*MERGED* Compare and Contrast - The Rock & John Cena

[TheWorldIsMines]

I saw this one coming..all the "cena is no where near the rock and blah blah blah and cena is shoved down our throats" So your sayng Rock wasnt shoved down our throats? Ads, posters, on at the beginning of every show and ending...the Rock was shoved down our throats to the point i hated him. i saw someone say Cena will never accomplish what the Rock did in 7 years...wow such a bold statement.thats the problem right there..no one will let go of the Atitude Era. people cant handle that somene is on the cusp of being greater than the rock..yeah i said it... people dont give cena his respect because they hate on him just because there is a new household name that isnt austin or rock...if people would just let go and stop bitching and complianing face of the new era..and these so-called "real wrestling fans"talk bad abou anyone who is a cena fan that isnt 12 years old or a girl. its a shame really

now on the topic are they diffrent..not really that diffrent to be honest.i dont care what anyone says...they boht are funny both are 9 time..not 7 time..9 time champs..both have catchy catchphrases(btw someone earlier said that cena shoves his catch phrase down our throats where the rocks we just by second nature..the rock would start his own Rocky chant "listen as the fans are chanting the rocks name.."Rocky, Rocky"! then the fans would join in) te "you cant see me" chant was part of his finishing move..the fans caught on and used it. and while we are on moves..lets talk about stupid moves..the say the rock was awsome in the ring..while ill agree he was good he had stupid ass moves too. come on..you mean to tell me a chair shot wont beat a guy like austin or hhh but a stupid elbow with theatrics will?? really??? yes the five knuckle shuffle is lame but its not his finisher. there are some mny similarites but people think its so bad that anyone is even in the smae conversation as the rock.. fact of the matter is he deserves to be in the same conversation and when Cenas gone he will go down as the biggest name since the atitude era and will be at the top of the list with the rock and austin..its a shame no one will give him credit that he deserves...

Dude you seriously need to shut up. I agree that John Cena and Randy Orton will go down as the biggest names of this era but you say The Rock was shoved down your throat? How? The Rock wasnt a face for 5 years like Cena is. Brush up on your wrestling history, The Rock was a heel when he started with those Rocky chants. Their were meant to say Rocky Sucks, Rocky Sucks.

Trust me while Cena's living, he will never ever become a bigger star than The Rock, their's a reason why The Rock hasnt been in a wrestling ring in years and people still are hoping for his return. When Cena's away people want him away for a longtime.

 

[CAPT SPAULD1NG8]

they are in no way shape or form the same. i dont like either but at least the rock is a hundred times better wrestler then cena could ever be. all cena does is the same 5 or 6 moves and when ever he takes a bump it always looks like shit. half the time he just lands on his ass. it kinda looks like hes scared of taking some shit. the rock always showed us something new. the rock is way better on the mic. he can be serious or funny. he can be a face or a heel. cena is absolutly one of the worst wrestlers in the wwe. the only reason i believe he is where he is is because he brings in alot of money because the the woman and children love him. why couldnt that neck injury end his shitty ass career.

 

[Joehaha]

they are in no way shape or form the same. i dont like either but at least the rock is a hundred times better wrestler then cena could ever be. all cena does is the same 5 or 6 moves and when ever he takes a bump it always looks like shit. half the time he just lands on his ass. it kinda looks like hes scared of taking some shit. the rock always showed us something new. the rock is way better on the mic. he can be serious or funny. he can be a face or a heel. cena is absolutly one of the worst wrestlers in the wwe. the only reason i believe he is where he is is because he brings in alot of money because the the woman and children love him. why couldnt that neck injury end his shitty ass career.

would just like to say that comment and a few along the same lines as that too have all said their nothing alike cena just trys to be rock etc etc and cena only has 5-6 moves. name rocks moves to cenas? think you'l find rock had about the same amount as moves as cena. and to say the rock and cena are nothing alike- cena just tries to be like him. surely that means you'v noticed similarities? therefore they must be alike in some way?

im not a cena fan at all btw it was just something i picked up on and i agree the rock is by far out of cenas league. no question. but i think the characters they both play...the rocks being round about 2000-01 time im thinking here, those characters ARE similar..imo

 

[Dave]

I guess, when you think about it, The Rock and John Cena are pretty similar in many aspects of their game but there is one difference between The Rock and Cena and that is that The Rock was amazingly talented on the microphone. Now, Cena does have his moments but he is not even on the same level as The Rock… Not by a long shot. You actually see it all the time and it still exists in this day and age, people who are pretty average in the ring, covering up their inequities with stellar microphone work. Does anyone know of The Miz?

You see, you have hit the nail on the head with your statement. The Rock and John Cena are basically the same person in terms of personality but the main difference is that The Rock had the freedom to be himself, whereas Cena has to operate within the more stringent rules of the WWE. The Rock wouldn’t be half as successful as he was if he debuted tomorrow, that is absolute fact. The thing about people like Rock and Austin is that they were perfectly cut out for The Attitude Era and wouldn’t fall into the PG-Era very well. Cena is this generations Rock and you better believe that the WWE are still signing from that same old hymn sheet… Just changing notes along the way.

The Rock was pretty average in the ring and no one will tell you that they watched Raw and Smackdown to see the Rock wrestle someone into the ground. No! What they will tell you is that they watched Raw and Smackdown to see The Rock degrade the opponent on the microphone and then have a decent match. The same is true of John Cena for a lot of people. The Rock was just much, much better at it and no one is doubting that. However, what I will say is that is Cena was given the same leeway as The Rock was, who knows what he could accomplish…

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

Okay... let's go...

Cena is a victim. Why? WWe is trying to build him as a Hogan style character, but in these post kayfabe times, this is regarded as hypocritical and false by the more mature and distrusting in the audience (many of whome are reacting so violently to this thread).

The Rock didn't have this problem because he didn't have to pander to being a role model to children so he could be as grey in the face/ heel spectrum as he wanted.

Cena showed back in the prePG era that he is great on the mic when not shackled and (as already stated) both guys didn't really have the most realistic wrestling styles - honestly Rocky's laying the SmackDown punches looked just as pathetic as Cena's do now. This is a fair comparison, I honestly think Rock would struggle to get over with a vanilla face character in this PG but attitude affected period.

 

[TheWorldIsMines]

I guess, when you think about it, The Rock and John Cena are pretty similar in many aspects of their game but there is one difference between The Rock and Cena and that is that The Rock was amazingly talented on the microphone. Now, Cena does have his moments but he is not even on the same level as The Rock… Not by a long shot. You actually see it all the time and it still exists in this day and age, people who are pretty average in the ring, covering up their inequities with stellar microphone work. Does anyone know of The Miz?

You see, you have hit the nail on the head with your statement. The Rock and John Cena are basically the same person in terms of personality but the main difference is that The Rock had the freedom to be himself, whereas Cena has to operate within the more stringent rules of the WWE. The Rock wouldn’t be half as successful as he was if he debuted tomorrow, that is absolute fact. The thing about people like Rock and Austin is that they were perfectly cut out for The Attitude Era and wouldn’t fall into the PG-Era very well. Cena is this generations Rock and you better believe that the WWE are still signing from that same old hymn sheet… Just changing notes along the way.

The Rock was pretty average in the ring and no one will tell you that they watched Raw and Smackdown to see the Rock wrestle someone into the ground. No! What they will tell you is that they watched Raw and Smackdown to see The Rock degrade the opponent on the microphone and then have a decent match. The same is true of John Cena for a lot of people. The Rock was just much, much better at it and no one is doubting that. However, what I will say is that is Cena was given the same leeway as The Rock was, who knows what he could accomplish…

John Cena is this generation's Hulk Hogan. Why do you guys keep acting like The Rock's character was that of a stereotypical face? Sure he would say the people's this and the people's that but he was saying that from his heel days. I havent ever saw Cena put down a face and a heel in the same promo.

Who are you to say The Rock wouldnt be successfull in today's wrestling. His jokes woulda have still been ok in this pg era. And he's a person that kids just want to be.


WHEN PEOPLE START MAKING COMMENTS THAT THE ROCK HAD AS MUCH AS A CLEAN CUT BABYFACE CHARACTER AS CENA HAS. HAVE YALLL EVER WATCHED WRESTLING? LIKE SERIOUSLY.

 

[The Viper Orton]

They are alike yet kinda different. What set the Rock from Cena is being more funny and being in attitude era. In the attittude era u can pull a comment "candyass" and now they couldn't. For me what's ironic was that Cena's first gimmick was far better than the Rock's. I mean the rock was initiating Super Rocky mode by copying his father. I despised the rock that time. But he showed more charisma which set him off. Yes sometimes he got boring with his super mode, but you know why he was one of the best?!

Because when he came abit ,and I repeat abit, boring he changed to heel twice or three times if im not wrong. While Cena is like forcing people to love him no matter what.

 

[Dyscord]

I saw this one coming..all the "cena is no where near the rock and blah blah blah and cena is shoved down our throats" So your sayng Rock wasnt shoved down our throats? Ads, posters, on at the beginning of every show and ending...the Rock was shoved down our throats to the point i hated him.

The Rock was a headliner back in his day, but he wasn't shoved down our throats like Cena is.

To be clear, when I say "shoved down our throats" I mean that the company is trying to force us to like him by portraying him as superman.

The Rock was fairly tough to put down, but he was never portrayed as invincible. Case in point, Cena can take a DDT onto CONCRETE and still win a match. If Rock took a bump like that he'd be out. Whenever Rock did get his "Super Rock" moments, it was never as annoying as Cena's.

And there's the simple fact that when Austin or Rock were in a match, there was always a distinct possibility that they would lose. Cena's freaking invincible. While he has lost some matches, assuming he's going to win is a pretty safe bet.

 

[MayorMcCheese]

Yes they are.

Rock was much more entertaining, and didn't pander to 5 year old kids. I actually enjoyed alot of his matches, the psychology was always there. Hogan/Rock on paper would not be a classic "wrestling" match but the psychological elements, and crowd reaction made it a match most of us still remember to this day. Does John Cena have a single stand out feud? Every wrestling fan remembers Rock/Austin. Cena has yet to have that iconic feud, and until he does cannot be held in the same regard

 

[Canadian-BadAss]

I just finished a post in another thread about something around the same topic.. To all those saying the Rock could not be as good now, as he was then, you are wrong. Why you ask? Because you CAN say the word "Ass" in a PG rating. Dont believe me? Go look at some of your favorite shows that are rated PG. Simpsons come to mind? So yes, he would be as good now. But to get on point, Rock and Cena are indeed different. 2 different styles of character there. Thats like trying to say are Steve Austin and Andre the Giant all that different. Of course they are. Here is a video from Youtube where they are compared, now you tell me who got the crowd going more, and who made you, the WWE fan, laugh more. The one you fully enjoyed.

[YOUTUBE]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PVS9OEzU14o?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PVS9OEzU14o?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]

 

[I_got_bant_for_idiocy]

john cena hahahahaha u gotta be kidding me, i wouldnt even put them in the same sentence, the rock is a mega star, he was also ina rap song which was bigger than any rap song john cena ever made, the rocks movies are good and hes pretty much an A LIST HOLLYwood star, while john cena can only make movie that wwe is behind, and now lets talk wrestling, the rock knew when to put ppl over like HHH, stone cold, brock and y2k, while we have the push killer john cena aka superman who beats everybody and is getting boring, his mic skill is nowhere near the rocks, he cant entertain, the rock had the crowd in hand even when he was a heel, while john on the other hand only has the 10 year olds cheering him, while the rest of the crowd is chanting cena sucks or you cant wrestle..... soooooooo nooooo rock is a hole different story

 

[Brahma Bull]

to the op, you say you hated it when the rock was super rock yet you loved austin. austin pulled out so many superman moments it was ridiculus. but im off topic.

as other people have stated, the rock sold well and put people over. something that cena never seems to do. the rock was way better at promos and didnt force them. he talked about the people but he didnt pander to them.

there is a reason only kids and women cheer for cena but people of all ages cheered for the rock. the rock was way better than cena in every way except for his ability to sell purple and orange shirts.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I'm not a Cena-hater (yet) but this may come across pretty one-sided.

-The Rock never dressed from head-to-toe in flashy WWE product.
-The Rock never was able to rely on his own ego, character, and name to make the fans do whatever he wanted them to. Cena relies heavily on social comedy, jokes, and fan service to get a 50/50 crowd reaction.
-The Rock never got a lackluster reaction.
-The Rock never got boo'd because he sucked. He got boo'd because he could make people hate him. And even then the haters still respected his every word.
-The Rock never...and the Rock means NEVER... got his ass beat for 45 minutes before hitting 3 moves and pulling the win out of his ass.

So as far as the Rock is concerned, John Cena can check his know his role, shut his mouth, and check his orange shirt wearing roodie-poo candy ass directly into the Smackdown hotel! If ya SMEEEEEEEELLL...what the Rock....is...cookin.

Anyways...yeah, I'm not a Cena hater. At all. And I can definitely see why they are compared, and as they do share a lot in common as far as their role in the company. Honestly Cena is probably more popular than the Rock even at this point in his career. But Cena will never...and I mean NEVER...be as good as the Rock on the mic, in the ring, or with the People.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

cenation......people's champ.......hulkamania

all these represent the same thing.so id say as far as characters are concerned hogan cena and rock all three are the same.the difference is in the way all of them played it.all three are presented as guys who are loved by the fans and are the ones whom the people want as champ.all of them(including the rock) pandered to the crowd.the difference also is in how each of them came to be fan faves.

hogan actually debuted as the superhero while rock and cena made their turn due to crowd support.the difference again between rock and cena is that cena changed the essentials of his character(due to the change in programming) while rock did not.

about their in ring talent what the original poster said is true that sometimes rock did become super rock in between a match. but the difference is the way they are booked. rock would lose but cena just seems as invincible as hogan.another important factor is post match whether he had won or lost rock looked as if he had been through a hell of a fight while cena looks as if he has come out of the shower(dewy fresh is the word.).as far as workrate goes rock is better than cena but its closer than most people think.rock wasnt that good while cena is mediocre but not atrocious.

also some jackasses said that even austin was superman.well he certainly did stun people a lot in segments and angles but never in an actual match.cena does that hogan did that and even rocky sometimes played superman in a match but austin would sell even simple things like a leg injury at all times during the match

 

[The Raven's Epitaph]

I don't believe they are that different at all. They just come from 2 different era's. The Rock built his legacy and left it behind in the 90's and Cena's still building his already phenomenal legacy in the 00's.

The best way I can explain this is that "the torch has been passed down."

What I mean by that is that if you look at Hulk Hogan in the 80's, he passed down the torch to the next biggest stars; Stone Cold and The Rock. When they were done, they passed down the torch to John Cena. John Cena's going to pass it down to another superstar soon and I have a gut feeling that it's going to be The Miz. I can already see Miz being WWE's next biggest
superstar. Stone Cold has once said before: "Wrestling's a system, I know how the system works. It's like a big machine, you take an old gear out, throw it into a pile of old gears and put in a new gear and the machine keeps rolling."

That to me is the perfect example of how Wrestling runs.

 

[ToWhomItConcerns.]

i see your point.

the Superman thing, the shitty finishers---an elbow and a fireman's carry.....oh wait and a STF with no added pressure, winning most matches, 7+ title reigns in 5 years, making movies, etc.

i personally didn't like Rock as a kid (i do now) much like i don't like Cena as an adult. the Superman thing has never worked for me and they played that with The Rock too (although fans of his will deny it). the difference however is Rock was golden on the mic (and Cena fans will tell you he is too but thats inaccurate), Rock was great in the ring (Cena isn't as bad as some make him seem but hes far from great) and this maybe most important...Rock could be face OR heel. Cena can only be face.

i see the similarities but i also see the differences.

 

[NWannabe]

Just pointing out, Rock was shoved down our throats. Ever heard of Smackdown? Recall how that title was born? Yeah. Not that I complain, I enjoyed rocky, I loathe cena, and this thread is quite amusing.

I would like to note the lay of the land helped rock be awesome, though. Speaking of, I'd more compare the miz's slow burn rise to the rock's. Back on topic, the opponents rock had to deal with were just better. H3 and is squashathon, SCSA being the end all be all in most fans' eyes, undertaker when he was the last relic of the old guard and still physically imposing, Kain's arrival, the invasion of ecw, and wcw. Much like Jordan vs barkeley, johnson, robinson, etc. He was seen so great because he beat out alot of much closer competition.

The supercenaness shows off more in the fact that until sheamus, i can't recall a wrestler getting over on cena. Fair or foul. Not that it matters. Adults and smarks should be looking to Orton (aka the new HHH imo), Miz, Rhodes, etc.

We gain nada by crying over how annoying cena is. Much like Marvel comics, you want it to stop? Vote with your dollars. Until then, haters and lovers alike are just music to Mcmahon's ears. He wants us to keep talking about him.

Whoo, text.

 

[Bill Lesnar]

Bill Lesnar feels they are completly different. The rock was more of a tweener and is better in the ring (matches vs Austin and angle etc)..Bill Lesnar thinks they cater to differnt crowds, and Cenas promos are more patronising. They were in differnt eras in Bill Lesnar's mind

 

[Midcard Fame]

While I feel that comparing any two people is pretty useless. They do have similar personalities and styles but their target audience made them different. As you can see by my name I don't usually like main event guys. Like there are times I won't watch the last half hour or so of a show. Because I know I won't like it. But isn't every wrestler and wrestling match essentially the same formula. How many moves does Triple H use, how many moves does Chris Jericho use, Edge, just any main event person. They all have a particular sequence that they go through for their comeback. And that's their bread and butter. Look at someone who knows and uses a lot of moves, Shelton Benjamin, was he ever main event? No. Was he a good wrestler? Hell yes. So Cena does the same moves because its what's standard in the industry. Do you really think he doesn't know other moves, other holds. Of course he does, they all do, they have to take them every week. Most of them are college educated, you really think John Cena can't learn to use and arm drag or a different kind of suplex? Of course he can, but his character doesn't dictate it. The Rock had about...two more moves, maybe more then Cena but in essence every wrestling character is the same, its just the message they are trying to get across and what specific side of their personality they trigger.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Just pointing out, Rock was shoved down our throats. Ever heard of Smackdown? Recall how that title was born? Yeah. Not that I complain, I enjoyed rocky, I loathe cena, and this thread is quite amusing.

I would like to note the lay of the land helped rock be awesome, though. Speaking of, I'd more compare the miz's slow burn rise to the rock's. Back on topic, the opponents rock had to deal with were just better. H3 and is squashathon, SCSA being the end all be all in most fans' eyes, undertaker when he was the last relic of the old guard and still physically imposing, Kain's arrival, the invasion of ecw, and wcw. Much like Jordan vs barkeley, johnson, robinson, etc. He was seen so great because he beat out alot of much closer competition.

The supercenaness shows off more in the fact that until sheamus, i can't recall a wrestler getting over on cena. Fair or foul. Not that it matters. Adults and smarks should be looking to Orton (aka the new HHH imo), Miz, Rhodes, etc.

We gain nada by crying over how annoying cena is. Much like Marvel comics, you want it to stop? Vote with your dollars. Until then, haters and lovers alike are just music to Mcmahon's ears. He wants us to keep talking about him.

Whoo, text.

you actually have a great point here.rocky did have better opponents.angle austin undertaker triple h and mankind could have all been champs at any time.with so much variety rock was bound to lose the belt more often than cena

on the other hand cena did not have so much variety to contend with.orton and batista were on different brands.i dont think we have had orton cena and batista on the same brand at a given time though i could be wrong.sheamus has just come up and hbk did not want the belt.hhh was also hanging around with shawn and also went to smackdown for a while.that leaves cena with i guess edge so i guess thats why he had those long title reigns and was hated so much

but the main thing here is that rock was gold on the mic while cena in his present avatar is strictly average.honestly cena did remind me a bit of rocky in his rapper gimmick.they both had their unique lingo.

 

[D-Will316]

The Rock made his debut in '96 and retired in '04 to make that 8 years
John Cena made his debut in '02 and is still going.. but let's say he retired this year, to make that 8 years.

I just read the who's the greatest entertainer of all time and that thread made me realize that The Rock is overrated.. Don't get me wrong because I absolutely love The Rock, but he is mentioned WAY TOO MUCH and he's not even wrestling anymaore.

So I f Cena were to retire this year who would have the bigger legacy.. honestly I feel they'd be tied at this moment. But because we all know that Cena won't be through with wrestling any time soon, when he does leave I think Cena would have the bigger legacy. Yes, I'm a Cena fan, but YES he also bores the hell out of me and his promos nowadays are to corny. I only like him in hopes of his rapper gimmick returning.

Sooo have at it...

 

[kcordloh]

Depends on who is spinning it.
A lot of fans are obsessed with Attitude era and remember it for better than it was. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but far to many people obsess over it.

You could make an argument for either one. Rock was a 9 time champion, and really walked away in early 2003, I mean after his Goldberg feud what did he really do? Nothing majorly significant. He has two major feuds: HHH & Austin, and three really good ones under that: Angle, Jericho, Mick Foley

Cena is a 9 time champion, 3 major feuds: HHH, Orton, Edge; and five supplemental really good ones: JBL, Angle, Jericho, HBK, Umaga


I would really argue Cena at this point, if you look back in 5 years time if Cena walked away today.

 

[TheWorldIsMines]

Depends on who is spinning it.
A lot of fans are obsessed with Attitude era and remember it for better than it was. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but far to many people obsess over it.

You could make an argument for either one. Rock was a 9 time champion, and really walked away in early 2003, I mean after his Goldberg feud what did he really do? Nothing majorly significant. He has two major feuds: HHH & Austin, and three really good ones under that: Angle, Jericho, Mick Foley

Cena is a 9 time champion, 3 major feuds: HHH, Orton, Edge; and five supplemental really good ones: JBL, Angle, Jericho, HBK, Umaga


I would really argue Cena at this point, if you look back in 5 years time if Cena walked away today.

So by that explanation John Cena has had a better career than Stone Cold Steve Austin aswell.

It's kinda easy to discredit the feuds Rock has aswell.

The Rock had major feuds with Stone Cold and Triple H obviously and A Iconic one with HULK HOGAN and the NWO, easy to forget that right.

He also had feuds with Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Stephanie McMahon, Vince and Shane, Undertaker, Jericho, BROCK LESNAR, Rikishi, Edge and Christian, Booker T, Goldberg, Rhyno, The Hurricane, Eddie Guerrero, the list goes on and on. Not to mention his Nation of Domination days.

It's either some of you guys are downright idiots or RACIST to have all this hate for The Rock, I guess yall just cant admit that A non-white wrestler made it to the top. SMH

 

[hatehabsforever]

As you correctly stated, the Rock had an eight year tenure with the WWE, and it was an impressive, Hall of Fame worthy career. Similarly, John Cena has been with the WWE for 8 years as well and will be a sure fire Hall of Famer whenever he chooses to call it a career also.

If John Cena were to retire today, it would be a very difficult choice in terms of who would have the bigger legacy, but if this were to happen I would have to give the edge to the Rock.

However, I believe John Cena will be a true WWE lifer, with many more years to come and as such, he will have by far the bigger legacy in the WWE when doing a retrospective assessment of their careers. He's been the face of the company for years now, and there's no indication that will change anytime soon. Unlike the Rock, who left the WWE for greener pastures elsewhere, and turned his back on his former wrestling career, like it never even existed, Cena remains and will remain, and this will cement his legacy in the WWE as being far greater than the Rock's when all is said and done.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Hands down; John Cena. Cena is the Hogan/Austin of this generation; he's the man who's the face of the company. The Rock, he never had that, except for a brief 8 month period where Stone Cold was out after Neck Surgery. The Rock was popular and yes he went onto have great success in Hollywood, but this question isn't about Hollywood, it's about professional wrestling.

John Cena has been around for eight years right now, he's only 33 years old. To me that suggests that John has AT LEAST another 7 years left in his tank. Cena will leave a larger legacy for being the face of the current generation than the Rock would for being the second biggest superstar of his era. The Rock will be remembered for having been in the wrestling business only to find himself in Hollywood while Cena will be remembered for his wrestling work first and foremost.