The Rock's Biggest Match

[ProWrestlingFan]

Leaving his 3 matches with Steve Austin Which of these 3 matches is The Rock's biggest match and which is your favorite ?

The Rock vs Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 18

Icon vs Icon. After three Rock Bottoms and a People's Elbow, The Rock pinned Hulk Hogan and won the match. After the match, the two shook hands in respect.

The Rock vs Goldberg at Backlash 2003

Goldberg's first match in WWE. Very intense match. Goldberg delivered two spears and a Jackhammer to win the match.

The Rock vs John Cena

Rock won this "Once in a Lifetime" match after giving Cena a Rock Bottom.

 

[The Liar]

It's gotta be his match with John Cena at this year's WrestleMania. The match was announced a full year beforehand, was the main event and was hyped up as the biggest match ever, pitting an era vs. another era.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

The biggest would have to be WM 18 against Hogan. The crowd was just so amped and made the match what it is. Plus Rock got to wrestle as the heel which was a bonus for me because Rock became my favorite wrestler during his heel days in the nation and the corporation.

The best would be against Cena. a good match with a great ending.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

The match against Goldberg is probably the worst Rock match that I have ever seen. Goldberg did nothing, no sold Rock's offense and hit his finishers for the pinfall win. That sort of a win should have come against, I don't know, someone like Jericho or a past his prime Flair. Rock was too big of a star to get decimated like that regardless of whether he is face or heel.

The matches with Hogan and Cena are definately among Rock's three biggest matches ever. On both occasions, it was a once in a lifetime kind of a deal. A clash of the best ever. His third biggest match should be his match against Austin at Mania 17. That PPV and that clash was the highpoint of the Attitude Era.

But if you want me to pick something else, I would go with Rock vs HHH at Backlash 2000. That was Rock's first title win as a face( probably) and the atmosphere for the event was absolutely electric. The booking was perfect with the cards being stacked against Rock and Austin showing up for the first time after his car accident to clean house and Rock pinning HHH after chasing the title for a long time. I think that match was one of the most important matches of Rock's career as it showed that he could really fight against all odds and fight till the very end. He was already over but this match made him look tougher than he had ever looked before.

 

[Headman]

The Rock vs Cena did the most buys so I'd assume that makes it his biggest match. Rock / Hogan gained steam after the actual match, but nobody going into it knew how big it was going to be. That's why it didn't close the show. And Rock / Austin happened so many times that it lost a lot of it's luster. With Rock vs Cena we had a movie star in a match that we thought we'd never see against the biggest star of this generation. Throw in a year long build, a red hot Miami crowd and a decent match (I still don't like the finish lol) and you have the biggest match of the Rock's career.

 

[theBec2101]

Has to be Rock vs Hogan. Because Hogan was still going stronge. Cena and Rock would of been more importent if Rock was still wrestling full time. When Hogan vs Rock it was not only the passing of the torch so to say but hogan lasted for so long and wanted to see if he still had it. The Cena one didnt seem as importent as the WWE was trying to sell it as. They just talked shit every now and then. Im not even going to mention the other match it shouldnt even be in the list.

 

[RJJ]

Rock-Hogan. Without a doubt. 68,000 strong going bannana from start to finish. I don't think we'll ever see something like that again. That match took Rock to the elite level, or just like hogan said "It took him from great to greatness".


Rock-Cena was big, but It wasn't as big as the hogan one. Why? Simple answer: Cena is nowhere near that level of stardom.

 

[klunderbunker]

It's certainly not Rock vs. Goldberg. I reviewed that show a few days ago and I forgott hat was the main event. I can tell you the main event for any No Mercy but I didn't remember that Rock fought Goldberg at Backlash 2003.

I'm going to go with Rock vs. Cena. The Hogan match is one that sounds huge on paper, but it really didn't do much for Rock. After that he disappeared for a few months, I believe to make The Rundown. Hogan went on to win a world title the next month, and all anyone really remembers is Hogan's big reaction. Rock didn't really get bigger because of that and the match was pretty much just ok.

Rock vs. Cena was a great match and it had a much better build. They spent a year jabbing at each other whereas Rock vs. Hogan had about 5 weeks and something about a semi-truck running over an ambulance. Cena looked like a superman because he had to get the Rock to come out of retirement to give him a real challenge. He went on to feud with Lesnar while Rock went away again. I'm still not sold on Rock going over, but it didn't make me furious.

I'm going to go with Cena, but I can see an argument for Hogan here too.

 

[SinCityBlitz]

Rock vs Cena was the biggest. The buyrate says it all. My favorite is Rock vs Hogan. The fans really made that a fun match. The Rock really carried Hogan that night.

Rock-Hogan. Without a doubt. 68,000 strong going bannana from start to finish. I don't think we'll ever see something like that again. That match took Rock to the elite level, or just like hogan said "It took him from great to greatness".


Rock-Cena was big, but It wasn't as big as the hogan one. Why? Simple answer: Cena is nowhere near that level of stardom.

If Rock vs Hogan was bigger why was the buyrate smaller? I don't like Cena either but to say he's not near that level of stardom is crazy. He is not bigger than Rock or Hogan but not many wrestlers are. I can only think of one.

Another thing is that Hogan vs Rock really didn't do anything for the Rock. I agree with Klunder. Rock was already huge before that match and was just as huge after it.

I have no idea why Goldberg is even on here. That match was garbage. HBK can't make Goldberg look good.

 

[Dre Guevara]

Rock vs. Hogan I is definitely one of The Rock's biggest matches with the whole Icon vs. Icon scenario which ended with Hogan passing the torch....something he should've done back in 92 with a certain wrestler from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. anyhoo, another match I would pick would have 2 be Rock vs. Austin @ WM XIX Rocky finally got the win over Stone Cold after losing their 1st 2 Mania encounters. I didn't get 2 see his match against Cena yet, so the verdict isn't in on that one until I watch it

 

[GrandSword]

I think the interesting thing for me coming into this thread and the points brought up, is that I just think that the Rock wasn't really defined by his matches, much like Hogan really. It is the moments in time that he was a part of and not really the matches. Like KB mentioned, all three of these matches didn't really hold any ture long term effect for the Rock. He lost to Goldberg, he beat Hogan, only for him to go away and same with Cena. What the Rock will be known for is his electrifying presence.

Personally I thought bell to bell the Rock was poor, and although was very athletic he over sold everything and had superman comebacks that were on Cena levels of rediculousness.

BUT

There was no denying in his prime when he walked into an arena, the crowd going apeshit for him. (except in the match against Hogan when the reaction was all about the Hulkster even though he tried to kill Rock with a truck).

So in saying that I would have to say his matches with Mankind who made him look like a super tough ego manaical bastard legit Champion, were the matches that made him blow up and make him as big as he was. And then him working with Vince and Austin got him to the next level.

 

[cult_of_icecream_bar]

I actually have a different choice.Brock vs Rock summerslam 2002.Rock holding the record of the youngest ever WWE champion,going up against a man who was legit even before he got in to the MMA,who dominated everyone including the great one himself after WMX8,the beast,brock lesnar.This match was a another pass of torch.Brock became the new and the youngest champion ever and the new face of the E.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

"You talk about headlining, maineventing, Wrestlemania after Wrestlemania after Wrestlemania. Well Hulk Hogan, the Rock says how do you feel about headlining one more Wrestlemania with THE ROCK!"

Classic stuff. I'd say that was the biggest, since Rock was facing the most famous wrestler in history.

 

[RJJ]

If Rock vs Hogan was bigger why was the buyrate smaller? I don't like Cena either but to say he's not near that level of stardom is crazy. He is not bigger than Rock or Hogan but not many wrestlers are. I can only think of one.

Another thing is that Hogan vs Rock really didn't do anything for the Rock. I agree with Klunder. Rock was already huge before that match and was just as huge after it..

Cena is a huge star, but you can't really compare him to guys like Hogan, Rock, or Austin for that matter. These guys are in the class of their own. They transcended the industry. They became pop culture icons. As far as the buyrate goes, Cena's been headlining WM for the past 8yrs..I'm wondering why they never reached that number of buyrates before Rock made his return...The point is, Rock is the main reason why the numbers were that high. Oh, and by the way, Hogan was passed his prime when he clashed with Rock. Also, the build up for Rock-Hogan lasted for only one month(With Rock missing 2 weeks in a row).

 

[HBsam31]

For me it is Hogan/Rock. That match was completely off the charts, and I don't think we will ever see a crowd reaction like that again. Hogan tries to run the Rock over with a big rig, and the crowd goes completely crazy for him. The match was so much bigger than Rock/Cena that it's hard to even mention the two matches in the same sentence.

 

[reynolsg]

Re. why there were more buys for WM28 (1.21. million) compared to WM18 (850,000 I believe).

Back in 2002, WWE only made customers in North America pay for pay-per-views, so all the other markets that they now sell into (such as Ireland/UK, my market) got the shows for free. I think it was Wrestlemania XX that was the first one that was international.

This explains the whole "Domestic" versus "international" breakdown of buys.

You can bet your bottom dollar that WM28 did not do 850k domestic.

That being said, I would still say the Cena match is "bigger". It did bigger business, had a bigger crowd, a bigger build and was built up so well. The match delivered for me too, so I would say the Cena match, as great as Rock-Hogan was.