The Rock, Cena, and The Importance Of Passing The Torch

[DeadmanFan]

This is stupid. Cena's already had the damn torch and he's actually had it longer than either The Rock or Austin. He doesn't need to go over The Rock for any legitimacy. He's already beaten Triple H and Shawn Michaels in consecutive WrestleManias- they "passed him the torch." If anything Cena beating Rock (as he will, because WWE is never gonna job its top star to a past wrestler that isn't there full time anymore) will only make the older fans who grew up with Rock hate him more. It's gonna suck to see Rock lose, but I've accepted it's gonna happen. Still won't make me like Cena and the only thing that will would be if he changes up his gimmick to suit my tastes. Simple as that.

 

[Da Solo]

WWE should turn Cena heel and THEN have the Cena vs. Rock match at WM. Why? Because no matter what happens, a Cena/Rock match that is face vs. face will only further damage Cena. I don't feel like making paragraphs, so let me put it in an outline for you:

1. If Cena wins as a face, he will get booed out of that top spot in the company and get replaced by Orton. Remember that whole "If Shawn beats Taker, we riot" thing last year? People actually liked HBK more than Cena, so imagine the same situation with even worse consequences

2. If Cena loses, then its like: "WTF?" He lost to a man who hasn't wrestled a full match since 2004 or 2005. And plus, it makes Rock look like a bitch for not 'passing the torch' as some say should happen.

3. WMXXVIII is in Miami, Rock's (and my) hometown. If Cena wins, I can guarantee us Floridians will strike. And the last time you guys pissed off Florida, we turned the whole Bush/Gore election into chaos. Soooo yeah... Don't fck with us.

4. For people saying Rock should pass the torch: you're stupid. Look back a bit: Rock 'passed the torch' to Lesnar and that went to shit. Rock did it again for Goldberg and that went to shit. The only person who I think benefited off of getting put over by Rock was Jericho, and even so, Stone Cold had to help with that development.

5. Rock leaving WWE doesn't make him a pussy. If leaving a job that required you to be all over the world 24/7 and risks physical injury for a job that pays much more, requires less hours and less physical risk makes you a pussy, then I'd gladly be willing to become one myself. Besides, it's not like he owes us. Actually we should owe him (and every other superstar) for putting his body on the line. That can do a lot to a fellow. Ask Jeff Hardy.

6. Lastly, idc if some of Rock's promos were via satellite or used a teleprompter. His promos were still miles past Cena. Add to that the fact that he hasn't cut a promo for the WWE since like 2008 and Cena looks like a punk at this point.

 

[BASSER911414]

WWE should turn Cena heel and THEN have the Cena vs. Rock match at WM. Why? Because no matter what happens, a Cena/Rock match that is face vs. face will only further damage Cena. I don't feel like making paragraphs, so let me put it in an outline for you:

1. If Cena wins as a face, he will get booed out of that top spot in the company and get replaced by Orton. Remember that whole "If Shawn beats Taker, we riot" thing last year? People actually liked HBK more than Cena, so imagine the same situation with even worse consequences

2. If Cena loses, then its like: "WTF?" He lost to a man who hasn't wrestled a full match since 2004 or 2005. And plus, it makes Rock look like a bitch for not 'passing the torch' as some say should happen.

3. WMXXVIII is in Miami, Rock's (and my) hometown. If Cena wins, I can guarantee us Floridians will strike. And the last time you guys pissed off Florida, we turned the whole Bush/Gore election into chaos. Soooo yeah... Don't fck with us.

4. For people saying Rock should pass the torch: you're stupid. Look back a bit: Rock 'passed the torch' to Lesnar and that went to shit. Rock did it again for Goldberg and that went to shit. The only person who I think benefited off of getting put over by Rock was Jericho, and even so, Stone Cold had to help with that development.

5. Rock leaving WWE doesn't make him a pussy. If leaving a job that required you to be all over the world 24/7 and risks physical injury for a job that pays much more, requires less hours and less physical risk makes you a pussy, then I'd gladly be willing to become one myself. Besides, it's not like he owes us. Actually we should owe him (and every other superstar) for putting his body on the line. That can do a lot to a fellow. Ask Jeff Hardy.

6. Lastly, idc if some of Rock's promos were via satellite or used a teleprompter. His promos were still miles past Cena. Add to that the fact that he hasn't cut a promo for the WWE since like 2008 and Cena looks like a punk at this point.

totally agree with everythng u say but theres one thing i want to know.

wm 28 is in miami. the rocks hometown. when hogan lost to the rock he didnt lose at tampa or augusta. he lost in toronto. and obviously just like on his birthday the entire miami was on the rocks side, at wm 28 the crowds gonna be even more hyped up. so really unless u want ppl jumping over barricades and tossing stuff in the ring, will u let cena win.???

im confused.

 

[hollowpoint]

The problem I have with this matchup is the year in advance announcement. As far as passing the tourch goes. they tried to do it with Brock Lesnar, but that turned out to be a dud. I read something about Rock getting the tourch passed to him by Hogan, but I don't really agree with that. I say either way this match turns out, they should shake hands at the end and the Rock should give him the rub. Fans are gonna be upset however this match turns out so it's pretty much a lose/lose. I am a fan of both so I don't really care about the result, just as long as the annomosity betweent the two is squashed. Oh and this just in...turning Cena heel at this point is dumb.

 

[The Crock]

I see where you're going and it would make sense, in 2005. Cena doesn't need the torch passed to him, since he's been the face of the company for years now. Facing Rock won't do much for Cena, when it comes to getting respect from the guys in the back, because I'm sure they already respect him. He's done everything the WWE has ever asked of him, made every appearance, done every show, he's gone above and beyond the call of duty, and he's already earned all his respect. Facing Rocky is just a huge box office draw, Vince wants the money. He wants to make WrestleMania a spectacle.

The only "fans" I can see Cena gaining from this are the loyal Attitude Era fans. With a match against Rock, he might be able to draw some of them in, but even then I doubt it. Cena already has his fan base, he's not only the face of the WWE, but arguably of pro wrestling today. I mean, this match is going to be something new, fresh, just plain awesome, but does Cena really need it? No. He's already accomplished it all, he's already "The Man."

 

[itssoeasy123]

totally agree with everythng u say but theres one thing i want to know.

wm 28 is in miami. the rocks hometown. when hogan lost to the rock he didnt lose at tampa or augusta. he lost in toronto. and obviously just like on his birthday the entire miami was on the rocks side, at wm 28 the crowds gonna be even more hyped up. so really unless u want ppl jumping over barricades and tossing stuff in the ring, will u let cena win.???

im confused.

I highly doubt that Vince cares that the show is in The Rock's hometown. It's Wrestlemania, this match between Rock and Cena is a dream match, that's what he cares about, oh and maybe putting The Rock in the Hall of Fame.

The show is in Miami, so what? I don't think people will be jumping over barricades becuase, let's face it, it's WWE. Sure, Rock's the hometown hero, but if Cena win's I don't think it'll be like the possible aftermath at ONS 2006.

Oh, and this is'nt to you but to anybody else. Cena will NOT turn heel at Wrestlemania 28.

 

[RJJ]

WWE should turn Cena heel and THEN have the Cena vs. Rock match at WM. Why? Because no matter what happens, a Cena/Rock match that is face vs. face will only further damage Cena. I don't feel like making paragraphs, so let me put it in an outline for you:

1. If Cena wins as a face, he will get booed out of that top spot in the company and get replaced by Orton. Remember that whole "If Shawn beats Taker, we riot" thing last year? People actually liked HBK more than Cena, so imagine the same situation with even worse consequences

2. If Cena loses, then its like: "WTF?" He lost to a man who hasn't wrestled a full match since 2004 or 2005. And plus, it makes Rock look like a bitch for not 'passing the torch' as some say should happen.

3. WMXXVIII is in Miami, Rock's (and my) hometown. If Cena wins, I can guarantee us Floridians will strike. And the last time you guys pissed off Florida, we turned the whole Bush/Gore election into chaos. Soooo yeah... Don't fck with us.

4. For people saying Rock should pass the torch: you're stupid. Look back a bit: Rock 'passed the torch' to Lesnar and that went to shit. Rock did it again for Goldberg and that went to shit. The only person who I think benefited off of getting put over by Rock was Jericho, and even so, Stone Cold had to help with that development.

5. Rock leaving WWE doesn't make him a pussy. If leaving a job that required you to be all over the world 24/7 and risks physical injury for a job that pays much more, requires less hours and less physical risk makes you a pussy, then I'd gladly be willing to become one myself. Besides, it's not like he owes us. Actually we should owe him (and every other superstar) for putting his body on the line. That can do a lot to a fellow. Ask Jeff Hardy.

6. Lastly, idc if some of Rock's promos were via satellite or used a teleprompter. His promos were still miles past Cena. Add to that the fact that he hasn't cut a promo for the WWE since like 2008 and Cena looks like a punk at this point.

I agree with everything you said. I'd like to say that kurt angle also got a huge push after rock put him over, back in 2000.

Seriously, If the match is a non-title match, I really don't give a damn about the result. But if it's for the wwe title, IMO, THE ROCK MUST WIN. As big as the rock is/was, he never won a world title at wretlemania, he's 0-3 when it comes to world title matches at WM, and I think this will be a great opportunity for rock to FINALLY accomplish this goal infront of his hometown. If vince really appreciate the rock as he said, he should give him the strap at next year's mania. I mean, come on let's face it, he put hhh over in WM 2000 in a match he should've won, (just to make hhh a legitimate champion) after gettin screwed by vince, a year later, he put austin over in his home state after gettin screwed by vince also, to make it a successful comeback. I think austin and hhh at that time REALLY needed that win, but I don't think cena need it that much. He's 5-2 when it comes to world title matches at wm, and like many of you said, going over rock won't do him much, but it will hurt him as a babyface. To be fair, I'd like to see rock winning it on two conditions, first, rock turning heel during their match and cena getting screwed by vince or the UGM or whoever, two, rock going for one last run with the company(fulltime) untill he finally put cena over and pass him the torch at mania 29, and retire for good. In this case everyone would be happy, I also think cena will earn people's respect. After putting ALOT of guys over, I think rock really deserve this.

 

[ULTRASTARZZ]

What are you kidding me? Trust me if the rock loses to cena at wm next year many people including myself will be so ! The Rock doesnt need to lose to cena.Fuck cena! He already is the face of the company and is looked by the wwe as the hulk hogan of this generation so why make him go over the rock.Cena already got over by beating guys like hhh and hbk at wm.
What i find funny is cena says the match between him and rock at wm will be the biggest match in history.Really? Didnt he say that when he faced hhh at wm22 or batista at SS 08.Anyways going back to what i was saying cena beating rocky at wm will be a huge slap in the face to all the loyal attitude era fans.

- If the WWE Championship will be on the line, do you expect a part-time, semi-retired WWE Superstar to hold on to the belt, even for just one day?

 

[itssoeasy123]

- If the WWE Championship will be on the line, do you expect a part-time, semi-retired WWE Superstar to hold on to the belt, even for just one day?

Some people just want to find anyway possible to find some sort of reasoning for The Rock to win, much less win the WWE Championship.

For the love of God, The Rock will not win at Wrestlemania 28.

 

[txyall05]

I'm a fan of both. People are really getting their hate on Cena because he doesn't please them like he does the little kids and girls. Cena WILL beat the Rock. It makes the most sense. Seriously it does, when all hate is put on the side. All you guys who think otherwise are clouded by your hate on John Cena. He may not have Hulk Hogan's charisma, Shawn Michaels performance, Stone Cold's badass attitude or Rock's electricity, but Cena has the attention grabbing ability and the ability to absorb them and still go out there and perform, no matter the hate that's been given, even some very immature disrespectful hate.

WM28 with get the same reaction as 18. Rock will be in the HOF. Will lose to Cena, and we won't see him again in a ring for a while, or maybe never. He's done his time for us, and he's done it in perfection, let's move on. No passing of the torch, the event will just get a huge amount of buys, Vince will be happy, and all of yall will continue to get your hate on the next day, but continue to watch. Unless he turns heel, and all of you will start praising him, hypocrites...

 

[Chris1-16]

Austin was the true star on the team in the 98-2002 run, Rock played a big part, but Stone Cold was the man

The Rock was more popular than Austin by Survivor Series 1999. Despite what revisionist history tells you, The Rock sold more merchandise than him throughout the fall, the fans wanted to see the belt on The Rock more, and the fans were chanting for him more. Austin was obviously still a draw, but he wasn't the draw like he was the year before, that's why the WWF didn't struggle financially after Austin was gone, The Rock had already overtook him in popularity. Also everyone seems to forget that Vince McMahon played a major role for a year and a half of Austin's main event run, and by the end of the summer the Austin-McMahon storyline was pretty much done.

Not at all denying how huge Austin was prior to Rock's face turn, but to say Rock just "played a big part" from the summer of 1999 through the beginning of the brand extension era is beyond ludicrous.

 

[Dolph Ziggler]

cena will pass the torch to cm punk and im not being a troll but once cena leaves i doubt wwe will be pg, because there isn't a big enough superstar that can do pg so well and relate to children! but the worst thing is cena still has 4/5 years left and he will most likely retire once he's 40! but obviously he would have passed the torch long b4 that

 

[iwinulose]

-cena is the face of the wwe, the poster boy, the guy everyone knows. its is conflicting as to who should win, cause if you have all forgotten, the rock truly did leave us high and dry to go make movies, when he was huge. cena is shoved down our throats all the time, but on the other hand he is there every night working his ass off to entertain us. if cena wins we riot... but if he won he would deserve it simply cause the rock jumped ship on us.

-as for passing the torch, austin did that already. if cena quote *pulls the upset of the decade* and wins, both cena and the wwe might actually be a lil more hated. the rock winning the match is best for buisness and it really cant hurt cena cause he is the top guy, he has pretty much nothing to worry about.

 

[Dolph Ziggler]

i agree not only is the rock more popular then cena but all the older fans would loose it and it's in the rock's home town it will be more anti then cena vs cm punk! cena has to loose or i will quit wwe

and the rock didn't leave us high and dry he got burnt out like every wwe superstar! he was in wwe just as long as austin and carried the wwf like cena did with the E! but the rock got burnt out at the end and decided to do more with his life! it's not the rock's fault that he wanted to go after his dream!

 

[RD_21]

Personally I don't think Cena should win. BUT, that's if The Rock really agreed to more than one match. The rock needs to win at Mania, if Cena won then oh big deal Cena won... Then what, Cena is not more over he beat a guy who hasn't wrestled for 7 years, except maybe if they put a 6 stars match.

Rock should win, with a rematch at SS that Cena would win or The Rock could even win it again and then the next year at Mania you have the end of the trilogy with The Rock losing and then REALLY passing the torch to The Rock. To pass a torch you need to have it in the first place. If the Rock is coming back and losing then no ones benefits like I said.

But if the hero struggle than his win will mean much, much more.

 

[steven87gill]

To the mods and admins, i know that there are many rock and cena threads, but i think that this one is different. This is more about the importance of passing the torch. If not, im sorry, and feel free to move it. Which of course you can since you control that, lol.

It is pretty well known that Cena is loved by many fans, and hated by many other fans. As the announcers always point out, cena brings out more emotion than almost any other wrestler in wwe history. His eminent match with the Rock at wrestlemania got me thinking about a reason why. Passing the torch is a long honored tradition for the old guard to get the new blood over. It has happened for as long as there as been wrestling. Hart passed the torch to Austin in their submission match, which is the match that solidified Stone Cold as a true star, and positioned him to become one of the biggest names of all time. Bob Buckland was one of the biggest names in wrestling before Vince took over and created hulkamania. The guy is a true legend, and hopefully will go into the hall of fame once he and vince work out their differences. He made Kevin Nash a main eventer instantly, when he let nash go over him in about 10 seconds. I read that it was Buckland's decision, because he wanted to establish nash. Macho man got DDP over huge by letting him win with the diamond cutter during spring stampede. DDP said that it was macho man's idea to do it that way. And lets not forget Hogan vs the Rock. Now the Rock was already incredibly over with the wwe audience. He was always just behind austin, or ahead of him at times. But i think what made him the man, is his win over hogan at wrestlemania. he defeated hulkamania, and established himself as a true legend. The problem with Cena, is he has not gotten that big a rub. Of course he has beaten HHH and HBK, two true legends of wrestling, and that has established him as the face of the wwe. But he has not gone over one of the three (in my opinion, others will disagree) true icons of the wwe, those being hogan, austin and the rock. I dont think that the torch was ever truly passed to him to be the guy. hbk and hhh made him the face, but i think that a win over the Rock will solidify him as a true icon. I think the reason that the wwe audience does not fully get behind him, or at least one of the reasons, is that he never got this torch. Hogan gave it to the rock, who gave it to lesnar, who then left. Cena never got the torch from the rock to become the next leader of the wwe, even though cena already is, and i think this makes him seem like a false leader in some people's eyes. Notice how it is the adult males, the fans of the wwe during the attitude era, that are against cena.

Of course it is not black and white. Austin never faced hogan, but he became one of the biggest. And HBK was a leader in the wwe. But i think one of the things that Cena is missing to become the legend in more people's eyes, is the torch from the rock, who got it from hogan. it is saying that the rock is saying "you are the new man."

Of course this is all assuming that cena goes over the rock clean at wrestlemania. Which, even though the rock is my favorite guy of all time, and I do not like cena (i do respect him for his love of the business, and as a great guy), is the way that the wwe needs to do this match for the best possible outcome for them.

So while the theory does have holes, what do you guys think? Is this the thing that Cena needs to become more established in some of the older guys' eyes, the people who usually hate cena with a passion? Is the passing of the torch from the Rock the thing that will finally help Cena get over with the other half of the audience, will it only make them hate him more, or am i completely wrong?

4/5 Years ago I'd have said yes, but the torch has already been passed, John Cena is THE MAN, no doubt about it. If you think him pinning The Great One in 2012 cleanly will get him over with the older audience, you are sorely mistaken. But, if this match isn't about passing the torch, then what exactly IS this match about? (apart from making Vincent Kennedy McMahon a shed load of money)


What it's really about is John Cena's psychological issues with this constant love hate relationship with the fan base finally bubbling over, with The Great One being the on the receiving end of 7 years of suppressed anger and frustration at not being universally loved or respected by the fan base. It started with the verbal jousting between Rock & Cena a few years back, and escalated when Rocky returned.

Think of it from John Cena the characters perspective, ‘‘this ass wipe hasn’t given two shits about the fans for seven years, and yet he comes back and gets universally adulated, yet I bust my ass for them night after night, and I still can’t get a god damn fan over the age of seven to like me’’

You see, that’s exactly how he'd turn against the younger fans, by implying that he’s embarrassed by the fact that they're the only ones who like him.

I’d don’t think he’s just going to beat the Rock at Wrestle Mania 27, I think he’s going to beat the living shit out of The Rock at Wrestle Mania 27.

I think the general points that The artist formerly known as Prince Iaukea has been making are 100% bang on the money, but I'm really not sure about this buddy.

If Cena goes over the The Rock, which I've already said several times ought to happen, it's good for Cena and good for wrestling.

Really? Because unless he's turning heel at WM, I'm not really sure how It's good for John Boy or Wrestling. I mean, think about it logically, Cena beats The Rock, The Rock leaves, then what?

 

[jokernaut]

Do you remember Hogan? Exact same thing he used to do and he's STILL the biggest name in Pro Wrestling today. Wrestling ability only counts for so much, charisma and mic ability honestly count for so much more. While I'm not huge on Cena and do think he could improve his moveset, to say he doesn't deserve to be on top because of his lack of wrestling skill is ignorant. So many people have been on top with what seems like charisma alone.

yeah but what u have to remember with hogan is that he did whatever to stay on the top because warrior and macho man had their moments but could never be at the very top like hogan because he had that much power. remember jake the snake doing the ddt to hogan and the crowd went wild? yeah they wanted to see that but because it made hogan look like he would be half loved half hated in that rivalry, they didnt do it. to have cena beat so many top guys is bullshit. it makes the company look bad and thats one of the reasons the ratings have gone down. it is a "wrestling business" and when you look at all the top guys, they always evolved into better wrestlers. even if they arent the best at least they tried. cena hasnt done anything different in years except for that new slam move that is nothing special. he can be at the top but he shouldnt be the dominant when there is plenty of great superstars that the fans want to see pushed

 

[LoudClearVoice]

I don't buy the wrestlemania match as "passing the torch" at all. Rock has been gone for too long. The torch was long passed to John Cena and to a lesser extent, Randy Orton. I'd call it a "passing the torch" match if Rock had been gone for a year or two then came back for one more match.

Cena is already way, way over with a majority of WWE's fanbase as is Orton.

Even if Cena beats the Rock at wrestlemania, it won't unify the fans. The reason being, there's a group of older fans that love the Rock no matter what and they'll hate Cena even more if he beats the Rock.

I'm not a fan of Cena's BUT I will admit that this is his WWE. The torch was passed long ago. He and Orton are the top dogs right now.

 

[PunkNation26]

If it's made into a 2 out of 3 falls match, they'll probably have Rock win that way, and by giving their golden boy a win. I just don't get why Cena losing a match CLEANLY is such a big deal.

 

[sheldonator90]

Apologies if this has already been said, i've not read the full replies, but the rock has already put over 'the next icon'. That man was Brock Lesnar. the problem is that Lesnar didn't stick with the 'E, so now The Rock has to put over Cena. Now, my personal opinion is that Cena is as over as The Rock was when he faced Hogan, but just needs that touch more to solidify him as 'the' man. People may complain about The Rock putting over Cena, but I guess that people complained about Hogan putting over The Rock in the same way

 

[RJJ]

Apologies if this has already been said, i've not read the full replies, but the rock has already put over 'the next icon'. That man was Brock Lesnar. the problem is that Lesnar didn't stick with the 'E, so now The Rock has to put over Cena. Now, my personal opinion is that Cena is as over as The Rock was when he faced Hogan, but just needs that touch more to solidify him as 'the' man. People may complain about The Rock putting over Cena, but I guess that people complained about Hogan putting over The Rock in the same way

What?! Sorry, but that's so untrue. At that time there was no 50% of an arena chanting "Rocky" while the other half chanting "Rocky Sucks" . Don't let the match with hogan fool you, the rock was the fans favourite through out the fued. He was getting bigger pops than hogan, but the difference was "Canada". Hogan is by far the most popular wrestler in canada. They love him as much as they love bret, hell they even love him more. For the rock it is completly the opposite. Ever since he left to do "the scorpion king" he's been getting booed over there. That's also the reason why the wwe decided that rock-hogan II will take place at montreal canada. They wanted to bring heat on the rock as much as they could, canada was the right plac to do that, and hogan was the right opponent.


As far as Rock-Cena, there is even no comparison, Rock is by far the fans favourite. Chicago booed the hell outta cena. Atlanta lol, they didn't even give a crap about the main event(Miz-Cena), they were waiting for the rock to come out and get his revenge. Miami, typical "Let's go Cena"-"Cena Sucks" chants.


Matter of fact, no one complained about hogan putting over rock, because every one knew rock was a worthy, he was indeed an icon, he was there with hogan and austin. With cena, I don't believe a win over rock at this point will get him any higher. He's been the face of the company for so long now, and most of the fans are getting really tired of seeing him on the top, and a win over rock will make the situation even worse. There is a reason why the wwe are a having a tough time to decide the out come of the match.