Predict The Future: The Rock

[Jack-Hammer]

As everyone knows by now, The Rock missed last night's post WM episode of Raw due to an injuries suffered during his match against John Cena. According to reports, Rock's injuries are legit and include torn abdominal & abductor muscles & he suffered a hernia during the match. It's been further reported that the muscle was completely torn from his pelvis, which is a severe tear, and might require surgery.

I think what happened to Rock is something that's had a lot of folks in Hollywood and WWE worried since The Rock became involved with WWE again. Regardless of whether anyone is a wrestling fan or not, it can't be denied that wrestlers often do suffer legitimate, serious injuries. In The Rock's case, these injuries could cause him to rethink his future when it comes to WWE.

The Rock is scheduled to begin filming a Hercules movie, in which he's the starring role, in Hungary & Croatia soon. This is a big budget movie that's being co-produced by MGM & Paramount studios with Bret Rattner slated to direct. It was originally scheduled to be released sometime next summer. Given The Rock's injury, however, it's entirely possible that production of the movie might have to be postponed. Depending upon his recovery, for all anybody knows, the studios might simply have to drop Rock and recast the role with someone else.

I think this injury is going to put pressure on Rock to stop wrestling permanently. The Rock's latest movie, GI Joe: Retaliation, has made somewhere in the neighborhood of $230-$240 million worldwide and his stock as a box office action star has been on the rise since 2011 with his part in the fifth installment of The Fast & The Furious franchise. The sixth installment is due to be released sometime this year, probably during the summer.

If it's a choice between wrestling & movies, The Rock is going to pick the movies. It's much safer than wrestling and The Rock is ultimately going to earn more money. Given the potential wrench this throws into the planned production of the Hercules movie, movie executives might start thinking twice about Rock in some of these roles if he continues to wrestle, even in this very limited capacity.

Do you think The Rock is done with wrestling after this?

Should he be done with wrestling after this?

 

[LoudClearVoice]

IF the injuries are legit, then I think he is probably done for all of the reasons you outlined above. He is an actor, he's not denying that. We're going to get people in here complaining and bashing Rock for being an actor and leaving or whatever, but he never claimed to be a full time wrestler. He came back and entertained us, risking his body and career. Due to the possible screw up of the Hercules schedule, I think his agents will tell him, he can't risk losing movie roles because he's involved with wrestling and getting injured.

At the end of his WM 29 match, it sure seemed like a "final match" type of send off with the way they played his music and Cena raised his arm and all that stuff.

With all that said, he could MAYBE wrestle one more time at Wrestlemania next year, especially if nothing is filming and he doesn't have an impending movie role.

I do think however, he will live up to his word and "never go away." He will remain involved with WWE whether it's appearing on RAW or SD on occassion or returning in a non-wrestling capacity at some PPVs. I truly believe he loves wrestling and entertaining and interacting with fans, so while he may not wrestle again, we will see him again.

One last point: They did make a point of saying Rock is the #1 contender for the WWE title and that he would get a rematch at some point. I found that interesting in that it seems that the plan was for Rock to at least get another title match at some point whether it's against Cena or whoever. With this injury, that is probably scrapped.

 

[SeanBlazed]

I don't see any reason for the Rock not to leave. If VKM can convince him to come out for WM31, cool. If not, nobody's going to get mad if he throws in his hat for good.

A farewell speech would be nice, as it's no debate that Rock on the mic improves any RAW show, but I do feel like he's going to be gone soon and gone for a long time.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

The Rock was never going to come back and wrestle for another 5 years. I assumed he'd call it quits with a final match next year. If the injury is serious then he's done with wrestling matches and the other night was the perfect end to his in-ring career.

The Rock doesn't need to continue wrestling, he's got nothing left to achieve in wrestling and, frankly, The Rock is now very poor at wrestling. If I was him I'd call it a day, make occasional appearence on TV and at big "4" shows and continue to be the best thing in bad film for years to come.

 

[chris21]

I think he's taken on too much in the past year. He has had so many movie roles. Credit to him for wanting to get back to the WWE and entertain us but I think he's taken on way too much recently. I don't think he's done however, I think he will learn from this and try and not mix the two as much. If he wants to have a run in the WWE then do that and nothing else for a few weeks.

He's number 1 contender at the moment so will be interesting to see where the WWE goes with that. How long can he hold that status? As I said though credit to him for coming back doing what he's done when he's a huge movie star. He didn't have to, he wanted to because he loves it.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

If the injury is that severe, it's done. It's the law of diminishing returns for the WWE, and too much risk/too little reward for The Rock.

In addition, I'll be glad to see him leave again....not because I dislike him (I think he's awesome), but because having him around for the past 3 Wrestlemanias removed a lot of the spontaneity around this time of year. This WM, in particular, we were really just going through the motions.

 

[dkorolenchuk]

If he was finished with WWE I think he would have came out and made an announcement and taken his cheers and goodbyes,the mentioning of the #1 contender rematch seems they will keep it in their back pocket until a further time.

 

[mesl]

I'm guessing there will be a video message in the upcoming weeks from the set of Hercules saying thankyou to the fans and leaving us hanging with a "I'll see you all soon"... He may do a show/promo or two towards the business end of next year, but it's pretty unlikely he'll be back in the ring any time soon.

Unless they've always been planning towards a Rock vs. Cena 3 >.<

 

[zee4u2nv]

As a rock fan its true he has nothing left to prove noone else to wrestle....ofcourse his wrestling ability is not what it use to be but thats purely due not having the ring time due to all his other commitments (btw he is still better than cena) i think he should retire.

P.S however my dream match would be hbk v rock at wrestlemani 30!

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised to see Rock walk away from in-ring competition for good soon enough. Rock's a lot older now, and he can't just flip on the switch, get in the ring, and deliver a Wrestlemania 17 performance, or something along the lines of the Iron Man match with Triple H. It doesn't work like that. I can remember one of Jordan's games with the Wizards. For the life of me, I can't remember the team they played against, but in the game, Jordan tried a quick crossover, as the clock ran out in the 4th, and he fell on his ass. Somone scooped up the ball, ran to the other basket, and made the layup or dunk (can't remember which one). From what I see, Rock tries to wrestle like a young man, but physically, it comes back to bite him in the ass later on. You can't outrun, or defeat Father Time. He will always win 100% of the time.

Plus, you have to remember he's not a full-time competitor anymore. I only tried it for two or three days, but pro wrestling is a physically demanding style of entertainment. Wrestling two or three matches a year isn't going to help your stamina and endurance in the ring. You have to build up a rhythm, and let your body adjust along the way. If you don't go to the gym, or do any other type of exercise, and just sit on your ass and gain weight, when you try to become physical again, you're going to struggle for a while, because your body has to adjust.

And the rumored match with Brock? I can't see it happening. Lesnar is a rough and brutal animal, and considering the recent news, I'm not so sure Rock could handle the pounding of a match with Lesnar. Personally, I have no desire whatsoever to see Rock VS Brock II. I wouldn't boycott the match if it happened, just not foaming at the mouth to see it. I could see The Rock popping back up every now and then in the Wrestlemania 27 guest host role, enforcer, or maybe special guest ref.

Maybe Rock has one more match, and then rides off into the sunset. But if he's forced to choose, he's going to dedicate himself to a movie career. He can still make millions, and not tear his body up, so it'll be an easy choice for him. Plus, there's not a lot to look forward to in the mainstream action market. Stallone will load up another Expendables film with action relics, Jason Statham films are starting to bore me, and I really don't want to see another shitty Transporter film. I also have the same feelings for Die Hard 6. The Rock probably won't rise to level of major powerhouse box office draw, but he'll be able to make a splash every now and then.

But yeah, in the ring, he has nothing left to prove. Wrestlemania 29 could be the perfect ending for him. A good main event match, and you can say he passed the proverbial torch to Cena. Thousands of fans cheering for you, and he finally embraced Cena with respect and admiration. It's the perfect storybook ending, and you don't fuck with a storybook ending.

 

[chris21]

He isn't what he was obviously, have to agree there but the other night I thought it was his best in ring performance since he returned. I've watched the match back and he performs his moves much better than he did against Punk. Sure he ran out of steam again plus he was injured but his overall performance was great considering he's not full time.

He will be back but as I said earlier he needs to arrange his schedule a bit better to makes things easier for himself. Despite what haters say he's still very entertaining, its great for the young guys to learn from him and even get a segment with him like Sandow and Bryan have.

 

[drobs85]

Rock has enough money for 10 generations plus. 70 million plus. So if he never did another movie or another match, dudes been set for years. I hope he recovers though. Wonder what caused such an injury. But if he sticks around he may just get the ring rust off in his private time by training more so injuries like that won't happen again hopefully.

 

[Pedigree1]

The Injuries that rock suffered are absolutely legit! I had no idea he got hurt as bad as he did. The rock is a fine actor IMO i like his movies a lot! But im sure his agents and hell the rock himself are gonna sit down and rethink about this. I thought as well,that he would have his last match next year but this really could be the end.

Pro wrestling is a physically demanding sport takes a lot of strength and endurance. The Rock is getting up their in age. Sure he is strong as all hell but his stamina is well just not there. I also dont wanna see him vs Brock. Brock would tear him apart with little to no effort. Also if he is scratched from the Hercules role,yes im sure he is done. A couple of special appearances here and there,im fine with but to be honest i dont wanna see the rock wrestle.

Sure i know he loves wrestling but i dont wanna see him put his health in danger. You cannot beat father time no matter who you are. The Rock is a lot safer filming movies and can make more money than wrestling! If he has one more match save it for WM next year then ride off in the sunset

 

[tom9422]

Eh, if he couldn't be there, i wouldn't care too much to be honest if he never wrestled again.

He's proven repeatedly that he's incapable of putting on a good match, even with the best of talent and i don't think Brock Lesnar will magically get a get performance out of him. His promo work is also poor these days, even though so many refuse to see it. Especially when he can't even show up consistently, he has almost no utility these days. All he does is add star-power to a card, which is all well and good but i don't care about Vince lining his pockets, i care about being entertained. For myself, the novelty has worn off.

Rock leaving will simply open up spaces on the card for others to get pushed and i'm okay with that.

 

[The Eighties]

I never liked him even in his prime but he was a great athlete and could have good matches when in the ring with the right person. This gassed after 5 minutes version of him took away the one part of his act I actually could enjoy.

If he is hurt then I doubt it is nearly as bad as the injuries being put forth by the WWE, with those injuries he'd be laid up for some time and it is confirmed that he will not be getting surgery and will be making the filming start date of Hercules.

Supposing he has suffered a mild tear then it probably came from how roided up he is, when you are that jacked you are more susceptible to muscle tears, and I imagine the "What if?" of how if it had been more serious it could have killed his next big movie, will see him decide to call it quits as far as actually wrestling goes.

The proposed match with Lesnar would have been worth a lot of money sure but Brock is a beast, to work with him you are going to have to be willing to get stiffed, or he's gonna have to water down what makes him him Brock Lesnar so as not to damage the movie star with other commitments, not a recipe for a great match.

Love him or hate him there really is no one left for him to face that is worth the time it takes to book around him, he's came back and worked with the top 2 stars in the company. Orton is not the star he was, a streak match with Taker would be worthless and they have never had good in-ring chemistry, and a nostalgia match with Triple H has no real benefit either.

If he were to work Mania 30 as a sign-off then someone lighter and ultra safe like Jericho would be a solid option, unless he wrestled Punk one more time and put him over, but I just don't see the former being seen as big enough or the latter being something he'd want to do.

Funnily enough despite the fact I was not a fan of him post-98, I actually do enjoy him as a movie star and will be more than happy for him to stick with the silver screen over the squared circle.

 

[drobs85]

Eh, if he couldn't be there, i wouldn't care too much to be honest if he never wrestled again.

He's proven repeatedly that he's incapable of putting on a good match, even with the best of talent and i don't think Brock Lesnar will magically get a get performance out of him. His promo work is also poor these days, even though so many refuse to see it. Especially when he can't even show up consistently, he has almost no utility these days. All he does is add star-power to a card, which is all well and good but i don't care about Vince lining his pockets, i care about being entertained. For myself, the novelty has worn off.

Rock leaving will simply open up spaces on the card for others to get pushed and i'm okay with that.

Yeah Rock is taking so much time away from the other guys. Most people who say they don't want to see him are in denial/ some may have gotten use to him being gone as it was nearly ten years, and then there's some of those same people who were complaining that he never came back etc. Far as his promo work look at the crop he has to work with and believe or not Vince I'm sure doesn't give Rock as much freedom as people may think on the mic. So with this current WWE Rock surely is wasting his time, not the other way around.

 

[BillAlfonso]

Rock leaving will simply open up spaces on the card for others to get pushed and i'm okay with that.

What fans today are going to have to come to grips with is that the many of their favorite stars today wouldn't get on a card let alone a serious push in past generations. If the only way guys can get a push is for another guy that's part time to get injured that says a lot about them as a performer.

I think he should hang it up, no sense in hurting his ability to make money in either career by trying to do both. It was great to see him again though, I didn't think it would happen but now it feels like there's some closure. My question is, if he leaves due to this injury, will the assholes that cried "Austin and Edge retired due to injuries finally give him his respect.

 

[LoudClearVoice]

If he is done, I'm hoping for a major send-off on RAW. Have him come out and say that he's given his all over his entire storied career but his age has caught up with him and so have the injuries. Give him a big send-off and have him headline the Hall of Fame class next year.

I could see Vince trying to squeeze one more match out of The Rock but at this point, I'm not sure if Rock would do it or not.

 

[MCMG]

The injury may scare him into retiring. He doesn't want to Jeopardise his acting career. However, WM30 will be very very big. I can't see him turning his back on the WWE for such an event. I would love to see him at Summerslam and Mania. Two matches isn't a lot to ask for as long as he trains his hardest and his able to keep up with his opponent. I still feel his matches with Punk and Cena could have been a lot better but The Rock had his limitations.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

I don't think there's need for much concern here. The Rock already seems to have a "it's just a part of the business" attitude toward all of this. It's not like he wrestled these matches without already having in mind that he could get injured. And as far as him possibly having to be recast in Hercules, come on dude. The Rock is FAR too great of a blockbuster draw for any production team/casting director to even think to replace him from starring in their film. At this point in his acting career, if he's the star of your film and you're thinking of recasting him for another musclehead actor, it's pretty much downhill from there. Everyone was aware of the risks The Rock had while venturing into this WWE comeback so there's no real reason to think this will change anything. I'd even go as far as to say that his wrestling comeback strengthened his movie fanbase! Instead of people getting tired of seeing him in hit action flicks, more and more keep going out to see them.

As far as him retiring, I have a personal preference instead (for storyline/career closure). it would be great to see him officially retire from his successful career but like I said elsewhere, I think there's still at least one good feud left for him. And I think that's Triple H. Both had an almost parallel rise to wrestling stardom and managed to gain fans even while leading heel factions. They feuded separately a few times and haven't had a chance to cross paths in quite some time. There's always been bad blood between those two characters and as far as the "big three" go in the Attitude Era: Stone Cold left with all of the respect. The Rock left with all of the success. And Triple H inherited the company. We all know Stone Cold has limitations now in the ring so it's fine if he's truly retired for good. But if The Rock and Triple H are to have their final match, it would be fitting for them to end it facing each other. Hell you could make Stone Cold the special guest enforcer and have him interfere to help both out on separate occasions to show his fair respect for them. In the end, all three men get to end their careers and (kayfabe rivalries) together in a way.

 

[Mustang Sally]

People don't realize how far in advance the schedule of a movie star is planned. The actor's representatives think in terms of years, rather than months.

Did you notice that Rock spent more time with WWE this year than last? He had more matches, including the two with C.M. Punk. This is because when they were planning WM28, they already had WM29 in mind. With the long-term scheduling, this was a two-year project from the beginning. Last year (actually, in 2011) they were surely laying out the scenario to Rock and Cena, telling them that Rock wins the match at WM28 and Cena gains his revenge at WM29. Whether it was discussed that Rock would win the heavyweight title in anticipation of having a championship match with Cena is debatable, but I would think they had this laid out, too.

Okay for the two-year plan. Now that it's over, I don't think we'll see much of the Rock around WWE anymore. Yes, he's scheduled for a PPV soon, but that was part of the initial plan too.....don't take it for more than it is.

This is not to say we'll never see him in the ring again after the PPV, but I believe we'll never see him to the extent of this past year. Remember, he wasn't around at all between WM28 and WM29, right? It's only now it seems to us he's been a big part of things......all of this leading many folks to believe he's "come back" (finally!) and are penciling him in for future events.

No. He's a movie star now, not a professional wrestler. That he has done for us what he's done the past two years is a wonderful tribute to the fact that he wants to honor his roots as a wrestler, rather than leaving it behind.

I don't think his motive was money. While he must have received a boatload of cash, my feeling is he could have made far more making another movie instead of taking the chance of getting injured in a wrestling ring.....one that seems to have come to fruition, no? Probably, his filming of the "Hercules" movie has to be pushed back now after Rock's abdominal injury, and the movie people are having a fit because of it.

So, I think Dwayne Johnson is the greatest for giving us these two WMs.....and I also think his involvement with pro wrestling is now pretty much done.

 

[Vintage]

He'll be done at 30. I think a few people will retire next WM. Taker is looking about ready, The Rock hasn't had a proper sendoff but I supposed WM29 could work. HHH sooner than later. Jericho too unless he's going to start wrestling in a Singlet soon..

 

[Olly]

Rocky can't carry a title any more. He's probably in the best shape of his life, but that doesn't equal ring-readiness. I see him having marquee matches on and off at the big four PPVs with other legends for another three or four years.

 

[steven87gill]

I have a sneaky suspicion that these stories surfacing about Rock and Cena still not getting along are just WWE working the dirt sheets to set up a rubber match down the road. I've no problem with that, as long as it doesn't happen at Wrestlemania. Maybe Summerslam this year.

 

[HBK89Bill]

Honestly, when I was watching Mania 29. I kind of thought that was it for The Rock. I thought with the reaction and Cena giving him the ring. I thought that was it for him and I was actually okay with it. He put over the company guy after headlining three straight Mania's (27 counts in my book) I thought it was a nice swan song for The Great One. I would be okay if he went out that way.