People Bash Dwayne - What About Austin?

[Mercer the Ruthless]

Now im not going to "bash" you, im going to explain my view on what you just posted.



Ok so i bolded 2 of your points.

1st point. What makes Steve any different from Dwayne?
The difference is this
Steve walked out because of problems with his boss. Has nothing to do with betraying his word against the fans. Then he retired from the ring because of his physical condition. If you look back and research WM 19 steve austin story, you'll see, the morning of WM 19, Austin thought he was about to die...call me crazy but when that comes across your head, i think its fair to retire.
The Rock left AND PROMISED he would be back soon. 7 years is not soon...AND also he said that he was BACK and NEVER leaving everytime he showed up somewhere.

2nd Point. You are looking at the wrong thing that people are bashing Rock for. We are bashing Rock because he went against his word saying "WWE is my life!", do you recall an interview where the person said "So Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson" and he goes "Don't call me that, it's Dwayne Johnson" <---where is the WWE Dwayne?

Uh, let me start with this people bash Dwayne because he "Promised" to come back soon, really? Really? Okay let me say this, when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made said statement it was at Backlash 2003... He came right back in 2004, or did you forget about his match at WMXX with Foley? Problem solved.

2nd point in that interview he did not say "Don't call me that, it's just Dwayne," either that or all the videos I've watched edited that part out. he said, " It's Dwayne," the reporter apologized then he said "No, it's okay, The Rock works too." In another interview he said "From now on please call me Dwayne Johnson. I want to be known as Dwayne Johnson the actor, and not The Rock. " Everybody knew where Dwayne came from, that's how they Identified him by his stage name. His stage name is not his name so why would he want to go by it all the time? I mean I was upset that he left WWE as well but lets be realistic about him renouncing his ring name, it's his ring name.

 

[TheGreatLegend]

Okay, Here is my first post... It will hit a nerve but here it is...

So I have listened to everyone talk about how "Dwayne" has left for Hollywood and came back only to say "I will never leave again" and leaves for Hollywood again. Cena has bashed him, Punk has bashed him, and YOU fans bashed him too.

Understand Rock left at 30 because he has accomplished all that he set out to do in his career and wanted to try Hollywood. He dropped in from time to time. depending on occasion...or situation for that matter. He came back In the spring of this year. said "I will never leave again" and did that left for for few months came back did his match (survivor series) didn't miss a step . Now he has left for Hollywood again.....until mania.

Now here is the the part where I hit a nerve....

Stone cold is arguably the most popular superstar of all time, since HBK and the "New generation" he captured The Imagination of a global audience with his rebellious "I wont do what you tell me" attitude.

But in 2002 "Steve" told his boss Vincent K. McMahon to "take this job and shove it" because ...the original concept for wrestlemania X-8 was austin was supposed to face Hollywood Hogan and job to him. But, austin was unhappy with hogan being back in what was then the "WWF" and did not want to job to hogan so we got Hogan Vs. Rock....

In a surprise altercation the next night on Raw, Austin refused to show up and took a week-long break without the company's consent, claiming "exhaustion."
When he returned, He was to be in a program with Brock Lesnar, But austin vetoed any matches that would result in him jobbing to Lesnar. Reason being? Austin felt that hot-shotting a rookie would make the rattlesnake look weak and did not give Lesnar a proper stage for such a big win over a star of the magnitude that Austin held. which that resulted in him leaving the WWE on June 3, 2002

So my question is this, what makes Steve any different from Dwayne?

I say the only difference is Steve was acting selfish (And if you ask me very Hypocritical considering he did to Brock what he was mad at Hogan for.) At least "dwayne" had no problem putting people over to build stars and do what's right for business. It would also seem to me that "Dwayne" was the guy to clean up the messes that "Steve" left behind when he took his ball and ran home.

so feel free to respond with your opinions on my first post and let me know why you feel that way.

Nicely put.Couldn't have said it better myself.And one more person I like to add is Chris Jericho.The guy has just wrestled 3 years in the last 7 years and still IWC defends Jericho and bashes Rock.Shows how much hypocritical the IWC is. And Steve Austin is nothing but a glory hogger.WWE made Austin what he was,and he just "took the ball and went home" in 2002 after what WWE and Vince McMahon did for him. and made him what he is today .People complain about The Rock's messages that he gave from titantron,Steve Austin's part time appearances weren't much different.

And yeah also want to point out how much of a hypocrite CM Punk is.CM Punk has a problem with The Rock returning and fueding with John Cena whereas he would have no problem with Austin returning and having a fued with him because Steve Austin works so hard like the "boys in the back".

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Oh no, someone bringing up a topic which has been discussed two thousand times before, most recently as three weeks ago.

Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock are two completely different tales. You forgot to mention how The Rock would state before interviews he didn't want wrestling related questions, how he didn't want to be referred to as The Rock so that people would take him seriously, how he was at one point stating he'd never return to wrestling because he'd done it all; he stated this in interviews as recent as 2008. The Rock left WWE to go to Hollywood, nobody holds a grudge with him for that, what you don't seem to understand is, it was the way he conducted himself when he left that make some fans see him as a "sell-out."

Stone Cold Steve Austin on the other hand was a guy who didn't like how he was to be placed in an unadvertised match with Brock Lesnar, with no build where he was going to lose. Austin walked, Vince McMahon publicly cut a promo telling the fans the details leading up to Steve walking, but how long did it take Steve to come back? Seven months. In those seven months Steve didn't publicly state his name was to be only Steve Williams, that he didn't want to answer wrestling related questions and that he'd "done it all." He shut up and stayed quiet.

Another factor in Austin's tale is he had a severe neck injury and his health was detiorating. This man was in a hospital the night before Wrestlemania 19, he had to be rushed by ambulance due to high blood pressure. Steve Austin left WWE the first time because he was sick of creative, he'd an eight minute match with Scott Hall at Wrestlemania, he'd petty arguments with both the roster and backstage officials. He'd poor health - what do you expect him to do? Wrestle 'till he died? No, he came back, finished and left, at Wrestlemania 19.

The Rock came back after that event sure. The Rock is even back now, sure. But people don't forget everything he said over the course of his hiatus. It wasn't so much him turning his back on the WWE and his fans who by the way, were probably at first the only people who went to see his crappy movies to buy his ass into Hollywood, but who made him The Rock, but it was the things he was saying. The guy attempted to isolate himself from ever being The Rock for well over a year. That is why people say The Rock sold-out.

Two completely different stories here and comparing them is nonsensical and asinine. One left for seven years, wanted nothing to really do with the WWE, came back, inserted The Rock back into his professional name and expects everyone to take him back. Hell, I love The Rock. But I know he sold-out, and now hes bought back in, and well done to him for it.

Steve Austin left for a multitude of reasons, came back, finished his business and to this day continues to work under the name Stone Cold Steve Austin. It wasn't "Steve Williams" on the poster for The Expendables, it was Steve Austin. He hosted Tough Enough, he still returns a good two-to-three times in a year and even now, after the guy once suffered a broken neck at 46 years of age reports are always there, hes even said it himself, if the time is right and the reasoning is there then there will be one more match with Stone Cold Steve Austin. He really is a sell-out, huh?

Next time you want to "hit a nerve", here's two points of advice going forward on an Internet wrestling forum. One, is do your research before you start a topic thinking you're the first person to think it up. I've answered this same question a million times now. And two...

Next time when you check Wikipedia for some background on the events leading to Stone Cold's departure you may want to change some of the words so you don't come across like such an imbicle trying so hard to stand-out with a "nerve hitting" thread.

 

[MrSinister]

i dont bash either one. rock did what he wanted to do with wrestling and wanted to try something new. Austin couldnt go any more due to his neck. who cares they both payed there dues,Austin to me comes back due to his love of wrestling, rock to me comes back more to sell something.as for punk talking madness about the rock, i have talked to him before he came to the wwe at some pwg shows and can say this punk is a fan, dude can talk hours about wrestling and he knows his stuff. to me its punk just saying how he feels just like we all do.but i also think its part show to."Mercer the Ruthless" i could not have put it any better...

 

[Frostrike]

I thought it was common knowledge by now that The Rock left the WWE after John Laurinitis basically let his contract expire. Vince and The Rock soon had a falling out which eventually culminated in the John Cena radio interview. There are reports back in 05 where the Rock was interested in working a Wrestlemania program with Sting, but Vince pretty much shrugged that aside.

According to a new book The Rock vs. John Cena: The Real Story Behind The WWE Rivalry The Rock vs Shawn Michaels was supposed to happen, but because of the Rock's real heat with Shawn at the time that didn't come about plus the back stage politics didn't help.

As for Stone Cold, I recall that for a while he told people also to refer to him as Steve Williams instead of Steve Austin and eventually he did change his surname to Austin, but I don't want to say that was because of trademark issues.

The entire hypocrisy I see in all of this is that people complain that the Rock is back and is getting the main event match at Wrestlemania against John Cena. Yet, these same people want to see CM Punk headline Wrestlemania against Stone Cold someone who has relatively been on the program less than The Rock so far this year. In the end I'm excited as a fan because I don't let the kayfabe get to me.

 

[nosnoh]

Because the Rock Left when he had plenty to give to the business, while Austin gave it his all through out his entire career.

Austin has 12 years under his belt as a wrestler with a broken neck
Rock has 6 years

we are WRESTLING fans, not hollywood fans, good for the rock that he is a hollywood star. But why should I show "respect" to a wrestler who used the wwe as a scape goat to movies? It's the same reason we booed Brock when he left. You leave wrestling in the dust like that, shows that you don't have love for the business.

Imagine if all wrestlers did that. John cena would have been gone 3 years ago, Cm Punk would have been gone like 4 years ago, Triple H would have been gone like 7 years ago, Shawn Michaels would have been gone like 10 years ago, and so on...and so on.. The WWE would be in the shitter and would be out of business

 

[XXJJ]

Yeah, Austin was a big time dick at the end of his career. He skipped out of shows. He didn't want to job to anyone except Rock. He became a pain in the ass for the WWE to book. He was jealous when Hogan came back.. And he had a lame excuse about not wanting to lose to Brock because it was on Raw. At the time they were trying to build up Brock as the future of the company. Not really the way you wanted Austin to go out.

 

[ae_wrestler123]

Some people's idea for love for the business is wrestling till u r 90 with a broken leg, hip, back and a million surgeries, addicted to alcohol and pain killers. I personally like to see athletes leave on a high note. So it doesn't tarnish their legacy. The same pple bitching that the rock left, are now bitching that he is back. Haters. America is not the only place for wwe fans. Rock is an international superstar that has millions of fans worldwide. He is a bigger draw than austin. And it is becuz he left on a high note he can return on a high note. I'm pretty sure austin cant do shit in the ring now. He can't even stun properly. And by the way, benoit and angle both did neck surgeries.

 

[Headman]

I would argue that Austin did take a lot of heat for what he did in 2002 before his reasons came to light and actually made a lot of sense. I recall fans bitching about "Not wanting to job" and then it came out that Austin was upset that the WWE wanted to waste Lesner vs Austin and do a squash or a onesided Hogan/Brock deal which honestly I'm shocked Hogan went along with. But with all the info the majority of fans decided Austin's argument had some validity.

Now here's the otherside of the coin. I don't like the Rock. I've never liked the Rock. I find his character to be absolutely annoying, but I don't blame him for one second for taking the opportunity to pursue other interests. He didn't pull a Brock Lesner and quit. He left on good terms with the company and has come back now and then to help the WWE out when he could. I think Dwayne Johnson comes off as douchey and the Rock character is the most obnoxious person in the history of the world, nevermind wrestling. But I think anyone mad about him leaving the WWE should think twice before they're faced with the choice of leaving their job at Wendy's to work for Microsoft. And before this turns into a "Cena bashed Rock first" sort of thing. Cena's comments before this became an uber work pretty much boiled down to "The Rock's heart is in acting. Mine is in wrestling.". Ohhh, what an insult.

 

[Stein Lager]

I think the very obvious difference is that Rock is headlining Wrestlemania. People have a problem with that. I have no problem with it, but obviously CM Punk does (whether kayfabe or not). What Austin did was in some ways not unjust, jobing to a rookie like Lesnar WOULD have hurt his texas rattlesnake image. He was being selfish but for the right reasons, he didnt want this badass, take no shit persona to job to a rookie, OR a 50 year old. I completley understand. Skipping shows he was ment to be at to perform for his fans on the other hand is ridiculous.

I think honestly neither of these two deserve to be bashed. The Rock gave us the prime of his career. As did Austin. They gave us their all. If they want to come back here and there we should welcome them with open arms. Period.

 

[dansaun77]

Austin is a selfish guy, FACT. All of the main event guys over the past 50 years were. Austin refused to put over HHH, Jarrett, Gunn in 1999.
Hogan, well we all know.
Helmsley, Michaels, Hart...all these guys refused to do jobs and what was right for business all; for the same reason
TO PROTECT THEIR SPOTS
These guys paydays on top are alot bigger than second on the ladder.
The difference between Austin and Rock is Rock NEVER RETIRED, AUSTIN DID. And he has stuck to it for nearly 9 years, A RARITYin pro wrestling.

 

[whalip15]

its simple.....we dont bash Austin because he catapulted the WWF/E....he made it as big as it is today....his character held a generation....he was the top dog, most storylines (big storylines) focussed around him, you would tune in every week to see what HE was going to do.....you cant then all of a sudden have someone come in (lesnar) for a new generation and have him beat Stone Cold instantly! Stone cold wanted what was best to make the thing realistic......you dont have a new comer beat the top dog instantly thats ridiculous......it would drop stone colds reputation like a bag of sugar and therefore drop comapny status......how could he say he was gonna whoop anyones a$$ if he'd been beat off a rookie! Think about it!

I dont bash the rock either......i would love him full time i nthe WWE but i dont bash him cos he's not, i enjoy the times he shows up, like i do austin.....if i had to choose who i wanted back full time it would be austin! Rock's new persona in the wwe is flavoured with a little bit of arrogance, liek he knows he is better than everyone else...maybe he is, but you dont flaunt it, which is why i can understand CM Punks frustration and Randy Ortons.

Austin left a legacy behind him that will never be rivaled, Rock left a mess that he seemingly cant clean up - by that i mean, sayign he would be back and never leave but doing just that.....people dont bash him cos they hate him, they bash him because they love him they dont want hi manywhere else!

Peace Out - Hope i made sense.

 

[sjdigitall]

Heres my opinion. All of you are a bunch of idiots. Trying to find faults with The Rock, with Steve Austin. These two sacrificed their lives to entertain us every week during 96-03 and all you guys can be is bitter? Grow up. Austin would do anything for the company and so would Dwayne. Dwayne has no reason to come back. He has enough money to keep on being a movie star. He's coming back because out of the very little time he has free he wants to be spending it with his first passion : wrestling. How but just appreciate what they have done and appreciate they're actually still trying to be a part of the wrestling industry because they love it.

 

[rge2010]

The 'dont call me the Rock thing' is a favourite retort of Rock bashers. He didnt want to be known as The Rock because Vince McMahon got an executive producer credit on every movie he was making.

The Rock left to earn more money and achieve his goals in life. He came back to entertain the fans and do what he still loves doing. He didnt come back for the money. He doesnt need it.

Punk, Orton, Cena....they ALL do Professional money for the money. FACT.

 

[Raptor93]

Ok there are several pages of responses I read through a couple but I throw my word even if its a repeat.

I agree, Stone cold has come and gone so many times its stale there nothing big about him coming back he doesn't really do much from a story line perspective. Rock on the other hand may bullshit and say he's here to stay then leaves but when he does come back its a big deal people get excited ratings go up the whole shebang. I think its not good that he says that he should say he's coming back to fuck shit up then he's gonna go be happy doing the shit he loves doing. Also this notion that you have to be physically incapable of competing to be honourably retired is utter bullshit. I don't mind if you say Rocks a twat for lying about staying coz I agree and its true, but ffs guys these people have lives beyond wrestling and some of them may want to do it without such fucking severe injuries, spending the rest of your life with a fucked neck, back, knees? yea there really weak and hate wrestling if there not willing to take a permanent injury to a vital area.

 

[One to Remember]

McMahon gets an executive producer credit..? Have you ever watched Sanford and Son on TVLAND? They make the credits microscoptic at the end of the show so you can't make anything out. The same could be true of McMahon. Place it towards the end of the movie too when people have already began leaving the theater..

What Austin done would had been respectable even if his head wasn't about to fall off of his neck. Creative screws up, creative makes bad calls. Austin flexed muscle he didn't have when WCW was giving him the business. He done things most wrestlers period wish they had the freedom todo. HE ASSERTED HIMSELF, he didn't let the promoter railroad him.

Rock did leave in his prime unlike Flair or Greg Valentine or Jake the Snake.. The issue is not whether or not it was his right to leave but why we can't assert our right to not have him back. I am happy for his career in hollywood but you can't come back to WWE and just shoot to the top of all storylines or be placed along side newer talent on the roster that has filled to an exstent your void after you left. He can't have it both ways, I THINK WE ALL SUPPORT HIM IN EITHER OR but it can't be both. Not fair to us or the new WWE guys.

As far as wwe fans giving him hollywood momentum i think his first movies did have alot of wrestling fans watchingthem. I think that is what propelled him. He owes them for getting his foot in the door.

As far as his name is concerned calling Dwayne Johnson the Rock is not the same as calling say Mr. T B.A. Borracas all the time. His real name sux, its based on his grandfathers and his fathers name which is an old fashion rout to an alias in entertainment.

 

[BK Styles]

I'm gonna go with a different slant in this, I think that maybe because the reason why we criticize the Rock more is because I think that most of us never wanted the Rock to leave in the first place. When he left he was A) physically able to compete B) He was at the peak of his popularity. When Austin left he was Physically breaking down because of the neck injury and his popularity was on the down turn. Coupled with the complaints with creative and management he left, making people not care about him the same way again. So when he did come back the pops he got were huge but it seems that it is regulated to nostalgic status where we care about what he accomplished but we know in our hearts he's done. Rocky on the other hand he could have wrestled many more years and the fact he could but chooses to is what pisses people off. Even more so when he wrestled in survivor series and looked like he never missed a beat.

I am getting sick and tired of reading people bitching on how Rock should of stayed around longer, how he should have been loyal to the WWE etc, etc. Yes we would have preferred that he stayed, but the guy wanted to do something else. He wanted to take a serious shot at Hollywood. You could argue that he's doing okay as well. Maybe, just maybe, he wanted to be judged on his acting rather than being judged as 'The Rock' all the time. The Rock has never said that he doesn't still love wrestling, only that he didn't see himself coming back.

Now, when Rock left WWE to go into movies, he was in physically great condition still. He could have kept going. Probably would still be going now if he hadn't left.

But let me throw out an idea. Maybe Rock decided he didn't want to throw his health away? Look at people like Hogan, and Ausitin, and more recently Edge. They've wrestled to the point where one bad bump could cost them their careers, their movement, even their lives. Maybe, just maybe, Rock decided that rather than go out when he was broken down and worn out and couldn't go much anymore, he was going to leave while he could still go. While he still had his health. While, and to me this is the big one, he could still make a legit in-ring return rather than just come back and beat someone up.

Let me put something else to you. Rock didn't refuse to lie down to Lesnar. Austin did. To me, I have more of an issue with that than Rock returning after saying he wasn't going to, and before that him saying he was never leaving. Whatever Austin's reason, taking your ball and going home is stupid. Something could have been worked out. Hell, it's Stone Cold Steve Austin for christs sake, if they'd listen to anyone, they'd listen to him. If his reason for not wanting to do it was legit, they could have changed it.

But, that being said, I don't even have much beef with Austin. Personally, I think anyone who has an issue with either guy is doing so because they want to find an issue. And it's pathetic. Both guys are legends, and are part of the reason why we're not talking about WCW now, and are big parts of the reasons why we still watch wrestling.

Jeez, can't we all just get along?

 

[Trail_Blazin]

I agree with a lot of the OP. Great post.

I don't think either should be criticized. As far as I'm concerned, those two together did more for professional wrestling than anyone else. Once they both left, I stopped watching. I came back to wrestling when it was announced that The Rock would be the guest host of WrestleMania.

And I'm glad they did that. I am now enjoying the WWE product for the most part. Sure, WWE does some stupid stuff, but the fact that I'm 27 years old and enjoying watching a good portion of the stuff going on in the wrestling world is awesome. Brings me back to my days as a kid when I couldn't miss a single episode of WCW or WWF.

I wouldn't be back watching if it wasn't for The Rock returning. He was my favorite wrestler as a heel as a face, whatever. His return brought a lot of people like me back.

Not everyone is going to be excited about The Rock's return. Younger kids think he really is a prick because of how he treats Cena (they still don't grip that wrestling isn't real). Heck, some adults around here don't seem to grasp that. But the program that Cena and Rock are running has been awesome. There is a direction to this feud and I'm enjoying it.

But, here's the larger point to counter all of the "He said he'd never leave and he left again" comments... He never said he was back as a full time wrestler. He never said he was going back on the road full-time. He never said he'd be at every RAW, or Smackdown... Or whatever. He said he'd never leave. And so far he's been true to his word. He's been around.

You can't expect the guy to be at every event. He's not a full time wrestler. He's back because of his love for the business, he's back because of the fans and he's back because of the prior generations of his family that competed in the ring. Sure, he'll be on hiatus for long periods of time. But I don't think you'll ever see Rock gone for years at a time. He'll be around.

That's what I took from his promise. Anyone who took it differently set themselves up for major disappointment.

I'm just happy The Great One is back.

 

[pod_daddy]

Honestly, I've never given a crap one way or the other which wrestler is self-centered, which wrestlers won't give younger guys the time of day in the back, or which wrestlers no-showed which event. It just doesn't matter.

That's why I have nothing against Austin. He could have been the biggest prick on the cactus to every other employee of the WWF; as long as he put on a good show for the audience, he did his job.

That is my problem with Dwayne. Not because he left to do movies (I've seen most, if not all, of them...), but because, once his Hollywood career was assured, he did everything in his power to distance himself from the wrestling world. The final straw was dropping "The Rock" because that was no longer part of his life.

When Metallica turned its back on the very fans who made them famous to crank out crap like "Saint Anger", and Jason Newstead made his famous "Yeah, we sold out; we sold out every arena we played in" comment, I stopped listening to them, period. I don't even listen to their older albums anymore.

Same with the Rock. I still watch his movies, but to me the wrestler "the Rock" is dead.

Do you folks REALLY believe he's coming back to give back to the fans? Maybe I'm overly cynical, but I believe that the backlash from turning his back on his fans, resulting in decreased sales of tickets to his movies, leading to diminished paydays for new movies, is his prime motivator.

Hell, I'm not sure why he's so over with fans now. Nostalgia? It's not like he's at the top of his game anymore; he spits out the same crap catch-phrases he spat out the last couple years he was active, and he still has the same Cena-esque 5- or 6- move repertoire he always had...

 

[BASSER911414]

Rock's new persona in the wwe is flavoured with a little bit of arrogance, liek he knows he is better than everyone else...maybe he is, but you dont flaunt it, which is why i can understand CM Punks frustration and Randy Ortons.

This isnt a new persona its always been there. The rocks character was always arrogant. Theres probably no superstar the rock hasnt taunted at one point. Hell even crash holly and headbanger mosh couldnt stay safe from him. The Rock (notice im not saying dwayne johnson, im talking abt the wwe character) thinks of himself as the best and nothing less which frankly is exactly what punk thinks. So y dont u bash him as well for being arrogant with the best in the world crap.

The reason punk is frustrated is because 1) he thinks every main event should feature cm punk.... 2) the one time he jabbed the rock the rock struck back with the comment saying he can sell out any arena which punk cant or something along those lines i cant remember.

We all laughed at the comment. Thought 'ouch' for punk. but then we forgot about it. CM Punk apparently didnt forget about it. Firstly he thinks its a fallacy which he is dead wrong about. CM Punk couldnt sell out an arena on his best day the way the rock can.

As for randy. Well randys spot in the main event has taken a toll which is something that happens from time to time when u want to give someone else a main event push. He should shut up and do as he is told because hes had several months of main eventing. But instead he wants to blame someone and therefore he bashes the rock stealing the spotlight from all the superstars because he sure as hell cant say anything bad about his colleagues.

Punk and Orton are grown men and since both of them have such extensive backgrounds in the wrestling business they should really realize how a business works.

In those seven months Steve didn't publicly state his name was to be only Steve Williams, that he didn't want to answer wrestling related questions and that he'd "done it all." He shut up and stayed quiet.

Steve Austin left for a multitude of reasons, came back, finished his business and to this day continues to work under the name Stone Cold Steve Austin. It wasn't "Steve Williams" on the poster for The Expendables, it was Steve Austin.

Its a bit rich u telling people to do their research when u still dont know that austin legally changed his name from steve williams to steve austin a long time ago. So yea when u see steve austin on the poster for expendables 2 its not because hes showing his undying love for the wwe its because thats his legal name. Dumbass

Back on topic. What I dont get is y the bickering. They both screwed up. Rock by leaving for years at a time. Stone Cold by acting like a dick with creative. Yes Stone Cold didnt lie down for lesnar but the rock did. Yes he took a week long vacation without permission and yes he didnt want to job to hogan. And yes the rock left and came back live after 7 years. One simple message. GET OVER IT !!!!!

For example u enjoy being an construction worker. Ur friends are there u get a decent salary and u enjoy the job. Then u get an offer to earn 10x what u did at reduced hours and less danger of getting killed on the job. Thats what the rock did. Please dont tell me if the chance comes cena wouldnt do the same. Hed wait but eventually he would. Stone Cold couldnt do it but he tried his best.

I hate reading threads like these but unfortunately i cant stop from reading them. I enjoy when the rock comes back. It reminds me of days long gone. Same with austin. I dont see wrestling for the backstage drama. I see it for the product. And if austin and the rock put on a good product why waste it. We all know 08-10 were pretty crappy years for the wwe. 11 has been much better. and part of that credit goes to the rocks return. It brought back a lot of fans. He is still more entertaining than the entire roster and he still makes fans smile.

 

[Dagger Dias]

What makes Austin different from The Rock is that he came back. Far earlier. Stone Cold still did nostalgic appearances here and there after he left. He also kept on putting over the organization that made him a star. The Rock not only vanished for 7 years, but he at one point was SO focused on his movies that he refused to answer to "The Rock" and insisted everyone call him Dwayne Johnson. It's almost like he was ashamed of his wrestling past. That rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way and felt like a big middle finger to his supporters that got him to where he is today. Granted he is back now helping build up the dream match of a generation, but that doesn't change what he did. He could at least have come back sooner to do some appearances here and there. Not video recordings, legit appearances. Stone Cold did several AND kept putting over the product. Then there's Tough Enough. People give The Rock a harder time than Austin because of how long he was absent and the time period where he did not acknowledge his wrestling past.

 

[Sudsrisrk]

You know, this is something that has always fascinated me. I mean,why bash the rock...OR Austin for that matter?
Both of them RETIRED!!!!!! Aren't you guys the same ones bashing hogan,sting and flair for still being here?
It's like Edge and Shawn Michaels have retired.
Edge-he was forced to retire(similar to Steve) and Shawn-retired the day after putting on one of the greatest wm matches ever(on top of the business,like Dwayne?)....so,if the 2 of them started doing movies(like Steve is,by the way he was in "The Expendables") would Edge be a hero and would hbk have "sold out"?
Y2J left to do his Fozzy tour and he's talking about never wrestling for the wwe again(hopefully a work/joke),so did he "sell out"?
Just wondering,could someone clear that out for me?thanks

 

[sharpsh00ter23]

And The Rock wasn't loyal? He never wrestled for another company, nor would he ever. So Austin walking out was good for himself right? He did what he thought was good for himself? The Rock retired and did what he thought was good for himself too. Both still loyal to the WWE.

 

[sharpsh00ter23]

They did it with Hogan's return. He won the Undisputed Championship again and he had left for WCW with the intention to destroy the WWE. Rock doesn't even want the championship, so there's no reason to complain about his spot. That means someone else needs to step up and be the best as the WWE champion.

 

[BillAlfonso]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, to bash The Rock for leaving and not Austin for lack of professionalism is pure hypocrisy. I'm not saying which was worse and I'm not picking a side but you need to call it right down the middle, daddy. The Rock doesn't owe anyone anything, he fulfilled his contract and left when it wasn't renewed. At that point, he was even free to do what he wished and he had a new mountain to climb.

Also, do you people know how much time goes into being a full time actor in Hollywood? He was doing two films a year for a while at least, there's negotiations for the films and preproduction which all take place either while he's winding down or just finishing principle shooting of his current project. He has to promote his finished film which takes place either during a light period of his new shoot or right after which is why he appears like the character in the film(hench his current physique and goatee, I'll be shocked if he doesn't look like this in G.I. Joe 2). Then repeat. He really wouldn't have time to come back to sports entertainment, you heard about how rough this has all been on him when he does make an appearance. Not to mention that the studio insurance may not cover him while taking all of the bumps that guys were taking at the time. It's not like he's Austin or Hogan starring in B movies or supporting roles in big time films, The Rock actually stars in and carries blockbuster films so he's in a different league altogether.

On to his name, it's his name, the name someone took the time to bestow upon him at birth. It's his prerogative, what if he was going by Dwayne Johnson his whole career, would people still be upset about this? Also, to the person that said "so what" about Vince getting an Executive Producer credit, he could've had a scenario where he was getting paid for that credit and studios were saying no, I'm speculating on that of course but it's a possibility. Anyway, the bottom line is that he wasn't wrestling anymore so why go by your ring name? The Rock is a pro wrestler and Dwayne Johnson is an actor.

One more thing I've noticed, people really need to give it a rest talking about his quality of movies, the man hasn't made a bad movie from what I've seen when you stack it up against the shit Follywood makes today, I even liked "Southland Tales." Anyone that's saying that he makes bad movies is only saying that because Punk said it because no one else said it until Punk said it.