**MERGED** John Cena & The Rock: Match fallout, etc.*KEEP IT ALL IN HERE!*

[I Heart Cena]

That's almost exactly why I have a hard time seeing it to be a work. Cena didn't make a big deal of it. Just casually mentioned it, said "Nice tattoo" and moved on. It's not like he grabbed Dwayne's wrist and showed it to the camera and the audience. Also, if the purpose of the segment was for Cena to look better than the Rock, I don't think the Rock would have been given the last word.

That's the point of the work. Don't make it so obvious. Let Rock showboat for 12 rounds, land pitter patter punches, then let Cena throw 1 strong right hook. If they had the Rock stumble more, or act like he did when Goldberg speared him, no one would be tricked. Subtlety is the hallmark of acting.

Vince wanted to recreate the Indiana Jones-Swordman scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I think it was Vince's idea. He is the czar of wrestling storytelling. I doubt he'll let Steph or Road Dogg write the most important story perhaps ever. It'll be all him from here on out.

 

[>HERO<]

It was unprofessional assuming it was a shoot on Cena's part. I am not a big fan of 'shoot' interviews except for a couple of times. The promo exchange between Rocky and cena is predominantly an exchange between keyfabe and shoot promos, that is why Cena has been more impressive lately since shoots are more attention grabbing. But i think they are a cheap tools for grabbing attention and i hope the rock never does that since it's too below his dignity to 'shoot'.
I think what happened was 'shoot' but if it was a work, then hats off to the rock for giving that wounded reaction that he gave after cena braught it up.
Personally, I have been having a feeling that vince is feeding cena these lines behind the rock's back and somehow the rock is aware of it.
To make his promo a hit, the rock has a lot of points that he can bring up, such as how cena claims that he cares about the people but he actually doesn't since he had been getting booed for last 5/6 yrs and he has done nothing to change his game unlike the rock who changed his game when he was booed in 98 because he cared about the people's approval/feelings and how he has ' rise above hate' written on his shirt but deep down inside he 'hates' the rock since he couldn't be as successful as the rock in wwe or dwayne johnson outside of the wwe and that makes him a hypocrite b!tch, etc.
Of course I know that the rock can bring 'IT' but he hasn't yet and that worries and saddens me as i am a huge rock fan.

 

[Cats Pajamas]

Watch this:

That's the real Rock that Vince won't allow on Raw because then cena will have NO fans at all.

Thanks for sharing, I had missed this one. It's interesting to note that at a million words per minute, this near eleven million word rant was done without a "tattoo". I've a bit of a conspiracy theorist in that I have always assumed this match was in the works for years and years.

Cena mentioned not being an "actor" before last year but being a wrestler first. The Rock's action dolls were still being sold and he was oddly still making video game appearances each year. We all know Vince likes making movies; I wonder if Rocky would be making movies with WWE Studios if their flicks were actually, you know... good...

But all that's truly irrelevant to me now. Despite not always being in front of a live audience, Cena & Rocky have made this feud look personal and I'm almost sick of waiting. This viewer couldn't tell you who to expect to win in Miami if I had a crystal ball & ten pounds of fortune cookies (served after a hearty meal of Kung pau bitch).

Do I think the Rock needed notes on his wrist? Not really. Especially not notes that listed the jokes of his speech. But that's just me. Either way I think these two knocked it out of the park once again and this is going to be another hard forgotten story between two titans of the industry that just so happens to feature the Rock again. Best regards, wrestling fans, God love ya.

 

[Stein Lager]

It is a work. No doubt. Think about it, has Rock ever needed notes before? Sure maybe in his backstage interviews but that was because they could easily hide cue cards behind the camera. In the ring, not so much. It's HDTV, like anyone wouldn't have noticed them anyway. He's The Rock, he got through the WM27 promo without notes, and that promo was much longer and detailed than the one on Raw. It's a work to make Cena seem like a purist, doesn't need notes and is on Raw every week. As opposed to The Rock who is a part-time movie star and apparently 'needs notes' to help him through a promo. Obviously Cena was going to bring it up, but not harp on about it, showing the notes on his arm the camera, audience, like someone said. That's what makes it seem shooty, hence real.

 

[fenfool]

This is not the first time Rock has been accused of using notes for his promos, and pointing this out was not "unprofessional" either. Cena didn't say, "you took your script with you", he pointed out notes on his wrist...Rock knew he was coming out to give a long speech running down Cena, even assuming he wrote everything himself (I've read interviews saying that he needed writers as much as anyone), for a long promo he wouldn't want to forget to mention Kung Pau Chicken, or might forget to say everything was trending on Twitter, so he might take notes. An MMA fighter given the mic for a long time might do the same thing, or an actor giving an acceptance speech. This wasn't 'breaking kayfabe', it was pointing to a weakness, I have no problem with it.

I will say that I am enjoying the people who are saying "It's was scripted that way, Rock would NEVER need notes. But how horrible of Cena to point it out if it was!" This is a person in the palm of their hands!

 

[I Heart Cena]

When was this?

Was this the same clip they showed on Raw last year?

Looks like the same background, but I don't remember all of it.

Last summer. Share this vid with anyone you know who thinks Rock has "lost it" or that cena "pwned" the Rock.

It's really disturbing to see all the weirdos out there who think last Monday was a shoot. The goosebumps reference so we can see his arms, then cena comin out when the crowd heat was it its peak. C'mon now. This is an off-Broadway play viewed by millions.

The sad thing is that Rock will keep putting him over till WM. Not until the Raw after WM will he go back to normal, and both Rock and Cena will put each other over that night in a disgusting lovefest.

Rock will tell everyone to support cena, and cena will tell everyone to support Rock's movies. It will be vomit inducing.

 

[Cats Pajamas]

It's really disturbing to see all the weirdos out there who think last Monday was a shoot. The goosebumps reference so we can see his arms, then cena comin out when the crowd heat was it its peak. C'mon now. This is an off-Broadway play viewed by millions.

Then think of it this way: The Rock is a class act who came out there and allow Cena to "shoot" on him. I don't know how, but I get the feeling you're not a Cena fan so The Rock had to allow Cena a free shot, right? If Rocky doesn't mind doing it there's little reason to get disturbed.

The sad thing is that Rock will keep putting him over till WM.

It's also good business. He's been saying it all along: The Rock has been done what there is to do in WWE. We know he's still going to prioritize his Hollywood career, and why shouldn't he? He "put over" Lesnar in an incredible match at SummerSlam before he left years ago. Now he's selfless enough to do the same for Cena, right?

Rock will tell everyone to support cena, and cena will tell everyone to support Rock's movies. It will be vomit inducing.

I'm not a writer, so I couldn't tell you. Even if they did with shades of the Hogan/Rock match at X8, it would be well deserved. Rocky's presence here has no doubt been a highlight of WWE programming this year and there'd be nothing wrong with Cena showing some respect for a guy who's played his part in a great Mania buildup.

If it does induce vomitting, I'll have my tivo set so I can watch thousands of fans in the arena all toss their lunch simultaneously over and over again. It will make for legendary television. Either way, I'm enjoying the buildup to this feud and that's because I'm right where I put myself, which is

in the palm of their hands!

Good show, great feud. As always, best regards wrestling fans!

 

[FightOwensFight]

Of course it was a work. If I am not mistaken when the Rock first got out there he held his left wrist up in front of his face and kind of moved his other finger along the inside of his wrist, like he was reading something, and gave a knowing look towards the camera. It was very quick, and without seeing the writing on his wrist or Cena pointing it out, would likely have gone unnoticed. There was a bigger layoff when the Rock came back the first time and he had no notes, why would he have them now when he has been back off and on for the last year? Makes no sense, other than to give Cena ammunition and further the "Rock stays away too long. He is rusty" angle.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

If it wasn't a work then the hardest working, boy scout company man Cena has a lot of explaining to do to Vince about why he went away from his own script.

People really need to drop the shoot crap. Vince may not be giving us the best programming of all time, but the guys they have seem like hugely professional soldiers both up and down the card with Cena as the poster-boy for only doing what your told.

 

[mrfantastic111]

I don't think that it was a work. This segment was replayed a dozen times this week and the part where Cena points out Rocky's notes has been cut out of every replay I've seen.

There's nothing wrong with using notes, jeez, the guy has to do a 20 minute promo on what Vince wants him to be saying, of course there are going to be notes here or there. Rock has been called out on it a few times, but is it really anything to be called out on? Does it make his promos any less entertaining? No, not at all.

Is legit? Sure, why else would they of cut that specific part out of every replay I've seen on television? However, do I care? Not really. Anyone who is a big enough fan/smark to have noticed such a thing such as notes on his arm and their significance probably doesn't care anyway. Not like his promos are any worse because of it. Geez, try telling an actor to be entertaining without reading their script.

 

[Brahma_Bull9]

Eh, yeah, I'm not sure what I meant with him being in over his head... but I think I meant that coming back from NOT being involved in wrestling -- and having to think on your feet; movies aren't shot live, thankfully -- to something that is so volatile and random as standing in front of a live crowd, live cameras and have Cena rip you a new one... I dunno, maybe he's just not as good at it (yet?) as he used to.

I don't mind the catch phrases, but come on, his promo on RAW was 90% "this it trending, that is trending, chant my name, listen I say 'bitch' and get away with it" and then Cena called him on it and he went into "flustered old man"-mode and babbled nonsensically for three minutes before capping it off with a catch phrase...

Is he stale? Well, not really, but I think that Attitude Era Rock maybe doesn't fit into PG era WWE as well as everyone had hoped...?

It's hilarious when u guys say this... u realize acting is both a talent and pay grade above the wwe talent? WWE has more athletic talents undoubtedly, but to say this like actors aren't quicker off their head is ignorance. I know they seem stupid and that is a stereotype, but they take a lot of improv classes and do a lot of work....

 

[grantedisme]

It's hilarious when u guys say this... u realize acting is both a talent and pay grade above the wwe talent? WWE has more athletic talents undoubtedly, but to say this like actors aren't quicker off their head is ignorance. I know they seem stupid and that is a stereotype, but they take a lot of improv classes and do a lot of work....

It's not as ridiculous as you think. Some actors might definitely be quicker off their feet, but I'd wager than the majority aren't. They have multiple chances to get lines right, directors to tell them exactly how to present every word between sentences, and absurdly more time to plan everything out than professional wrestlers.

Acting does take lots of work, and while improvisation is a tactic that many actors do, there are probably many more who aren't too talented in that art. Even during interviews during late night shows, most actors submit questions to the host to avoid awkward silences when they aren't quick enough on their feet.

That being said, I think The Rock's promos are as good as they always were. The Rock's promos would be awesome against the rapper Cena or the Cena that we saw a couple of years ago, but I think they just match up poorly in front of this incarnation of Cena. This version is all about taking the higher ground, and that simply exposes how immature and childish The Rock's random insults are. Essentially, The Rock is fighting water with fire right now, and it's not working whether or not this outcome was predetermined.

 

[Gav316]

1) One is a top guy in an incredibly succesful era, the other is a top guy in an era where half the fans criticise the product non-stop.
2) It's not about moves, it's the way they tell a story about the performer. To me, Rock's moves always told the story of the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. Cena's move (and i'm not a hater) simply seem like a means to an end, ie getting to the finish.
3)Every Rock match is the same? What a load of BS - Rock Vs Mankind I Quit Match at the Rumble says it all.
4)Rock is a little better? I mean, where to start? The different levels of ability is why The Rock is the lead man in Hollywood blockbusters and Cena will never move beyond WWE productions.
5) The Rock started with a hateful fanbase and turned them round with talent and charisma. Cena started off with everyone loving him and has managed to turn fans aaginast him by sticking to this one dimensional, lame-ass character.

Rock=Cena? What in the blue hell are you smoking?!?!?!?

Could'nt agree more you've hit the nail on the head with everything you've said.i think its safe to safe the smart fans know the Rock is being booked to look 2nd best to Cena so he has at least some fans on his side come Mania,but in the real world if Rocky was able to have free reign on the mic we all know he'd verbally destroy Cena,like you said Cena started off popular hell even i liked his whole rapping gimmick,but then we got this superman character and for years weve had it forced down our throats,this is a guy who cannot wrestle,hes could'nt sell a move to save his life and now the fans are growing tired of him because his character has not evolved,hes become so tiresome its only now wwe are trying to change him but come Mania i honestly believe the crowd will hate him,he got some cheers yesterday granted but in his home town and only because hes being booked to look good and for me making Rocky look weak is not the way to go.

 

[Mustang Sally]

....but in the real world if Rocky was able to have free reign on the mic we all know he'd verbally destroy Cena....

That's an interesting speculation, but I don't know if it would turn out that way. Back in the day, we saw plenty of Rock with free reign on the mic; he was one of the few Vince McMahon trusted to run with his own line of spiel in interviews. Many folks presume Rock would destroy Cena on the mic, but I think it's more a matter of Rock being remembered as a beloved, legendary figure in WWE while Cena is a product of today's world, in which many fans detest everything that's going on as they pine for the old days.

But, you know what? Back then, plenty of people criticized those characters whom we remember with such fondness today. I remember Rock getting plenty of hate. I say Cena today is as big as Rock was back then and his promos are just as effective now as Rock's. It's just that they're so different.

Take last night. Rock did one of his vintage one-man shows; the entire subject of which was putting down his opponent. From throwing Cena memorabilia into Boston Harbor to punching a life-size cardboard cutout of his enemy, Rock's entire theme was telling us that Cena is crap. It was only at the end of Rock's third History Lesson that he even mentioned he was going to destroy Cena in the ring; before that, it was strictly a comedy put-down act. Rock did a great job with it.....he always does.

Contrast that to Cena's one promo: he sat alone in the arena and gave a quiet, thoughtful dissertation on the meaning of this contest between he and the Rock, both historically and personally. If you noticed, Cena never looked directly at the camera, while Rock looked at nothing but the camera. It's no accident WWE set it up this way; they're looking to illustrate the differences between these two.....today's biggest hero vs yesterday's biggest hero. The glitz and glamour of Rock vs the lunch-pail, honest worker mentality of John Cena.

Since many fans go for bellicose behavior and histrionics, they'll think Rock destroyed Cena promo-wise last night because he was louder and funnier.....and that's just what WWE wants you to think. Personally, I thought neither man had the advantage; they both did what they do, and they did it extremely well.

Both have given some of the best performances on the mic ever....and they did it again last night.

 

[RD_21]

Exactly, making the Rock look weak is pure idiocy. You want your biggest guy to win against a guy who's been exposed as weak and washed out? So when Cena win he will beat a former wrestler, now actor.

Or maybe there's hope that they are exposing Dwayne Johnson and in the next weeks the "real" Rock as Cena put it will come back.

If Rocky is looking weak all feud long, maybe he will win by the rule of opposite momentum, to start the best of 3 most people want it to be, because to me if the Rock win at Mania he get his credibility back and Cena character could evolve nicely having taken a big dose of reality in the face. Cena could then win the following two bouts and close and historic feud.

But to me one thing is sure, Cena need to stop burying his opponent by not selling their beating on the mic. When someone who looks like a man, while you look like a boy (using the Rock words, but that's all most of the people felt at Survivor Series), tell you he's gonna rip your throath off, YOU DON'T SMILE LIKE AN IDIOT. It make no sense, you just don't smile when being threathen like that, you put your serious face, because if I was the Rock and went with my gut feeling I would have slapped the taste out of Cena's mouth so freaking hard like Pipper did. You can't lack respect like that by laughing in your face and looking like a goof when you have someone doing serious threath.

What makes the old feud so compelling back in the days, someone would tell you he would kick your ass and take you out and the guy would be pissed, look him in the eyes like a man and told him just try it, that was showing intensity and made the product so much better. What Cena do, he always freaking laugh and the guy just don't know when to laugh or go mega-angry, I never saw something as bad as how Cena act in those situations. After Mania, the Rock had cost him the title and he was all laugh, then someone will do something he should be laughing at and he gets mega-enraged all of the sudden and it's not even a natural progression of a promor it's like I'm okay, happy, serious... ANNNNNGGGGGRRRRYYYYY!!!!!

Again I don't say that because I HATE Cena or can't judge him rationally, but that's just how he is and it's doesn't sell the product and intensity of a feud like it should. Cena should be helping his opponent and making them look like million buck because if you burry someone all feud long, you win nothing when you win the feud.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Other than a Tooth Fairy chant that seemed to come from a small section of the arena I really felt like Cena was pretty much ignored last night in Boston in the end. When Rock left the arena the crowd went from hugely hyped to kind of dead. Cena's last lines and celebration felt overdone. The music was cranked really loud but there are usually bigger crowd reactions to Cena's poses than last night. The fans at home may have thought Cena won the battle but the fans in Boston seemed disappointed by the end.

Curious to hear the opinions of anyone that went to the show because what I am reading on the internet and what I watched myself seem like two completely different events.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I think the Rock did a better job this week (pretty much because of the history level stuff, not in ring) than last week he did seem to fumble a bit, doesn't matter though since I'm sure he's putting Cena over in his own way.

All in all I think both guys are doing their job very well. Cena has done a tremendous job and so has The Rock. Like I said last week The Rock will win the fans at Wrestlemania and there is nothing that can be done about that but it doesn't matter, through the efforts of b oth guys they've made me interested in this match and that's all that matters, getting the fans into the match. They have people questioning how much heat there really is between Rock and Cena so they've more than done their job.

I loved the history lessons from the Rock this week and Cena did awesome in the face to face they had. Great work all around.

 

[Steve0904]

The longer this goes on the more it shows what most people prefer pro wrestling to be especially promo wise. They want to chant along with the Rock. They want to hear jabroni and candy ass and the Rock's millions (and millions) (pun intended) of catchprases a thousand times. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I enjoyed both Cena and Rock last night and you know why? Because they both did what they do best, but they obviously did it completely differently. It's become apparent that The Rock is not great at a "Dwayne" type promo where he's got to be serious although he can surprise you at times. Just as Cena can be legitimately funny at times, but neither of these work in the long term for either of them. Cena is best at being serious and Rock is best at being funny, and they both played their roles pretty well last night IMO.

I seen a lot of people on here last night say Cena's promo in the empty arena was "shit" (among other things) as it was happening, but then I watched it, and it wasn't half as bad as some said it was (again IMO). Just because it wasn't funny and it wasn't meant to be doesn't mean I didn't listen to what he said and say to myself "You know, I can see where he's coming from."

Then Cena cut his in ring promo and IMO that was pretty good, and Rock came out and tried to be serious and IMO that wasn't very good. I'm also not of the opinion that if they let Rock loose on the mic, Cena's career would be over all of a sudden. All he's going to say is a few catchphrases mixed in with some other stuff. It wouldn't bury Cena especially if he just did what he does best and be serious. The Rock has lived off insulting gimmicks all his career, just as he's insulting Cena's now, but if Cena keeps it "real" so to speak there's absolutely no reason to believe he would "destroy" Cena.

 

[Trevez]

For me, The Rock won the verbal battle last night by a landslide. All 3 taped promos were good and very funny (The 1st was pure gold) and then when he got in to Cena's face and said that he would rip is throat out and say he will go down in history always The Rocks Bitch, was said with so much anger and passion. What really annoyed me was Cena's smug ass smile when for weeks and weeks he has gone on and on about wanting a serious Rock, well he got it last night and disrespected The Rock by smiling like an idiot. If someone said what The Rock said to me I would be fuming. Poor acting by Cena there.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

The "Boston Tea Party" skit was hilarious. When The Rock showed the John Cena cologne (which I didn't even know existed) and then tossed it in the water and said it smelled like Possum piss, I about died laughing. That was vintage Rock.

As for Cena, I thought Cena's "empty arena" promo was kinda cool.

 

[Wald]

I made this point in another thread, but I want to expand on it here

Cena made a mess of the storyline last night, pure and simple, and here's why. Also here's proof that Rock is the better actor if you needed one.

Look at the promos from the past two weeks, they are practically mirror images of each other

Last week: Rock runs down Cena with jokes until Cena comes out, is a lot more serious, flusters the Rock (stumblling over words) and leaves the ring, letting the Rock have the last word about whooping Cena's ass, but still being flustered

This week: Cena runs down the Rock with jokes until Rock comes out, is a lot more serious, flusters Cena (that 'what you gonna do, what you gonna do bit) and leaves the ring, letting Cena have the last word about whooping the Rock's ass, but still being flustered


Only difference is the Rock is better than Cena at conveying emotions. Either that or Cena didn't want to put the Rock over in the same way as the Rock put him over last week with the promos, I hope it's not that because that doesn't bode well for the match if so.

Still though, I don't understand people saying Cena Won or Rock Won, does it matter? Both have to be on top of their game for this, both need each other to be on top of their game too, so let's see where this goes in the next few weeks as this story, unlike Triple H vs Taker, still has to peak before the PPV

 

[Da Solo]

I'm about to make a long, detailed post of how I feel about Rock/Cena's promos. If you aren't in the mood to read, I'll summarize it with numbered points.

1. This Is a Work
For the longest while, I've been hoping that they'd let John Cena just go off on Rock and lose his restraints. He finally did. Hell, he even said penis, and even Rock probably wouldn't have gotten away with penis in PGWWE. My problem is that even though I'm happy Cena is unleashed, they shouldn't have to restrain Rock to do it. I firmly believe that anyone with even the slightest idea of the backstage antics of WWE should see that WWE decided to start scripting them, maybe not what they say, but how the tide is supposedly turning against Rock. Think about it: Rock was in rare form during his 'history lesson' promos, and even left Cena a flustered, plastic smiling mess until he left the ring, but yet all of two weeks ago, he had obvious lines written on his wrist, got played by Cena, and couldn't come up with anything better than Chinese food references? Obvious work. Look back in Rock's history and tell me when something like that has ever happened before. I've heard of having bad nights, but that was ridiculous. Now, while I think working the crowd in Cena's favor is not a good idea, I understand it. When they weren't scripting their promos, Rock has been making Cena look miniscule compared to him for the majority of 2011. I get that they don't want Cena to be dominated on the Road to WM, but at the end of the day, Miami is Rock's hometown, and Cena will be booed in ways that could even rival his One Night Stand vs. RVD heat. I, for one, am a Miami native and a Rock fan who will be at Wrestlemania, and to tell the truth, though I am rooting for the Great One, I have a feeling I'm gonna feel bad for Cena on game night.

2. Cena is Good, but Rock is Not to Be Messed With
I am a firm believer in the theory that if Rock were to go Attitude Era-esque completely off on Cena, it would destroy him. Not in the way like 'you're career is over', but it will kill off any chance of Cena having even a small fanbase at WM. People ought not think that Rock has lost a step. People seem to forget the days when Rock was delivering classic promos back to back in the Attitude Era and his Hollywood persona. You gotta remember, WWE was a lost more 'go out and do your thing' during the AE than they were now, and plus, Vince trusted Rock to say whatever he wanted. As a result, Rock was able to prove he is without a doubt the best mic & crowd worker WWE has ever had imo. Remember the Rock/Billy Gunn feud? The one that destroyed a LOT of Mr. Ass's credibility? Go and YouTube his promos against Billy and see what I'm talking about. No doubt, Cena is great, and has upped his game substantially in the last couple weeks, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. There's a reason Vince had to tone Rock down for him.

3. Who's Winning?
When you're talking about the whole feud since last year, then Rock is winning. Even though Cena is taking it to him now, A. Now is scripted, B. Rock, even when via satellite, had the crowd against Cena. But in terms of now, it's a tie. Cena took Rock down 2 weeks ago, but Rock knocked him back this week. The history lesson promos were the funniest things I've seen since Truth's promos during his push last year. During the in ring confrontation, I felt that Rock completely flipped the switch, dropped the joes, and went at Cena with some serious hostility. Hell, throughout the whole thing, Cena had to have a smile literally stapled to his face and tried to goof his way out looking embarrased (which failed, by the way). The only saving grace Cena had was that one Tooth Fairy chant (which surprised me, but made me lol). The week before, Rock sold for Cena to get him over; this week, Cena actually tried to no-sell it and still looked rattled. After Rock left, the crowd died down quite a bit. And imo, I didn't like the way Cena brought the tough talk back out after he just tried to smile and laugh into Rock's face until he left, it made Cena look like one of those kids who won't start talking crap until their target is out of sight.

But either way, this is an amazing feud which has brought out the best in Cena, promo wise.

 

[The Mighty Tiger]

I thought the die hard Rock fans could be bias at times, but these die hard John Cena fans & supporters have just took these discussions to new heights. In just 1 years time The Rock went from people talking about how he buried the whole locker room w/his return promo to now people saying that he is losing it on the mic just because John Cena got him real good 1 time. Did you John Cena fans forget all of a sudden about how Rock has been making John look like a bitch throughout this whole feud? People on here posting The Rock's catchphrases don't work anymore there outdated, & don't connect w/2012's sophisticated fans. WHAT?!!!! You mean the same catchphrases & insults that still produce revenue for the company in merchandise sales? The same catchphrases & insults that the live fans still chant at Cena & sing along w/The Rock?

John Cena fans also say that John's promos have substance, hmmm really? He comes out last week, says he loved The Rock, & he was once apart of the ppl til he got to know Dwayne Johnson. He goes on to say that DJ is nothing more than a see through son of bitch who wouldn't care if WWE's doors closed the next day. He then follow up by saying at Mania he will be facing DJ cause that's who he doesn't like, but then this week on Raw he turns around & says he wants the real Rock back & not DJ. WHAT?!!!!! That's what you Cena fans call substance in a promo & cena owning The Rock two weeks in a row? You guys can't seem to see through John's BS, he clearly can't match The Rock word for word in a real promo battle. So what does John do to cover up his obvious weakness, he pretends to act like The Rock's insults don't bother him (he takes the high ground) cause he doesn't have any come backs for Rock eating his ass up. So what John does instead of going head to head w/The Rock on the mic he takes shots at Dwayne Johnson's career choices. He has to take Rock out of character just to hang w/him on the mic, & ppl have the audacity to say Rock is losing it on the mic.

Of course Rock is gonna come back & address what John said cause that's all he talks about in his promos against him. Rock comes out speaks from the heart (AGAIN) & tell the fans that the only reason for his success is because of them, turns his attention to Cena calls him out on his lies tells him that he doesn't need anybody to fight for him cause he is a real man. Rock also talked about how John hasn't entertained majority of the fans in years saying that the only interesting thing he has done is change his damn shorts, but ppl actually have the nerve to come on here & say that all Rock's promos are just style over substance. Do you ppl really listen to what Rock really is saying are do u just only like to acknowledge when he says his catchphrases w/out listening to anything else he is talking about? I get it you John Cena fans have been desperate for John to look good over the all mighty people's champ, but don't get carried away here, John has to be underhanded just to keep up w/The Rock. It really kinda sad when you think about it, the only way for the best of this generation to keep up w/the best of the past is that you have to attack the real person not the character. John has to break keyfabe just to seem in The Rock's league. Cenation is a joke that you can't really laugh at, a person can only pity the fools that support such mediocrity.

 

[a member of wwe universe]

I'm about to make a long, detailed post of how I feel about Rock/Cena's promos. If you aren't in the mood to read, I'll summarize it with numbered points.

1. This Is a Work
For the longest while, I've been hoping that they'd let John Cena just go off on Rock and lose his restraints. He finally did. Hell, he even said penis, and even Rock probably wouldn't have gotten away with penis in PGWWE. My problem is that even though I'm happy Cena is unleashed, they shouldn't have to restrain Rock to do it. I firmly believe that anyone with even the slightest idea of the backstage antics of WWE should see that WWE decided to start scripting them, maybe not what they say, but how the tide is supposedly turning against Rock. Think about it: Rock was in rare form during his 'history lesson' promos, and even left Cena a flustered, plastic smiling mess until he left the ring, but yet all of two weeks ago, he had obvious lines written on his wrist, got played by Cena, and couldn't come up with anything better than Chinese food references? Obvious work. Look back in Rock's history and tell me when something like that has ever happened before. I've heard of having bad nights, but that was ridiculous. Now, while I think working the crowd in Cena's favor is not a good idea, I understand it. When they weren't scripting their promos, Rock has been making Cena look miniscule compared to him for the majority of 2011. I get that they don't want Cena to be dominated on the Road to WM, but at the end of the day, Miami is Rock's hometown, and Cena will be booed in ways that could even rival his One Night Stand vs. RVD heat. I, for one, am a Miami native and a Rock fan who will be at Wrestlemania, and to tell the truth, though I am rooting for the Great One, I have a feeling I'm gonna feel bad for Cena on game night.

2. Cena is Good, but Rock is Not to Be Messed With
I am a firm believer in the theory that if Rock were to go Attitude Era-esque completely off on Cena, it would destroy him. Not in the way like 'you're career is over', but it will kill off any chance of Cena having even a small fanbase at WM. People ought not think that Rock has lost a step. People seem to forget the days when Rock was delivering classic promos back to back in the Attitude Era and his Hollywood persona. You gotta remember, WWE was a lost more 'go out and do your thing' during the AE than they were now, and plus, Vince trusted Rock to say whatever he wanted. As a result, Rock was able to prove he is without a doubt the best mic & crowd worker WWE has ever had imo. Remember the Rock/Billy Gunn feud? The one that destroyed a LOT of Mr. Ass's credibility? Go and YouTube his promos against Billy and see what I'm talking about. No doubt, Cena is great, and has upped his game substantially in the last couple weeks, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. There's a reason Vince had to tone Rock down for him.

3. Who's Winning?
When you're talking about the whole feud since last year, then Rock is winning. Even though Cena is taking it to him now, A. Now is scripted, B. Rock, even when via satellite, had the crowd against Cena. But in terms of now, it's a tie. Cena took Rock down 2 weeks ago, but Rock knocked him back this week. The history lesson promos were the funniest things I've seen since Truth's promos during his push last year. During the in ring confrontation, I felt that Rock completely flipped the switch, dropped the joes, and went at Cena with some serious hostility. Hell, throughout the whole thing, Cena had to have a smile literally stapled to his face and tried to goof his way out looking embarrased (which failed, by the way). The only saving grace Cena had was that one Tooth Fairy chant (which surprised me, but made me lol). The week before, Rock sold for Cena to get him over; this week, Cena actually tried to no-sell it and still looked rattled. After Rock left, the crowd died down quite a bit. And imo, I didn't like the way Cena brought the tough talk back out after he just tried to smile and laugh into Rock's face until he left, it made Cena look like one of those kids who won't start talking crap until their target is out of sight.

But either way, this is an amazing feud which has brought out the best in Cena, promo wise.

You my friend have nailed everything you pointed out about this feud. So far i read majority of the comment on this site and other sites stating cena is producing better promo and is "winning" in this battle without a second thought. This entire feud is scripted by the wwe, not the promo, but the momentum. Rock's 20 minute promo is scripted and his inability to talk back to cena in live interaction is scripted.

Rock's history lesson obviously destroyed cena. I really thought rock was gonna do more damage live in front of him but once again rock cut short becuase cena needed to look good in front of home crowd.

Cena's smile really tick me off. He was not selling to the segment. Most of all, he has no busienss to act like an asshole smirking in front of rock. I thought he was the soldier, the loyalty guy, the serious guy who takes this match like his life is on the line. Even his empty arena promo said it.

 

[a member of wwe universe]

* when i meant "this entire feud is scripted by the wwe, not the promo," i actually meant "not only the promos, but the momentum as well." Dont want to contradict my point