jack jericho. Rock always threw in something fresh and flashy when he downed someone. this time, he said fruity pebbles. which imo wasn't really that funny when he first said it, but he continued to say it. over, and over, and over, and over again. he also said cena looked like barney's turd.... really? barney? barney's been dead for forever now. He also said a homeless power ranger.... it's like the rock came to the WWE in 2011 thinking that it was 2001, and when the big face to face raw moment happened, the rock got clowned by cena, both on the mic and on the mat. Cena spoke the truth and the rock had nothing to say but i'm gonna kick your ass. Rock shouldn't lose to Cena in any promo. but imo, he lost this promo battle this month.

I do understand & agree w/u a little on what your saying yes his promo cutting hasn't been ground breaking but me personally I wasn't expecting it to be. He isn't here to stay he is back more so for nostalgic reason so I was just expecting for him to be classic Rock w/just a few little jabs here & there. IMO His 1st promo was platinum he made Cena & the whole company look like a joke since him & Austin retired! The second was silver, the 3rd w/kid Cena was gold cause what he said was true Cena did take the ball & run w/it but compared to The Rock being face of the company Cena didn't run far w/the ball. The face to face w/Cena he had wasn't about promos he had already said that he was coming just to whoop ass. On top of that I can't really see how you can say he lost in the face to face w/Cena promo wise when Cena came out & 1. kiss The Rock's ass & 2. He made it seem like he didn't start any of this when everyone knows this feud is built around him running his mouth in the 1st place so he sounded like a hypocrite. Now Cena's delivery of the promo was great the best I done heard from him in years but if you listen & break down what he said it was all bullshit.

BTW you may not have liked his insults on Cena but The Rock calling him a yabba dabba bitch, fruity pebbles, a homeless Power Ranger, & saying everybody that's a fan of his is a part of the fruit loop troop is pure gold in reality! You can't name any other super star that can say silly shit like that & not only make it funny but have ppl chanting it & making signs saying the shit. Bottom line is Rock is a beast at this mic shit & he is so cold w/his delivery that he can do what Cena can't & that is say silly kid shit & make it sound kool instead of stupid.

 

[triple_b2k]

I don't think the Rock is stale. People are starting to settle with him once again. That return was over the top excitement. Now people are sitting back in the seats and getting entertained.

 

[Fenris]

Stale? Ehh, kinda. I think it's more of a case of letdown for most. People can call it crying and fans never being happy I guess but we got what we wanted? Not exactly. I can't think of any fan who ever said "man I hope Rock returns and does some promos via satellite in PG language."

The truth is probably some fans are bracing them for the crystal clear fact, he isn't really back, he isn't coming back and most of the first promo was bullshit trying to appease the fans. He isn't here to stay. He's giving us a few promos and run ins, perhaps one match and some shit on satellite before going back to Hollywood. Whatever, we all know it. Go back now I say, I mean if you're not going to dedicate yourself to a final run and just going to mail it in? Go away bro, please. Vince needs to just cut the check and move on because all Rock is doing is making the rest of the product look as horrible as it is and his leaving in a month or two isn't of benefit to it.

 

[Ruddalin]

I agree, I wasn't around back during the attitude era but already it's easy to tell what 25 catchphrases he's parroting over and over again, I get that he's a charismatic guy and he's doing a good job of making me hate him, but for all of the wrong reasons, the first of which being that this blowhard does not shut the hell up ever, he stands in the middle of the ring repeating the same garbage over and over again, not that he doesn't deliver it well or anything but he just keeps repeating the same thing every promo I see.
The secondary reason is because like Cena and Orton have said, he thinks that after he left them out high and dry for 7 years he thinks he can just stroll back in and keep being the same badass that he thinks he is up in his own head there, if you ask me I'd say he's basically living off the shadow of what he was, thus far Ive only seen him drop the elbow and botch a kip up, I'll respect the man when I see him put on a match that truly "electrifies", up until then as far as I'm concerned he's all bark and no bite, Cena will put him in his place sooner or later.

 

[Jenna.]

Dictionary.com definies "catchphrase" as the following: a phrase, as a slogan, that comes to be widely and repeatedly used, often with little of the original meaning remaining.

So with that said...OF COURSE he's going to use the same catchphrases....that's the POINT of a catchphrase.

As far as The Rock's character being stale. No it's not at all. Maybe to this forum, but the way people keeping marking out on twitter, youtube, etc his character is far from stale. I will say it's hard to get hype about his jokes and shenanigans when you don't have other superstars that can go toe-to-toe with him.

No one does backstage promo anymore, no one starts shits just to start shit. Besides the feud between CM Punk and Orton I haven't seen a legitmate feud in a long time. So when you have a trash talker such as The Rock but doesn't have anyone to compete with, how can it actually be entertaining?

I do feel something is missing from his character after watching old Smackdown episodes this weekend. He's not really cocky and arrogant anymore. I remember that match he refereed with Triple H and the British Bulldog for the WWF championship, he left the ring put on a headset and said "The Rock has to put them in their place once they get sassy, oh The Rock has to go back in the ringg, the people are chanting his name....1, 2....IT DOESN'T MATTER IF THE ROCK COUNTS TO 3" That was hysterical. His cockiness and swag is what made him so much larger than life. Now he's like semi-cocky and more of a jokster than anything.

But in general no his character isn't stale, people wouldn't be buying his crap, tattooing Team Bring It on themselves and STILL responding to his catchphrases. You want more out of The Rock, he can't do it alone, others need to step it up.

 

[EStreet]

The Rock is not stale - the Rock was brought in to attract a crowd for Wrestlemania that likely hasn't followed the product as closely in the last few years - heck, its why I bought the ppv!!

He was needed to come in, spit his catch phrases, sing his songs. NOW, he is in a year long feud with Cena - he will come up with new stuff, he will come up with new phrases and the crowd will eat them up. How would the crowd react if Rock came out and said new catchphrases on his first night back or on the biggest stage of them all? Give him time - let him settle into this new role as a part of the roster, and things will be magical. I think this will be the year WWE gets back into the mainstream and becomes relevant again.

 

[Reddog1146]

He is getting stale quick but a way to counterbalance it would be to have get some action in the ring. john morrison and undertaker are stale on the mic but their in ring skills speak for themselves. maybe once he gets action, he will have better material to work off of than constantly saying the same insults about john cena.

 

[holdingholder]

People are idiots, everyone in here who says that the Rock is stale and says the same thing every night is ignorant and stupid. As a person who followed The Rocks entire career, and what his evolution from beginning to end, I can tell you with know uncertainty that The Rock constantly changed his character. The only two catch phrases that he always used were "finally" and "if ya smelll. Other than that he only used "it doesn't matter" and the whole up candy ass bit from late 99 until late 2000. Most of his so called "overused " catchphrases were only used for a few months. I dare any of you to go on youtube and check out the Rock's promo's on a year to year basis. His stuff from 99,2000,2001,2002,2003 all very different from each other. Just because he came back after so long, he's running out tons of his best catchphrases and people are getting their panties in a bunch.

 

[Negrodamus]

The Rocks return stale??? Him coming back is why people watched or even cared about Mania. The Rock has done exactly what he was brought back to do. And if you guys dont see it for the show it is ( the whole thing is somewhat scripted ) but he was also brought back to elevate Cena which has worked to perfection. Cena has never been so good on the mic in years and why is that because its a credible opponent and he is standing toe to toe mic to mic with an all time great. When its all said and done if Cena can keep this up he wont get those booo's. This is the first real passing of the torch kind of match/feud since the attitude era ended.

How can something that gets pops that loud and people chating his catchphrases be stale. You never hear boos when he speaks pure silence until the crowd knows its their turn to take part, he owns the live crowd until that stops he will never be stale.

 

[CelticCorey]

lol you people are hilarious. Oh he's stale, he shouldn't have returned, he needs to go etc. Good Lord not too long ago you all were "marking" out or whatever you all call it. That's the thing about internet wrestling fans. How quickly they forget and how quickly they turn.

He's the Rock. He does his catch phrases it's what he's always done and will always do. All his promos have been great and if he's getting repetitive just remember it takes one night and suddenly all of you will be like OMG he's back.

This. This is pretty much it right here. I can't believe how many messages I read on several forums wanting to see him come back. Then he comes back and you complain. A majority of the IWC as a whole contradicts themselves. It's a damn good thing that no matter how much stupid shit WWE does, that the IWC as a whole doesn't run wrestling because there is no patience. And I'm not saying there aren't intelligent IWC members or that they couldn't book a good storyline but this shit makes my head spin.

As for him losing his swagger, no shit, he's 39 on May 2nd, he hasn't been in a ring for seven years, but yet he is still far and away better than everybody on the mic in the WWE today. I mean there are some exceptions- we wouldn't expect Steamboat to still perform at Mania 25 or Lawler to still go at his age but not everyone is like that. Rocky may not be what he used to be but he can still cut great promos IMO.