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

[dionlyone18]

I think youll get those A.E fanatics that say The Rock. becuase they think The Rock is the best thing in the world even putting someones name with his or saying someone is surpassing his career they think thats like spitting in Jesus Christ face.

But in all seriusioness is Cenas legacy bigger than the Rocks right now? not yet. the difrrence with Rocks legacy and cenas is Cenas is still growing..hate him or love him hes going to the hall of fame i know your going to get those A.E fanatics that are going to chew you to bits for even putting another wrestler in the same sentence as The Rock..espically if its Cena..the most hated guy in the eyes of A.E die hards..

I actually agree with the OP in saying i also think The Rock is overrated..not saying he didnt have a big career or didnt make an impact I just think fans respect The Rock more than he respects them.The Rock after two movies literally says F-U to the WWE and leaves.its not like he was injured or old..he was..what 30? and people still love him where as yo got a guy who has done movies and all that good stuffand still here and said wrestling is his first priority. Unlike The Rock who just dipped out basically used the fans and WWE as a stepping stone....that will def hurt his legacy.not tarnish it just theres always that stimga on his legacy.and besides those people who chew out Cena....for no reason tbh.....Cena will always be the face of the WWE unlike the Rock who isnt the face anymore..an more than likely never will again

And this is no disrespect to The Rock i respect his career and enjoyed him while he was around but i still find him to be somewhat overrate..I fell Cena doesnt get the respect or credit he deserves.. and im not a cena mark but i dont hate him like every other person that flat out wants his head on a stick

 

[TheWorldIsMines]

I think youll get those A.E fanatics that say The Rock. becuase they think The Rock is the best thing in the world even putting someones name with his or saying someone is surpassing his career they think thats like spitting in Jesus Christ face.

But in all seriusioness is Cenas legacy bigger than the Rocks right now? not yet. the difrrence with Rocks legacy and cenas is Cenas is still growing..hate him or love him hes going to the hall of fame i know your going to get those A.E fanatics that are going to chew you to bits for even putting another wrestler in the same sentence as The Rock..espically if its Cena..the most hated guy in the eyes of A.E die hards..

I actually agree with the OP in saying i also think The Rock is overrated..not saying he didnt have a big career or didnt make an impact I just think fans respect The Rock more than he respects them.The Rock after two movies literally says F-U to the WWE and leaves.its not like he was injured or old..he was..what 30? and people still love him where as yo got a guy who has done movies and all that good stuffand still here and said wrestling is his first priority. Unlike The Rock who just dipped out basically used the fans and WWE as a stepping stone....that will def hurt his legacy.not tarnish it just theres always that stimga on his legacy.and besides those people who chew out Cena....for no reason tbh.....Cena will always be the face of the WWE unlike the Rock who isnt the face anymore..an more than likely never will again

And this is no disrespect to The Rock i respect his career and enjoyed him while he was around but i still find him to be somewhat overrate..I fell Cena doesnt get the respect or credit he deserves.. and im not a cena mark but i dont hate him like every other person that flat out wants his head on a stick

Come on now, The World has taught you that loyalty does not mean a thing. You call the Rock overrated because he left the WWE. So what? This is life and just because somebody does not make a decision you agree with does not mean their career is somehow tainted by it. How can you call us A.E fanatics just because their are people like me who love that era. I enjoy this era aswell and I have enjoyed the last 10 years of wrestling that I have been watching.

Im not one to say that The Rock is the greatest and Cena is a peace of shit. No it's not like that. I respect John Cena more than anybody except probaly the Undertaker in the business right now. He has fought hard to where he is and their are fans out their that are going to hate him aswell.

But to try to diminish The Rock's career just because Cena has been their longer is absurd and downright laughable at this point

 

[baldjedi]

When the Rock was in his prime and on top there was none better and that is my opinion. Right now I would say his legacy would be longer lasting because he helped take the WWE to new heights.

That being said if Cena stays as long as he plans to his legacy will be greater because he is the current Hogan of the WWE and since he is dedicated to the business I believe he will find a way to make his own legacy. Cena has embraced the PG WWE well and is loved by the fans. I do hope he can turn heel and change his character so that he can show he is dynamic. The Rock was able to do this and Cena does need to be able to diversify so that he doesn't become stale. Since his heart is with the WWE fans and he seems to understand the business I am sure he will find a way to keep things fresh.

 

[Nikeo]

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.

I'm sorry but to rate Cena/Orton over Rock/Austin is absolutely ridiculous. The build for their match (that unfortunately never happened) at No Mercy was fantastic, as was the No Way Out match but anything after that was absolute rubbish imo. The match where they kept restarting, Summerslam I think, was nothing short of ridiculous and the crowd HATED it.

Austin/Rock? Their three Wrestlemania matches were classics. Nothing else can be said about them.

If you wish to talk about their legacies with regards to feuds and matches you cannot give the edge to Cena. He has had some very good feuds and some classic match-ups like the London Classic but he has never had a moment like The Rock/Hogan stare down....yet. As other people are saying Cena has years left to forge his legacy but at this point, were he to retire in the morning, face of the WWE or not, I believe The Rock would be held in higher regard.

Give Cena another couple of years, a massive angle or heel turn and I have no doubt he could surpass The Rock but at this point he certainly has not. I'm a former Cena hater (who disliked him intensely even during the rapper days) who has come to terms with the fact he ain't going anywhere, I have a lot of respect and admiration for the man and he is a fantastic wrestler in many ways but he has not surpassed Rocky yet.

 

[DxArmy]

really i would have to say its a tie even when Cena retires. If you were to say that Cena will have a better legacy than the rock it's not really that fair. Cena has been the face of the company for a while now (no right now it seems that Randy Orton is going to be the face for what the next month?) and sure the rock has been for a short period of time, but look at the names he had to compete with back then Bret Hart, Stone Cold, HBK, HHH, Undertaker all worthy faces for the company but look at who Cena has to compete with now,Randy Orton could be a face for the company, Edge?, Jericho, an old broken down HHH, a really old Undertaker, so you see my point Cena doesnt really have anyone to compete with for the face of the company except for maybe Orton but that's it the Rock had to compete with what 5? so that proves my point you cant really say that any of them had the better legacy because of the situation they were in.

 

[ckoneagain]

I think if Cena can have a legitimate heel run where he doesn't just take a backwards step to his rapper days i honestly think he'd be better than the rock. The Rock did it all and like DxArmy just said, the Rock seemed to be in a higher calibre group of wrestlers than Cena, but then thats not fair really as The Undertaker, Bret Hart, all those guys you mentioned, hadn't made it to the legend status yet so if we look back in 10 years time we would be saying those new guys aren;t as good as Edge, or Jericho, thats just how things work, so i think that arguement is mute. Cena is carving out a legacy for himself in a time where the wrestler has to be techincally sound, and great on the mic. Cena can't throw the word 'pie' in there to get get a laugh or use the dick and fart humur that passed for promo's back then, he's gotta really work at it and be smart and for the most part he is doing a great job i think

 

[save_us_222]

I think to all the people that are saying Cena - you are pretty off the mark. The Rock will by far have the greater legacy - its not about how long he was in the WWE or why he left it. Its about what he did when he was in it. The only aspect in which someone could ever say John Cena was better than The Rock is if you talk about championships won - and in that case ur marking out...

The Rock is 100% better on the mic. He had in my opinion some of the greatest matches ive seen with austin. When he was in the WWE he was loved and respected by the majority of wrestling fans unlike Cena who the majority of actual wrestling fans cant stand. I hate to bring up the old Cena only has 5 moves and his matches are really predictable point, but when you look at wrestlers with great legacies such as Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold they all had great matches throughout their career. If im being honest no John Cena match would be in my top 20 matches right now and i dont ever see that changing.

 

[RKO2rule]

Come on i've said this time and again , Cena will definitely have more Accolades but Your Forgetting The Rock competed with the best at arguably their Prime , The Rock was competing in my opinion the golden era of the wwe and you just can't compare the Rock to Cena , People are going to say that The Rock was in a diff era but the fact is The Rock gets everyone excited , You just can't say the same thing for Cena , In terms of Legacy , I'd say The Rock even if Cena DOES NOT retire right now! , but when it comes down to achievements Cena's gonna have a small edge because he'll have spent more time with the wwe

 

[CyDeez]

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.

That's the point exactly. You just answered your own question. The Rock isn't wrestling anymore and he is still being mentioned. You, yourself are reading threads, probably posting in them, AND making your own threads about him.

Who knows what will happen in the future. Maybe Cena will have some huge angle that we all will never forget.

But comparing The Rock's 8 years and Cena's 8 years. The Rock, to me anyway, wins hands down. Everyone has their own opinion. While I think more people will vote for Rock in this thread overall. Cena will have a lot of people defend him.

Whether I like him or not is beside the point I guess. The Rock is my favorite all time so I would obviously pick HIM. Even though I wouldn't call myself a fan of Cena by any means, I respect the history he has made. My 6 year old son loves him. But, thankfully it is becoming less and less. Hopefully he gets as tired of him as I do. LOL

IMHO, I think The Rock is better at every aspect over Cena. On the mic, in ring and even in movies.

 

[AndarielHalo]

Considering the fact that The Rock is even mentioned so frequently should be clue enough that The Rock has a bigger legacy.

You mention that The Rock was in the WWF/WWE for 8 years, and Cena's almost been going on 8. Kurt Angle debuted in late 1999 and became WWF Champion a year later. Hardcore Holly'd been there some ten years and never won the WWF Championship. He got one major title shot in 2002, and was buried by Brock Lesnar.


Quantity < Quality, and The Rock has had more quality feuds, matches, and promos than John Cena. At first I figured Cena just sucked, but the more I watched him, I recognize it's just horrid booking. Virtually every major Cena match consists of him being beaten down on for 90% of the match, just to no-sell everything and hit his finisher for the win.

The Rock has the added benefit of having stretched out into the mainstream of Hollywood, but consider the fact that most people know him as "The Rock", and it ain't because he did a whole lot of movies as "The Rock". No way in hell do more people recognize "John Cena" the brandname over "The Rock" or even "Stone Cold Steve Austin" or "The Undertaker"

 

[Irish574]

I'm an attitude era fanboy... but when it comes down to it, John Cena has carried the WWE for the past 4 years by himself. Rock had Austin and Foley to share the spotlight with...When it came to the Rock, you loved him... or you loved to hate him. When it comes to Cena, you love him, or you legitimately hate him, which ultimately puts more pressure on cena to try and become something that the fans want to hate, whereas the Rock already had it.

Cena also never got a stable push like the Rock did. The Nation catapulted the Rock, especially with their feuds with DX. Then you had the Corporate Rock. He was spoon-fed the perfect heel roles

 

[Dwayne_Jason]

I'd have to go with the Rock simply because of his fantastic promos. If you're an up-and comer and you wanna know how to incite the crowd, make them love you and hate you at the same time. You watch the Rock. His promos were absolutely classic ESPECIALLY since he had an outrageous gimmick. In terms of championships and such I'd go with Cena since he got a long career ahead of him, but in terms of making an impact on wrestling I'd have to choose the Rock. He was so good he actually went into the movies. And I'm not talking one of those Demolition Man movies Hogan was in. I'm talking actual movies that are a big blockbuster. The Rock started that trend and Vince stuck with it. It's a close one but I'd have to go with the Rock if you measure an impact on wrestling and Cena if you mention the Face of the company since I believe he is the BEST face there ever was (Off topic).

 

[Miss Flawless]

It's equal right now, IMO. Although, if your a HUGE attitude era fan or Rock fan, then you would probably say The Rock. I'm a big fan too, but I'm not like, obsessed. Both Rock and Cena have/had tremendous careers.

Like someone said, The Rock's career has had awesome feuds, he played his gimmick very well and his mic skills are legendary, which is HoF material. Although, Cena has had an awesome career, but just not in the most dominant era, like The Rock. Cena has had great feuds, and his mic skills aren't bad, they're actually really good, his in-ring ability is limited, because of his gimmick. I bet you, if Cena was in the Attitude Era, he would be AWESOME.

Cena is a WWE for life guy though, I think he will stay with the company for a while, maybe taking long or short breaks here and there, so by the end of his career, Cena will have a greater legacy than The Rock.

 

[The Dude]

The Rock will have the bigger legacy by far. As another poster said, The Rock competed in the golden age of wrestling... and was one of the biggest and best stars of that golden era. Just think of how much BIGGER of an impact The Rock would have if he was wallowing in the crud that passes for WWE entertainment nowadays.

Plus, WWE created an entirely new weekly program based on one of the Rock's catchprases: Smackdown. So until the WWE decides to premiere the all new "Champ Is Here" weekly series, it's gonna be The Rock.

I'm not a Cena hater. I appreciate the effort he puts in for both the company and the fans. But if you look at classic matches, classic promos, classic ANYTHING in the realm of professional wrestling, there are more instances and mentions going to The Rock versus Cena.

 

[pj8985]

Whose better The Rock or John Cena? This reminds me alot of who's the better running back Barry Sanders or Emmitt Smith. Ultimately The Rock had 8 years under his belt and accomplished many historic moments......The stare down with SCSA was a classic. When you think of The Rock you think of a guy who could make you laugh, make you mad, and hold your heart in his hand.

John Cena on the other hand will have atleast 15 under his belt but had Rocky not of retired I guarantee he'd still be amongst the top guys in WWE even in the PG era. When you think of Cena you think of a guy who is completely dedicated to the WWE and is a make believe marine. Both have had their success and both have had their downfalls but you have to say the rock the guy served his purpose and hasnt been in a ring in roughly 7 years and people still want him to come back. I guarantee when Cena leaves there wont be threads about when will Cena come back.......

 

[yur_momma]

this isnt even close. the rock was a flash in the pan, so to speak, as far as a lengthy career. 97-01 is really the only time he was big, alot of 01-03 or whatever he wasnt even active. completely overrated guy. dont get me wrong his mic skills and charisma are second to none but a 5-6 year career is not a legacy; its forgettable.

 

[sjdigitall]

haha i cant believe people are even debating this. Of course The Rock will have a bigger legacy. The Rock was a part of a group of wrestlers who helped revolutionize the business. He was part of a group of wrestlers who helped overcome WCW and make people actually tune in to WWE. John Cena although i respect what he has done this generation and the support that he has is just someone who although a future hall of famer is nowhere near what the type of stuff that people like The Rock, Stone Cold, Undertaker, Mick Foley were doing. Its not just about the number of years they were with the company its more about what they did for the business and in the end i believe The Rock has done way more for it then John Cena

 

[earl623]

To me The Rock is like Barry Sanders even though both retired early they are both still great. If The Rock would have stayed then we wouldn't be talking about who has the greater legacy. The Rock was/is a better preformer than Cena. The Rock could make you hate him or love him while still being himself. While Cena doesn't really sale moves that great. The attitude era came after rock n wrestling and now its PG wrestling. So you can't say the different era of wrestling affect the wrestlers. All in all they had to preform in front of crowds and bust there butts.

 

[Cena_Yogi]

im a huge rock fan, but i gotta say its Cena.

He has carried this company for a number of years and thats not a easy thing to do. Everyone who said The Rock had better feuds then Cena should remeber that back in the day when rocky was wrestling, there were way better wrestlers then right now...so he probably had better feuds because of the different wrestlers there were....but we can't say the same for Cena because the only feuds he can have right now is with guys like Orton , HHH and thats about it...the rest of the wrestlers arent that big (ex. Sheamus , Miz).

 

[mrbrownstone]

It really does have to be Cena he is the face of this era, the PG era's equivilent to Hogan/Bret/HBK/SCSA and baring a very brief 8 month period in 2000 when Stone Cold was injured The Rock never had that honour. Sure The Rock was way over but he was never the top dog, Cena has been top dog for 5 years and has at least another 5 years in him. When people look back through history they will think of Cena when they think of this era and when they think of the era where Rock was at his peak they will still think of Stone Cold and at the end of the day Cena will have the bigger legacy.

 

[Chicago1989]

You know?...This is a good question.

To be honest, it is kind of hard to tell RIGHT NOW on who will have the bigger legacy since both Cena and Rock are equal in terms of career length. Yeah The Rock didn't leave in the best of terms (And left abruptly and unexpectedly) or didn't get a proper sendoff but the impact he made in such a short amount of time was phenomenal.

John Cena right now is working his way up. I still believe that Cena would not be the star he is today if it wasn't for Brock Lesnar leaving but he has accomplished alot. Maybe he'll carry the WWE on his back longer than The Rock, maybe not...But most likely in the end, Cena would have a higher chance of having a bigger legacy because of politics on The Rock and Cena's loyalty to the WWE.

Right now, it's too hard to tell though...

 

[kwig2121]

I like John Cena. Give him credit he filled a huge gap with Austin, Rock, Brock,and Angle leaving the company. He has become the face of his generation, ie, Hogan, Austin, Hart, etc.

Yes because of his longevity in the business, in the end he will have more of a legacy than the Rock. Howver, Rock was better and made a tremendous impact in a very short period of time.

To me, you have to have two, to become great. Lakers/Celtics, Yanks/Red Sox, Niners/Cowboys. Rock/Austin transended the attitude generation and paved the way for both of those men to hit mainstream. Whether it was radio, television, or film, everyone knew both guys, and were torn beteween them during their Wrestlemania Runs.

Like a poster said, Rock/Hogan was Iconic. Only a star the mangnetism of Rock could restore Hogans place within WWE fan history. You could always have two stars, but didn't guarantee the respect of the fans, ie Goldberg/Brock.

Cena has taken a piece of Rock with his humour. A little of Austin/Hogan with his invicibility and merchandising. But noone in 5 going on 6 years has taken any piece of the Rock...meaning not even close to being duplicated.

Give Cena the legacy, but the Rock made history or a greater impact in a shorter period of time and will always be the better of the two entertainment wise!

 

[Kaneanite]

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

I find it downright RACIST that you would make such a bland comment to a presumably white group with hardly any backing as to why such claims made have anything, at all, to do with race. Good sir. Pulling the race card, give me a break will you? Grow up.


On topic,

To some it may be, but to me it's not all about the titles. The Rock was ICONIC. He had everything. The look, the ability, the mic talents (best in HISTORY of WWE/WWF), the way he sold moves (backflipping after stunners.. ridiculous), the entire crowd everywhere he went in the palm of his hand. The Rock didn't even have to do 450 splashes or lion saults, he could put on a great match simply by being himself. He was ELECTRIFYING (not to steal his choice of words). The guy was flat out amazing and exactly what ANY wrestling organization would want. He even has people calling others racist if they DON'T think he's the greatest.


Cena, undoubtedly, has talent. I know there are a lot of haters out there but this guy can make a crowd go CRAZY. When's the last time Cena lost a legit match? Can you even remember? And no, 6vs1 doesn't count and neither do MiTB cash-ins after Elimination Chambers. Whether it's interference or a heel over-doing his heelness that is the ONLY way Cena loses. He. Just. Flat. Out. Dominates.

With that being said, they both do have great talent. Though, the Rock to me just simply had more of "it" then Cena does. I really do think The Rock was the absolute complete package. Whereas Cena is SO GREAT that he can even be the face of the company, yet even still, not as great as The Rock.

 

[bigpawpa27]

If you had to stop and look at everything that's gone on so far I'd have to give it to Rock because of the guys he faced during his run in WWE. But by the timeCena calls it quits it will be Cena because he is the face of WWE. He's Hogan & Austin wrapped up in one and I think he'll have the bigger legacy when he's done.

But as for right now I'd say Rock.

 

[ToWhomItConcerns.]

IMO you can't judge someones legacy just on how many titles they've won (except Ric Flair and ONLY Flair, not HHH i don't care if he passes him or not)

a persons legacy should be judged by the gimmick, popularity, skills on the mic, _____________ (fill in the blank with a few other things), but most importantly from the quality of their matches.

Cena is over and underrated by most fans of today but IMO Rock had a better gimmick, was more popular, was better on the stick, ____________ (fill in the blank with a few other things), but most importantly he had better quality matches.

so IMO Rock is better than Cena in every category including whos legacy is "bigger"