The Rock Returns or CM Punk Shoots?

[alexikosalov]

Internet smarks will go with Punk. They're wrong. Rock's return drew one million buys for WrestleMania... and all he did was host. He's about to have the most hyped WrestleMania main event in at least a decade, so he wins. Punk's moment was awesome, and I loved the speech, but The Rock is big money. Punk isn't near Rock's level, so it didn't make as big of an impact. Rock is a bigger deal, plain and simple.

The question isn't who is the bigger deal. And the answer isn't "the guy who made WWE more money".

If it is, then we can also put to rest the endless "Attitude Era vs. the PG Era" argument, and shut this whole site down today.

WrestleMania buy-rates from the Attitude Era (96-2001):

WrestleMania XII (1996)
Main Event: Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels
1.2 buyrate (480,000 buys)

WrestleMania XIII (1997)
Main Event: Sycho Sid vs. The Undertaker | Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin
0.77 buyrate (308,000 buys)

WrestleMania XIV (1998)
Main Event: Shawn Michaels vs. Steve Austin
2.3 buyrate (920,000 buys)

WrestleMania XV (1999)
Main Event: Steve Austin vs. The Rock
2.32 buyrate (928,000 buys)

WrestleMania XVI (2000)
Main Event: The Rock vs. Triple H vs. The Big Show vs. Mick Foley
2.35 buyrate (940,000 buys)

WrestleMania XVII (2001)
Main Event: Steve Austin vs. The Rock
2.18 buyrate (872,000 buys)

Not one of them over 1 million buys. But Wrestlmania 27 did - during the PG era. Does that mean if smarks say the Attitude Era was THE era in WWE history, would they be wrong?

The question is simple: now that we're far enough removed from both, which moment stands as THE moment of 2011?

I understand the question to be more about personal reflection than a banking lesson. So I will say CM Punk. First and foremost, he actually wrestles. Secondly, what he did was fresh and new, exciting and edgy. The Rock just does the same things he's always done. Yes, it's fun. But it does not stand out at me as THE moment of the year when I've seen it all before.

 

[Ortonmaniac]

Punk by far! Im so over The Rock. Each time he comes on he gets more and more stale to me. He says the same ole shit, Im gonna kick your monkey ass, for the millions and millions of people, this and that aww. I think it was a sign last night, I know a promo on the screen isnt nothing to crazy over but, the crowd was dead. The part where he said something along the lines Miz Truth see what happens when he meet me face to face rather than coward shots from behind. After he said that he took a few secs for crowd applause and there was nothing. I know it was taped and when they give big statement or something they pause for the crowd and nope nothing for that.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

If we're strictly talking moment VS moment, I'd have to say The Rock's return was the bigger deal of the two. If we're discussing which moment had a bigger effect on the storylines, then I'd still have to say The Rock's return since after he came back, he and Cena had the war of words for a few months and so obviously outshined the rest of every RAW in which either had a response.

CM Punks shoot was impactful for about a month and really only seems to be affecting himself rather than a number of people around him. I mean if we're being honest, R-Truth calling out all of the "Lil Jimmies" for weeks was an awfully close step towards a shoot that broke the fourth wall.

 

[I_Like_All_Wrestling]

It depends upon how you look at it, as weird as that sounds.

Short term for viewers, probably The Rock.

Short term for stories, CM Punk. The Rock is in it with Cena. That's it. Punks shoot and re-signing has influenced the direction of stories and cemented him as a top guy. He has an effect on multiple people story directions.

Short terms in the media. You'd think The Rock, but I don't recall seeing him on shows or in interviews talking about WWE. CM Punk was on Jimmy Kimmel, he was on ESPN, he's been in a ton of major media.

Long term it should be CM Punk. Ideally he's around for years, and we recently heard rumors that he became the top selling guy in merchandise. If WWE made a DVD of 2011 I'm sure they would put The Rocks return as the top moment of 2011. But overall, and they know this internally, would you rather have The Rock for 2 PPVs and 5 RAWs over one year, or would you rather have CM Punk for 6 years?

In the WWE Universe it will be shown that The Rock is the moment of the year, but CM Punk is the actual moment of the year in importance.

 

[Captain Morgan Freeman]

If i was to pick between the two on which was my standout moment i would have to say CM Punks shoot promo did it for me. While i marked out when the Rock came back i could never really bring myself to believe he was coming back for good. Him agreeing to come back to give the fans a historic match at Wrestlemania is nothing short of a miracle and is more then any wrestling fan expected of him upon his return. He will unfortunately be gone again after Wrestlemania which is one of the reasons i picked the shoot as the better moment.

While The Rocks return was the (brief) comeback of one of WWE's greatest wrestlers, Punk's shoot promo could well be the point where a future great was born. The shoot solidified Punk in the main event and it's safe to say he's going to stay there for a long time. The forums here went crazy when the shoot happened with everyone giving their own opinion on weather it was a work or not. The fans loved every minute of it, it was different it was unpredictable. The Cena haters now have their own guy to root for which can start a two face rivalry as big as The Rock and Stone Cold. Money in the bank will not be the last brilliant match between the two trust me. Punk has the ball now and im confident he can run with it and give us many entertaining matches to boot.

The Rocks return will give us one great match, Punks shoot could give us many great matches down the line. Isn't this the time of the youth movement after all?

 

[mrpops]

Both were amazing, but im going to have to give it to CM punk overall simply because he actually wrestles and entertains me every week with his speeches/rants.

Sure, Rocks "return" was amazing and i loved it....but he actually didnt stay...so it kills it.

Punks speech is a 10/10, rocks return is a 11/10, but punk stayed and rock didnt so punk wins.

Plus that 3 hour ass kissing rock special left a horrible taste in my mouth. Could vince suck the rocks cock any harder?! LMAO

 

[The Crock]

The Rock's return.

Look, I'm a big CM Punk fan, his promo was stellar -- But he didn't do what The Rock did. Rock came back after 7 years, set up this year's WrestleMania AND next year's. That's not an easy thing to do, nor is leading WrestleMania to 1 million buys (probably for a second year in a row too). As awesome as Punk's promo was, for his career especially, it didn't stand out as THE moment. Sure, in the long run it may have a larger impact (depending on how long Punk can sustain this status as being one of the top guys), but for this year, it's Rock. Easily.

That's not meant to discredit Punk's promo, as it goes down as one of my favorite promos of all time, but when The Rock returned... It was special. When I think about it I still mark out a little bit, the novelty of Punk's moment has worn off. It's not very often that one of wrestling's all time greats returns.

 

[keehlnate]

Another thing to consider is the longevity of the moment. 5 years from now, no one is going to remember Punk's "shoot" from 2011 other than diehard wrestling/CM Punk fans. I can assure you that EVERYONE is going to remember that The legendary Rock returned, IN PERSON, to the WWE after a 7 year absence (in which he had previously said he'd never come back).

Not so fast. If Punk would still be main-eventing at that time I'm sure people would definitely remember 5 years ago, when it all started. As for the Rock, do you think people would bother to remember his 'return' if after wrestlemania he will be out again and making movies?

 

[Firehouse1983]

For me, it's like this:

Money/market-wise: The Rock

Story/Buzz-wise: CM Punk.

CM Punk made me actually CARE what's going on in WWE today. I really haven't been watching for the better part of 6 years now..and after his shoot happened, I became a CM Punk mark, for sure. So, Punk wins it for me.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The Rock's return is the bigger moment of the two because not only was it more shocking, but it also helped push Wrestlemania 27 into the one million range for PPV buys when the show itself was among the bottom 5 Wrestlemania's. Finally, he set up a dream match with Cena for next year right afterwards. It doesn't matter how much Punk's shoot promo might have helped his career, that moment doesn't come close to The Rock's return. It gave us an interesting angle and a new main eventer, but that's not as much impact as a legend returning after nearly ten years for a bigger angle.

 

[JWGunslinger]

Very close but I have to say it was The Rock's return and hosting Wrestlemania 27. Both were huge moments no doubt and both of them had a major impact as now because of these two events, Rock is going to be competing at Survivor Series & Wrestlemania 28 and CM Punk is bigger than ever. I personally enjoyed what Punk did more simply because it was something new that nobody had ever seen before, we've all seen Rock be the main event and main money drawer but never had CM Punk been bigger than this year and it was not just short lived fame, his success this year is going to carry over into 2012 and stay with him the rest of his career. But at the end of the day it is still Rocky who reigns supreme here with his amazing ability to bring those fans in like few have ever done.