Punk VS Rock Promo #1: Who Won?

[Jack-Hammer]

CM Punk & The Rock had their first confrontation on last night's Raw with a long but, in my opinion, extremely well done promo segment.

Whenever Cena & Rock had their confrontations last year, people were debating as to "who won" their segments so I figured people might as well do the same.

Personally, I thought things were even. The Rock had all his zingers lined up and they were entertaining and got the desired response. CM Punk, on the other hand, kept his cool and wasn't phased by Rock's antics. Punk's more straightforward stuff was a good contrast to Rock's colorful catchphrases. Punk simply saying he was going to kick The Rock's ass, multiple times, was great in my eyes. It's a very simple saying but it's something we don't really hear enough of in these big match settings. They both put over the WWE Championship as the reason they were going after each other rather than just a clash of egos, which is what Cena vs. Rock felt like generally. The purpose of last night's segment overall was to build & hype their match and I thought they did it perfectly. There was believable tension & intensity from both of them, and the Rock putting Punk in the Rock Bottom puts them on an even kilter now.

So who won?

 

[MrMojoRisin]

I thought it was an awesome exchange. Far better than any of the back and forth promo's that Rock/Cena did last year.

If I had to choose a "winner" it would be Punk though. As good as the Rock was, one thing I didn't like was that he was doing the exact same promo that Punk was mocking him for doing, and he didn't change anything up when Punk called him out on all his catch phrases ("I know without a doubt that in 20 days, you will go one on one with the great one")

On the flip side, I liked where Rock sold the GTS by telling Punk that it knocked him out and embarrassed him. However, I thought it would have been a better touch for Punk to in turn, sell the Rock Bottom better at the end, like it knocked him out cold as well. A little tit for tat and synchronocity if you will.

Either way, the whole thing was a great start to the build to the Rumble.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I thought both gentlemen were awesome last night, really setting the stage nicely for their program at the Royal Rumble. But I would have to give the slight edge to the Rock.

Sure, Rock was abundantly overflowing with catch phrases and one liners, but that's his thing and its always been his thing. For a guy who has been out of the ring for months, and has only been appearing sporadically for years, he was right on his game. I thought he was a step ahead of Punk for the entire exchange, and the crowd response would support that. Of course, that was to be expected and was likely by design. The returning face who loves the fans will always outpop the always present heel, and I'm sure despite all of pipe bombs and such, this was designed for the Rock to come out on top. Likely Punk will gain the upper hand in their next exchange, and the RR will be the rubber match. But I simply thought that the Rock was the better man last night.

I was shocked to see the size discrepancy between the two men last night! I knew Dwayne was bigger, but he absolutely dwarfs Punk in pretty much every capacity. And based in last night, that extended to the verbal exchange as well.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Anything else that was on TV at the time last night. That confrontation was a complete letdown. Punk had that crowd up on his shoulder and then put that crowd to sleep with his long winded "pipe bomb". In the past two years I haven't heard a more deflated reaction to The Rock and that is all Punk and WWE's fault. Who in their right mind thought it would be a good idea to have Punk go out and get his ass kicked by Ryback and then follow it up with a message to the fans that they don't matter. We know that we don't matter, but don't tell us that. Tell us we suck or are fat or stupid but don't remind us that we are just the real money marks who eat up the shit the faces tell us.

When The Rock finally came out after 2 hours 45 minutes of waiting he did fine. Punk even had a few decent lines but in the end I lost interest in the RR main event. The Rock makes Punk look subhuman in height, health, and stature. The idea that Punk has a chance to win is fleeting with me more and more.

The only nice thing about it was that it led to a little violence (unlike Rock/Cena). But even the Rock Bottom wasn't all that impactful.

 

[DX Mols]

CM Punk takes Round 1 for sure, but that's more based on his entire promo/pipe bomb last night.

I found the Rock's promo to be cheesy and kind of stupid with "Cookiepuss" and all that nonsense. CM Punk speaks the truth and I truly hope he retains @ the Rumble....or at least if Rock beats him then Punk enters and wins the Rumble that night.

 

[RJJ]

Like you said, it was a great promo. Both men delievered, no doubt, but I'm giving Rock the first Round. He mixed comedy and seriousness in his speech..matter of fact, he even got some reaction from the crowd, something Punk failed to do during the promo, but I'll give credit where credit is due, that short arms line was a bomb. Anyway, this promo id def' better than all the crap that happened between Rock and Cena.

 

[JaylisJayP]

Rock was flowing well, not much repetition, which he does when he forgets what he wants to say next, but he's so played out. Punk was right, his schtick is done. Of course he'll still get the pop. Hell, everything Punk's character said last night about the fans is true.

I'm glad I'm from Chicago, a group of fans Punk tends not to "heel out" in front of, but we'll see how this new character responds next time he's in his hometown.

 

[The Living Receiver]

I don't care how much bigger the Rock is than Punk.
I don't care how many jokes and sharp tongued nonsense the Rock utters to pop the crowd.
I certainly do not care that the promo led to an admittedly poorly sold Rock Bottom on Punk's part.
Punk mopped the floor with him last night and you could see by the look on the Rock's face that he felt upstaged and/or outdone.
Punk telegraphed practically everything he was going to say and The Rock, instead of upping his promo game and giving us some effort, happily proceeded to give us nothing different.


In my opinion, Punk may have cut the single greatest heel promo ever last night and while some people may have found it dull, I think you have to admire the level of courage it took to "shoot" on the fans in such a cutting fashion (worked shoot as it may be).
Then after he cut one of the greatest promos ever, he still had enough TV time left to verbally lay low and marginalize one of the strongest personas ever to step into a ring.
If you think Punk did not come out of that exchange as the clear cut winner, you were not paying attention.


Now that the Rock has had a taste of what and who he is working with, I hope he steps up his game (which I know he can do) and has a stellar program with Punk. Hopefully he realizes that if he does not make this all about his ego and works together with Punk on giving us good material, they could give us something special in three weeks. But that....is a big IF.

 

[RD_21]

My honest answer would be WHO CARES? But then I realise most do since we are posting here.

My problem with those who won things is that people will judge the fact that Punk attacked Dwayne and is outside of kayfabe while Rock remains in it. I think The Rock did a good job of being The Rock and being exciting.

I think Punk won but I also think that the playing field is uneven. Punk is playing "outside of the rules" so of course he is winning with our dedicated crowd, but The Rock did a stellar job of being The Rock. I will say this, if more people could cut a promo like The Rock can inside of kayfabe we wouldn't need shoot promo to be excited all the time.

With that said I think they did an incredible job promoting the fight and I can't wait to see more of them.

 

[RD_21]

I don't care how much bigger the Rock is than Punk.
I don't care how many jokes and sharp tongued nonsense the Rock utters to pop the crowd.
I certainly do not care that the promo led to an admittedly poorly sold Rock Bottom on Punk's part.
Punk mopped the floor with him last night and you could see by the look on the Rock's face that he felt upstaged and/or outdone.
Punk telegraphed practically everything he was going to say and The Rock, instead of upping his promo game and giving us some effort, happily proceeded to give us nothing different.


In my opinion, Punk may have cut the single greatest heel promo ever last night and while some people may have found it dull, I think you have to admire the level of courage it took to "shoot" on the fans in such a cutting fashion (worked shoot as it may be).
Then after he cut one of the greatest promos ever, he still had enough TV time left to verbally lay low and marginalize one of the strongest personas ever to step into a ring.
If you think Punk did not come out of that exchange as the clear cut winner, you were not paying attention.


Now that the Rock has had a taste of what and who he is working with, I hope he steps up his game (which I know he can do) and has a stellar program with Punk. Hopefully he realizes that if he does not make this all about his ego and works together with Punk on giving us good material, they could give us something special in three weeks. But that....is a big IF.

You know that they are working together and not against each other right? You know that the things are planned and The Rock wasn't lost or didn't know what to say or where he was going right? The Rock did a good job just like Punk.

But whatever, last year people believed that Cena was saying thing he wasn't allowed and that The Rock always had notes on his wrist when we never saw any before the night he was called on it. Last year the Rock was too popular compared to Cena so they started to give "wins" to Cena, they will do the same this year, Rock is not really fighting Punk, they are working together to give us a good program.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Anybody who criticises The Rock for doing the same thing over and over is crazy. What else is he there for if not nostalgia? He's a walking Greatest Hits collection.

But Punk had won before The Rock even came out. People will accuse him of breaking kayfabe, but he didn't. Everything Punk said was true, and everything The Rock said simply validated what Punk had said.

 

[cult_of_icecream_bar]

I would also say even.Punk got boring after half way through his shit.Rock was boring from the start.But in the final 5 minutes both men picked the pace up greatly.The Rock FINALLY acted like himself,the great one.And punk gave him great support to be so.If things are like this,we can expect a few more decent promos.But if they improve and don't be boring from the start,there's going to be a hell of great promos beetween the two.

 

[ALIE]

It Was Fantastic!! Rock did what he does so well.
and Punk responded by being punk, the complete opposite.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Punk vs Rock Round One
And your winner issss..... CM Punk!

I have to admit it, when The Rock started talking and Punk was just staring at him I thought to myself, "Punk's done". But then he grapped that microphone and nailed it like never before. Rock was calling Punk names, did his cathphrase thing, electrycity was in the air. But Punk brought out something different. He actually took this segment to a whole different level.

On their first interact since last summer, Rock put Punk over big time. That's for sure. Calling someone a great wrestling mind and aknowledging the fact of how much of a serious threat they are is a big deal in wrestling. And it sticks with the whole "respect" storyline. The Rock showed respect for the champion but not for the man.

Punk called him out as a movie-star, a less-talented wrestler than him, he said that The Rock didn't deserve the title shot. He called him out for calling him names and The Rock continued calling him names. That was were for me, The Rock lost the first battle. Punk didn't look intiminated one bit, even after The Rock Bottom. Actually he looked more pissed and determinated to destroy his opponnent for than ever.

Punk was talking truth. Rock was talking trash. That's their gimmicks. The thing is, who is going to use his gimmick in a better way, in order to win that epic promo-war that is coming. For me, it's Rock 0 - CM Punk 1.

 

[The Living Receiver]

You know that they are working together and not against each other right? You know that the things are plan and The Rock wasn't lost or didn't know what to say or where he was going right? The Rock did a good job just like Punk.

But whatever, last year people believed that Cena was saying thing he wasn't allowed and that The Rock always had notes on his wrist when we never saw any before the night he was called on it. Last year the Rock was too popular compared to Cena so they started to give "wins" to Cena, they will do the same this year, Rock is not really fighting Punk, they are working together to give us a good program.

You know that the Rocks ego tends to get in the way and his programs with people in the past have suffered because of it right?
You know that Punk has real heat from as well as towards guys who have thrived in the WWE Machine and that could hurt the program, right?
You do know wrestling may be fake, but it's politics can be very very real right?
Please do not talk to me like I am stupid and I will not return the favor.


The Rock, by the promo standard he has set, really felt lazy and forced last night. He seemed to be mailing it in and was not ready for the level of intensity that Punk brings to his promos.
Take a lesson in body language and reading facial expressions, The Rock was struggling to keep up last night, probably because he was working from a script and Punk (true to form) was not.


I am a Punk fan, but I am not simply out to cut the Rock down due to that.
I want to see these two put on a good show and, in my opinion, The Rock needs do his homework and put some real effort into this program.

 

[YesSlateYes]

CM Punk won hands down, just shame about the crowd was lame that night. CM Punk said great things, said all the right things and is just natural on the mic. Only time the crowd ever made a reaction was when Rock used his catch phrase ( you could tell they were coming) or made people chant.

 

[Desyar]

The Rock won.

Punk's so called "pipebomb" was only great when he first did it, but now everytime he does it, it just feels forced. But I guess it's his only way of attempting to get on The Rock's level in terms of talking.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

It was underwhelming. On both accounts. By no means did I vote that they both sucked, but it was neither one of them's best promo.

For starters, Punk started to drag on and on by the time the commercial break came. Frankly I feel sorry for the people who had to listen to 3 more minutes of it. If that commercial break wasn't necessary, Rock would've certainly come out sooner.

When Rock did finally come out he was interesting, and you wanted to hang on every word, but I feel his execution was lacking. Cookiepuss? Really?

All that said I'm not saying there weren't good parts. Both men's timing in their promos is virtually flawless. Some good lines were definitely said. The best being the "box with God" line.

To me I would relate it to a movie that's hyped to be amazing and you go expecting that and it lets you down. That about sums it up for me.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

Before commenting in this thread I voted in the poll and was shocked to see how many people voted CM Punk. Maybe people were surprised he was able to hang with arguably the best ever on the mic and gave Punk the nod by saying he won. I, on the other hand, knew that Punk was going bring it to the Rock (no pun intended) because his promos with Jericho were amazing.

Last night the Rock used almost every catchphrase, and Punk didn't seem phased or scared he looked focused and confident. He looked like the favorite to win and when he called out Rock on all of his "kiddie jokes" it was priceless. But for those who say Rock went "right back to the kiddie jokes" I disagree, I think the Rock matched Punk's intensity and got serious and established he never forgot about RAW 1000 and put the exclamation point with a Rock Bottom. How does the guy who gets the last word and his finisher in not get voted the winner of the exchange?

 

[a member of wwe universe]

My honest answer would be WHO CARES? But then I realise most do since we are posting here.

My problem with those who won things is that people will judge the fact that Punk attacked Dwayne and is outside of kayfabe while Rock remains in it. I think The Rock did a good job of being The Rock and being exciting.

I think Punk won but I also think that the playing field is uneven. Punk is playing "outside of the rules" so of course he is winning with our dedicated crowd, but The Rock did a stellar job of being The Rock. I will say this, if more people could cut a promo like The Rock can inside of kayfabe we wouldn't need shoot promo to be excited all the time.

With that said I think they did an incredible job promoting the fight and I can't wait to see more of them.

Great point. What majority of the fanboys of punk and rock haters fail to recognize is punk did play outside of the rules while rock did his usual shtick. The moment rock appears i was hoping for him to shoot as well. Because no one can ever win a against shoot promo with a scripted babyface promo. Rock couldve come out and did a little shooting of his own easily but thats never really his style plus vince may not like it. Rock did his stuff, well said, enjoy it, thought it was a little cheesy and too cena like type of promo though.

If this was ziggler cutting that promo on cena, the haters of rock and fanboys of punk wouldve gone orgasm all over the place. Yet im reading numerous response saying rock got "wrecked, destroyed, got blown out of the water, punks untouchable etc." but that is your typical hypocritical iwc right?

i enjoyed punks promo alot last night and i do think he won last night but keep in mind he shooted.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I thought they both did equally well, each in his own style.

Punk did a promo that took us back to the Summer of Punk. I enjoyed his criticizing the personas of several performers while praising "a workhorse like Tyson Kidd." He showed he was always a bad guy, even as he portrayed a face. Great stuff.....vintage Punk.

The Rock will probably have an easier time doing promos for this match than in his efforts against John Cena, because that was a case of two "good guys" opposing each other, and even while it's Rock's special talent to put down almost everyone, it's going to be more natural having him criticizing a genuine heel. His flow was a bit uneven last year because of this; it should go better this time around.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Neither man won anything.

The only winner here is CM Punk. Not due to his long-winded pipe bomb that killed the crowd, but because he gets to work with someone who matters outside of John Cena. In terms of drawing power, Punk is working with his greatest opponent. Punk finally gets to shine as a heel, and he has Rocky to thank for that.

The war of words is a funny thing. Punk did his usual crybaby, emo schtick, and The Rock hyped the crowd. They both repeat what's been done before, so why is The Rock the only one the IWC criticizes? I know it's cool to like the indy, dirtball looking wrestler, and despite everything I've said, Punk's one of my two or three favorite current wrestlers. However, neither man is coming up with anything overly original. Punk worked from a script. He wasn't "shooting" out there. Get over that.

It was interesting. They are two very different talkers, and two very different wrestlers. I hope their feud leading up to the Royal Rumble consists of more than both men staring at each other with mic's in their hands.

 

[JJYanks121]

There was one clear winner last night that was evident from watching the verbal altercation at the end of Raw..................John Cena.

OMG, he can't talk up Cena! Cenaz sux!

Well, if Cena sucks, then that makes Punk the world's greatest prostitute. You see, The Rock is a special attraction. He's a guy that made money money in the WWE and for the WWE than anyone in history not named Austin and Hogan. Heck, he may even be on par with those guys. The difference is that Rock has made a good second career in movies and when he returns, it's not that he returns as simply a past great. He returns as a guy who is actually more famous than when he left and thus, it draws people back to the show. People want to see what this guy will bring and it's intriguing. That said, you wouldn't know it watching last night because the intrigue faded faster than the end scene of the Sopranos. Last year at this time, we were all itching for Rock/Cena interactions and we had plenty by now. We've only had one between Rock and Punk and it's already evident that it's not the same.

See, the internet hypes up Punk as some sort of savior and they eat up his words like Brodus Clay eats dinner. Problem is, everything he's saying is wrong and I'd like to think that people are getting wiser to it. In fact, I know they are because not only did the people in the LD last night have a much more mixed reaction, but the crowd itself died during the final segment. That NEVER happened with Rock and Cena so we have to deduce that Punk is part of the problem. Why?

For starters, doing a "pipe bomb" with no new information and a blatant lie or two is stupid. Using Daniel Bryan's name was the end of it because that dude is a huge star at this point. This "indy guys are held back" crap is just that, crap. It might have been true and even a little edge to say in June of 2011 but now it's not which is why the promo fell flat. But that's not even the real issue.

For me, the biggest issue is that there was almost a half an hour of promo time and not once did I get a sense of why these two don't like each other. Not once. Punk's entire shtick was exactly the same as it is with any other opponent........all about him. With Rock/Cena, it was about playing off of each other and getting people to really buy into the fact that regardless of heel/face alignment, they simply didn't like each other and they valued the idea of beating the other guy. Here that isn't so. Punk is just a guy trying to keep his title and that's it.

The energy that you felt every night of a Rock/Cena interaction simply wasn't there. The crowd knew it and I think Punk and Rock knew it and honestly, I think it's because of Punk's own stupidity. Had he stayed the same guy that won the title, a bucking the trend yet likeable guy, this might feel huge. However, he's just a generic heel taking on a young legend. The dynamic makes the matchup a whole lot worse because it makes Punk generic. "Grrrrr you have catchphrases but screw the people I'm going to kick your ass" For a guy that supposedly can do things differently and have new ideas, he certainly hasn't had any as a heel. The fact that his heel character blows certainly is part of the equation here.

The bottom line is that people, not just wrestling fans, wanted to see Cena and Rock face one another. About the only people left that care to see Punk vs. Rock (which by the way won't be as good a match either) are Punk marks that despite lack of interest, lack of quality, and general boredom will still tell you this is better than Rock/Cena simply out of some sort of inferiority complex that won't let them admit that Cena is the bigger star. It's similar to the TNA fan who can never admit that WWE does anything good simply because they are bigger. Why you can't be a fan of both (Cena and Punk, WWE and TNA) I'll never know, but that's how it is. As such, Punk fans will tell you how this trumps Cena/Rock but it doesn't. All this does is show that Cena is head and shoulders a bigger star and that's evident after one promo.

 

[Pedigree1]

The Promos between those two last night was awesome! I enjoyed it and will watch it again. As far as who won ehh to me doesnt really matter. But if i had to choose i give it to the rock,by a slight margin. A little off topic here rock's billed weight is 275 right? BS that man is closer to 300 or so. He is huge.

But i cant for the next promo i expect punk to win the next round.

 

[crswcw]

If I had to choose The Rock only because he was staying in kayfabe, CM Punk stole the arms too short to box with God line from the almighty original black genius GZA of the Wu Tang Clan so i couldn't give him credit for that promo and the rest was the same shoot stuff he always talk about, you can take kid out there and tell him to shoot on anything and they would get over.

The Rock does the samething but he always find away to switch it up on top that he even put over how much of an "threat" CM Punk is while punk just tries to bury any talent he against by shooting on them.