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

[WWEvsJosh]

I also have a quick question how do you KNOW WWE is trying to make The Rock look bad? I am not saying its not a work but its not like the WWE came up to on here said "Hey we made the Rock look bad tonight so Cena could look better" Plus I dont think they would tell him "Look bad but still get things tweeting and have the fans chating things, still bring up the Cena lady parts, talk about how he gets booed everynight, tell the fans that he has your cell phone so he can talk to you if he likes but make sure you look bad during all this". Maybe just maybe The Rock had a bad night and got called out on somthing. BUT I am not saying its NOT a work but I am not acting like I KNOW what really went down.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I also have a quick question how do you KNOW WWE is trying to make The Rock look bad? I am not saying its not a work but its not like the WWE came up to on here said "Hey we made the Rock look bad tonight so Cena could look better" Plus I dont think they would tell him "Look bad but still get things tweeting and have the fans chating things, still bring up the Cena lady parts, talk about how he gets booed everynight, tell the fans that he has your cell phone so he can talk to you if he likes but make sure you look bad during all this". Maybe just maybe The Rock had a bad night and got called out on somthing. BUT I am not saying its NOT a work but I am not acting like I KNOW what really went down.

There not trying to make The Rock look bad but they are definitely gonna try and make Cena look better than The Rock. It's not rocket science its logical to do so. Cena is the full time guy, the current money maker for the WWE, they are gonna do everything in their power to make Cena look better than The Rock and honestly, I think The Rock has no issues complying.

When they signed the match The Rock was very aware that the point of this was to put Cena over. Sure, The Rock will do it without losing any face value for himself but he is definitely gonna do everything he can to make Cena look like a million bucks, even if he doesn't like Cena in real life.

I'm sure the WWE's purpose in all of this was to:

A) Get a big payday with the match
B) Put Cena over

I'm sure The Rock knew this in advance and if he had an issue doing it or the match would have never been signed, the match would not be happening. Even with any animosity the 2 have with each other I'm sure The Rock knew his duty going in and so far I would say he's done a good job making Cena look good.

Not to say Cena hasn't done his job so far, as a matter of fact I thought Cena has done an amazing job selling people (me at least) on this match and through his efforts I'm much more excited than I ever was. The night of Elimination Chamber I didn't give 2 shits this match was happening, now I care and that's been mostly through Cena's efforts.

 

[Melucci]

I dont understand this. If this is being done as a buisness move or vince is all about improving his brand then my take on this whole sitituation is this. I feel that Cena coming in and interupting the Rocks promo this past monday on Raw was well.......predictable. However, i feel that John Cena towards the end of that segment had swayed me (Rock fan) back into his corner with his realism and edge. If i was in booking i would continue the heat between these two up until WM throw some twists that NO ONE seen coming but nothing over the top not yet. At Mania you can not have the movie star no matter what he has done or how much he is loved walk out of Mania with a win it can't and shouldn't happen. Reference WrestleMania 18 Hogan vs Rock, even though Hogan was hands down the favorite and at the time he was on the active roster (limited) it pushed The Rock to a different level. Set this up for 28 you have a anti Cena crowd with this embrace the hate nonsense, who cut a pretty decent promo on the rock on Monday night which left him stammering around looking for some kind of rebuttle due to the fact Cena put a verbal beat down on The Rock. So paint this picture WM 28 all the hype has built up to this, in my opinion you can not have The Rock win no matter what. He is no longer on the active roster he is pursuing movies roles etc etc. Have Cena pull kind of similar to the WrestleMania 17 Main Event and have him "embrace the hate" but not in an over the top way more of a rebel / thuganomics way, set him up as your top heel who has a realism and not so PG feel to him and let the fans gravitate towards him similar to the Stone Cold Error. Don't force it let the fans make John Cena stop force feeding us a modern day hogan, we don't want that. You need someone to save your active 7 to 15 year old age group? Push Rey they all love him anyways and he is in need of a solid comeback. The possibilities are endless here, have Cena screw The Rock that will put him over. Have Punk retain the title. Push Cena's new found heel/rebel status and set up a decent Summer Slam PPV Cena vs Punk with a str8 edge punk and a quick sarcastic rebel in John Cena should make for some damn good promos and a hell of a match. Then and this is a LONG SHOT if all this was done you could set up SCSA vs the new FU attitude John Cena at Mania next year.i understand its not everyones cup of tea but the bottom line is where the WWE is at with Cena right now its make or break time. its either Superstar or Megastar.

 

[Melucci]

I dont understand this. If this is being done as a buisness move or vince is all about improving his brand then my take on this whole sitituation is this. I feel that Cena coming in and interupting the Rocks promo this past monday on Raw was well.......predictable. However, i feel that John Cena towards the end of that segment had swayed me (Rock fan) back into his corner with his realism and edge. If i was in booking i would continue the heat between these two up until WM throw some twists that NO ONE seen coming but nothing over the top not yet. At Mania you can not have the movie star no matter what he has done or how much he is loved walk out of Mania with a win it can't and shouldn't happen. Reference WrestleMania 18 Hogan vs Rock, even though Hogan was hands down the favorite and at the time he was on the active roster (limited) it pushed The Rock to a different level. Set this up for 28 you have a anti Cena crowd with this embrace the hate nonsense, who cut a pretty decent promo on the rock on Monday night which left him stammering around looking for some kind of rebuttle due to the fact Cena put a verbal beat down on The Rock. So paint this picture WM 28 all the hype has built up to this, in my opinion you can not have The Rock win no matter what. He is no longer on the active roster he is pursuing movies roles etc etc. Have Cena pull kind of similar to the WrestleMania 17 Main Event and have him "embrace the hate" but not in an over the top way more of a rebel / thuganomics way, set him up as your top heel who has a realism and not so PG feel to him and let the fans gravitate towards him similar to the Stone Cold Error. Don't force it let the fans make John Cena stop force feeding us a modern day hogan, we don't want that. You need someone to save your active 7 to 15 year old age group? Push Rey they all love him anyways and he is in need of a solid comeback. The possibilities are endless here, have Cena screw The Rock that will put him over. Have Punk retain the title. Push Cena's new found heel/rebel status and set up a decent Summer Slam PPV Cena vs Punk with a str8 edge punk and a quick sarcastic rebel in John Cena should make for some damn good promos and a hell of a match. Then and this is a LONG SHOT if all this was done you could set up SCSA vs the new FU attitude John Cena at Mania next year.i understand its not everyones cup of tea but the bottom line is where the WWE is at with Cena right now its make or break time. its either Superstar or Megastar.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

Look people, at the end of the day, crowd reactions, Rock's momentum, etc, none of that's matters. I'm calling it right now. There is no way in hell that Rock wins. It'd be as if Hogan beat the Rock at WM18. It'd destroy Cena's reputation & career for possibly forever. Cena is winning at WrestleMania, if he doesn't, it'd would be THE most idioctic decision in both WWE, and maybe even pro-wrestling history.

The thing is, if Rock is wrestling at Summer Slam and his opponent is Cena, then there'd be no way in the storyline that they could justify Cena giving The Rock a rematch (unless it ends in controversey). If Rock wins, Cena can come on RAW the next night, call out Rock and say "you beat me but let's fight in a neutral arena, of course you were going to win at home" or something like that.

Think about it. If Cena wins, why would he give Rock a rematch and I think we're all assuming it's Rock vs. Cena II at Summer Slam.

 

[a member of wwe universe]

Look people, at the end of the day, crowd reactions, Rock's momentum, etc, none of that's matters. I'm calling it right now. There is no way in hell that Rock wins. It'd be as if Hogan beat the Rock at WM18. It'd destroy Cena's reputation & career for possibly forever. Cena is winning at WrestleMania, if he doesn't, it'd would be THE most idioctic decision in both WWE, and maybe even pro-wrestling history.

ok to say cena's loss at wrestlemania will tarnish his reputation and career forever is exagerated. Cena is over, established as the top guy and the golden boy. How does losing to the rock, one of the greatest star of all time, would diminish cena's credibility as a star? because after mania, at the end of the day, month and year, cena will be looked upon by the "wwe universe" as the franchise player and the guy who help elevate young guys. He would still draw, enough said.

 

[Davi323]

Think about it. If Cena wins, why would he give Rock a rematch and I think we're all assuming it's Rock vs. Cena II at Summer Slam.

If Rock wins, why would he give Cena a rematch?

See how that works? If there is no reason for Cena to give Rock a rematch if Cena wins, there is no reason for Rock to give Cena a rematch if Rock wins either.

However, that line of thinking is wrong anyway. Rematches happen all the damn time. Why doesn't the winner of those matches ever just say no? Because it's just part of the show, that's why. Let's say Cena wins after a very hard fought battle...then, Rock acts like he is going to shake his hand out of a sign of respect, and Cena lowers his guard, thinking that now that the match is over, him and Rock can go their separate ways, peacefully...that a truce has been called. Well, instead of shaking his hand, it was a trap, and Rock puts him in the Rock Bottom, and then delivers the People's Elbow on him. Despite losing, Rock doesn't take it well, and while Cena is laying on the mat, Rock continues to taunt and berate him. Would that be enough to justify Cena accepting a rematch with the Rock? In every other feud ever, it would be...

That's just one scenario. There are plenty of other ways they could do it too. Point is, it's not hard to set up rematches. At all.

 

[The Talon]

ok to say cena's loss at wrestlemania will tarnish his reputation and career forever is exagerated. Cena is over, established as the top guy and the golden boy. How does losing to the rock, one of the greatest star of all time, would diminish cena's credibility as a star? because after mania, at the end of the day, month and year, cena will be looked upon by the "wwe universe" as the franchise player and the guy who help elevate young guys. He would still draw, enough said.

Here's the thing; he wouldn't be remembered like that at all, he would remembered as a guy so horrible at wrestling, that he lost to a guy that wrestled two matches in the past 7 years. Don't you'd think that would affect Cena's rep, just a little bit?

 

[RJJ]

Here's the thing; he wouldn't be remembered like that at all, he would remembered as a guy so horrible at wrestling, that he lost to a guy that wrestled two matches in the past 7 years. Don't you'd think that would affect Cena's rep, just a little bit?

HELLO! this is not boxing, it's pro wrestling. Anything can happen. So enough with this cena's rep bullshit. I've seen Rock getting pinned by Stephanie McMahon, one time. STEPHANIE FUCKING MCMAHON. That didn't "affect his reputation" or tranished his legacy. Till this day Rock is regarded as one of the top 3 of all time.

It's a showbiz, remember that.



If the fued is a 2 out of 3 series, then Rock MUST come out victorious at WM 28(Hometown), unless they want to turn Cena heel.

 

[ae_wrestler123]

I hope wwe realizes that if they keep running down the rock, it could hurt ppv buys. The raw ratings weren't very impressive. If you are gonna make people believe that your main attraction involves a self centred, sell out, hollywood snob who needs script notes why would they want to buy wrestlemania?

 

[nwh]

So far this has been handled poorly. Cena has been looking and sounding good on the mic for the last two weeks but he has yet to say anything different. He doesn't like the Rock because Cena considers the WWE akin to the mafia where you can never leave or the indie music scene where you are a sellout if you ever move up in the world. The ONLY legitimate angle he has is Rock said he was never leaving. And like Rock said only someone with minimal intelligence thought that meant anything other than Rock will be involved in the WWE but sparsely. Also having him back full time would have killed anything special about the WM match. Who would care about Rock vs Cena if they saw Rock fighting and/or cutting promos every week on RAW for a year? Having him only come in a few times a year keeps him a rare commodity that everyone craves. And Rock obviously didn't look good last RAW. I don't know if it was scripted that way or he really had an off night but whatever happened they should ensure it gets fixed next week. Cena can still be the "babyface" of the conflict (but honestly no matter what they do he's gonna get booed in Miami...if he gets booed out of his own home town what chance does he have on Rocks turf?) without Rock getting upstaged on the mic. Just having Rock come out while Cena is having a match and Cena getting distracted would be enough to further the story without either looking bad and at the same time setting up Rock as the semi-bad guy and giving Rock a "win" for the week. If they let Cena outclass Rock each week up until WM I think it would be a disaster.

 

[Whodafukknows]

Everytime someone mentions the crowd being 50/50 or cheering Cena, I go back tot his point: WRESTLEMANIA IS IN MIAMI! No matter what happens from here on out, Cena will be booed out of the building. It's Rock's hometown. There's no way those fans in Miami are going to root for Cena (which means they are rooting against the Rock). It isn't even about liking the Rock or not. It's about hometown pride. WWE's little plan of making Cena look better in promos would work (actually probably quite well) if this match were being held in a different location.

Agreed. There is no way they are getting near that, It shows how out of touch and brain dead some of them are in creative. If they turned Rock straight black leather sunglass spit in peoples faces hollywood heel it wouldn't even be close to 50-50 still. (50 times more entertaining though if you ask me) It would probably be much worse for cena because they would be booing the clear baby face out of the building.

The only chance I see any split near that would actually be turning Cena mega heel just because non kids/women would be so glad to see change, but thats not going to happen.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I think this feud needs a song by the Rock. I know it was mostly heel Rock that played the guitar and made fun of whatever city he was in but I'd like to see him next week in Boston, come out with the guitar, and do a song about John Cena. They can have Cena come back and respond with a rap or something.

I want to see the old Rock that made me laugh my ass off. The old Rock that made fun of not only the guy he was facing but of the heels in the back, Vince, Stephanie, the guy interviewing him, etc.
Hell, maybe go back to a classic Rock backstage promo with him being interviewed.

If they keep Rock looking like a chump, it's just wrong. Let him be himself and let the feud play out.

 

[ipswichicon80]

Yes you read that right I understand why the fans would be angry at the Rock leaving(even though they're not). But Cena? You think he'd be the face of the company had such a major push if the Rock was still around? No.From all accounts the guy who is fighting "For the entire locker room" at mania is the same guy who went up to Vince after a meeting where Vince had said his next breakout star would have to be prepared to step over anyone to be his top guy. Cena walked up and told Vince he was that guy.
Cena got his push in 2005, The same year he and Batastia botched the finish of the 2nd biggest PPV of the year. Yet Vince still put the belts on both at mania.
If Cena thinks the Rock has somehow disrespected the business by walking away then maybe he should think of this. The Rock was in the main event of manias 15/16/17/18(don't tell me Trips and Stephanie's bitch was the me at 18). He had done everything possible to achieve in the wwe. he moved on to a better paid less stressful job.
What,Cena would prefer he carried on till people got sick of him( and started chanting "we all hate you" at him) so then Cena would have got a chance to rib people for "peeing in milk jugs" and "collecting bags of doggy poop".

 

[smokeyjoe414]

Cena turning heel at Mainia would be awesome, if done Austin esque like WM17 could build up some great angles over the next year, although id love for Rocky to win and give us attitude era fans somethin to smile about

 

[vampirek]

You think he'd be the face of the company had such a major push if the Rock was still around? No

Didn't we have the same thread just yesterday?

Please do tell me when The Rock was the face of the company, much of his time he played second behind Austin. Hell even during the later days of Rock's full time career, the new generation was being pushed though. Like I said yesterday as a result Lesnar was pushed heavily. So to say Cena wouldn't have gotten that had Rock stayed is just beyond absurd because clearly talent were given major pushes when The Rock was around.

 

[Fisheatppl]

I may not be too educated on the topic of exactly HOW Cena got his huge push initially, and I am a much larger Rock fan than Cena, and am die hard for the Rock at WM28, but it seems to me that Cena had quite the many fans behind him. I remember when Cena was still young on Smackdown. Didn't like him much. Liked his fued with Kurt Angle, but that was mostly because Kurt Angle rapped and said he's "movin on up like the Jeffersons". But I forget which Wrestlemania it was, probably 19, that after the night was over, there was a poll to the fans which asked "which superstar got snubbed by not appearing on WM 19?" And an overwhelming portion voted for Cena. It may have been after WM 20. But either way, the fans love for Cena did not come from the fact that he told Vince he'd be happy to step all over other superstars to be the top guy. Wether he has or not is another issue. But it seems to me the fans latched onto him early and strong, and thats hard to do, and I'm sure Vince saw something in him that made him think "this is my guy". Although this was also around the time of Lesnar so who knows? But to the topic at hand.

I absolutely agree if Rock had stuck around, Cena would not have gotten as huge as he is... at least not as fast. He would have been big. He would have been Main Eventing. And eventually Rock staying around would have gotten old, and you can only be the top guy for so long, not 12 years (unless Cena stays on top for longer, but it already seems as if he is falling, not fast or far, but falling none the less). But look at HHH. He was never the "top" guy, but he was surely one of the top guys. And now he's mostly in the back, still comes out every now and then, will fight taker at mania and help push (or bury, depending on who you ask) Punk, but mostly he's just "around". And I feel if Rock either didn't make it in Hollywood, or didn't go, this would be his role if he was still around as well. Not necessarily the "corporate" guy, but just around, to help push people (Cena). Also Cena may not have gotten the "hustle loyalty respect" gimmick. If Rock had been around at the time there wouldn't have been a need for a Hulk Hogan babyface character. So its very hard to tell, but I do feel even with Rock, Cena would be big, just maybe not quite as big, quite as fast.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

Cena should only thank whomever he pleases if he chooses to.

They both are hard workers who have a decent amount of appeal. My personal favorite is The Rock. Someone else's personal favorite is John Cena. I don't care why he likes Cena. He doesn't care why I prefer The Rock.

How many more of these Rock/Cena threads do we need?

 

[Fisheatppl]

You think he'd be the face of the company had such a major push if the Rock was still around? No

Didn't we have the same thread just yesterday?

Please do tell me when The Rock was the face of the company, much of his time he played second behind Austin. Hell even during the later days of Rock's full time career, the new generation was being pushed though. Like I said yesterday as a result Lesnar was pushed heavily. So to say Cena wouldn't have gotten that had Rock stayed is just beyond absurd because clearly talent were given major pushes when The Rock was around.

Rock was already making movies when Lesnar got his huge push. Rock may have been around, but he wasn't "full time" enough for Vince to put all his stock in Rock.

Rock was definitely the face of the company when Austin was hurt for over a year, and carried that wonderfully. And I'd argue that even when Austin returned, AT BEST they were on equal footing, Austin never took back his solo number 1 spot, then they turned him heel. I'd personally still wager Rock was above Austin during that time, but there is no way Austin was above Rock, like I said AT BEST they were equals.

 

[drobs85]

You think he'd be the face of the company had such a major push if the Rock was still around? No

Didn't we have the same thread just yesterday?

Please do tell me when The Rock was the face of the company, much of his time he played second behind Austin. Hell even during the later days of Rock's full time career, the new generation was being pushed though. Like I said yesterday as a result Lesnar was pushed heavily. So to say Cena wouldn't have gotten that had Rock stayed is just beyond absurd because clearly talent were given major pushes when The Rock was around.

Some wrestlers were being pushed but not many ex. Big Show, Angle, Mysterio. But Cena should not only thank The Rock, he should thank Lesnar as well. When Lesnar was there it was a different story, yeah Cena was being pushed to but not to the moon.

 

[RJJ]

You think he'd be the face of the company had such a major push if the Rock was still around? No

Didn't we have the same thread just yesterday?

Please do tell me when The Rock was the face of the company, much of his time he played second behind Austin. Hell even during the later days of Rock's full time career, the new generation was being pushed though. Like I said yesterday as a result Lesnar was pushed heavily. So to say Cena wouldn't have gotten that had Rock stayed is just beyond absurd because clearly talent were given major pushes when The Rock was around.

Well, just for the record, Rock was supposed to avenge that loss to lesnar(According to brock himself). The plan was to let Lesnar temporary replace Rock(leaving to make some movies) as THE "Guy", and later on that king will make his return looking for his throne, and get it back in the process. That didn't happen because Rock was starting to get more into hollywood, and the fans didn't like that, and eventually, they turned on him(Unlike Lesnar who was becoming more of a fan favourite).
Again, that summerslam match wasn't supposed to be the end of the Rock-Lesnar fued.


Back to the topic. Cena would've been one of the top guys without a doubt, but I don't think he would've gotten that huge push(05-07). I mean come on, at the time Rock left he haven't reached his prime yet, he was like what 31, 32yrs old. The guy had atleast 7yrs of dominance ahead of him. With Austin retiring, I can't see anyone competing with Rock for That top spot.

There is a reason why Rock-Hogan WM 18 match was called "Wrestling Past vs Wrestling Future". Rock was supposed to be the future. DAMN ROCK!! you had the chance to be the absolute best ever this industry has ever seen, but you choose hollywood over it. Smart business decsion though..

 

[Tired0FthePeople]

Agreed. There is no way they are getting near that, It shows how out of touch and brain dead some of them are in creative. If they turned Rock straight black leather sunglass spit in peoples faces hollywood heel it wouldn't even be close to 50-50 still.

Maybe WWE isnt even trying to get a 50-50 crowd split. Im not going to act like some people here and come off like Vince himself is telling me what the booking ideas are...I have no idea. BUT, maybe you guys are just taking it as if they are trying to split the crowd. Because if we can understand that Cena's going to get booed out of the building in Miami, I doubt that the WWE writers are too stupid to understand it. What do you guys think, that you know more about wrestling than the people who invented, write, book and created the international sensation of wrestling?

Cena's the top face. He'd probably be booked to have a couple to 'look good' promos against ANY opponent at ANY wrestlemania in ANY city. Why wouldnt they book him to come out on top in a promo or two? Could have nothing to do with splitting the crowd...could be just what they would do with Cena anyway. Some of you express your thoughts as if they're facts. Stop doing that.

Oh, and before someone tries to quote some report that this is what they are trying to do, all I'll say to that is that same site reported that ROH blocked the Briscos from signing with WWE and Jay Brisco himself tweeted that that report is a lie.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Isn't it pretty dumb to say that "without so and so Cena wouldn't be a top guy" considering part of being a top guy is being willing to be on every show? That's every bit as much of the critera as actually being good.

Statistically, there ARE hundreds, if not thousands of people who, if they put 100% effort and resources into it, could be bigger stars than Rock, Austin, Hogan, Cena, all of them. I mean, wrestling is a niche product and actually legitimately trying to become a wrestler is an even smaller fraction. If all 6.5 billion people in the world try their hardest, Cena and Rock probably wouldn't even be top 100 anymore. Seriously, think about that. Such a small amount of people put their heart and soul into it, that there is likely people who could be better at it if they tried. I think LeBron James would have been a hell of a wrestler. He put his talents to basketball.

And that's the point. Who gives a shit HOW Cena got there. If Verne Gagne were a better businessman, Hogan would have never left the AWA. If Randy Savage were a better baseball player, he never would have been a wrestler. Cena isn't where he is "because Rock left". I mean shit, if Rock were a better football player, he wouldn't have ever been a wrestler; at least not at such a young age.

 

[BillAlfonso]

The incident last week between John Cena and The Rock/Dwayne Johnson was big on the internet. I'm in the camp that wasn't that impressed with it since I don't think it had the desired effect with the crowd(there were some oohs but they seemed to still be behind The Rock) and only people on the internet seemed to be that taken with it. Having said that, I still think that it was a brilliant piece of storytelling to use that since it was a good vehicle to show that The Rock was a bit rusty other than the usual "You're never here" but, like all brilliant moves, it still went over most of the crowd's head(I don't feel like Cena emphasized it enough and I hope they'll follow up on it) and I was wondering who do you think came up with it. Could it have been Cena or The Rock or did the "creative" team finally get something right?

 

[NotaHippie]

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.