Why hate The Rock and not Jericho?

[oneleggedman]

Its because the fans loved The Rock more than they did Chris Jericho. Simple.
I say this meaning generally ofcourse but the fact remains there was definitely more of a chink left in the WWE's armour when Dwayne decided, and he has the right to do so believe it or not, to leave the WWE and pursue an acting career, than when Chris' band took off.

Im not comparing their wrestling skill or charisma or workload but rather how much their presence meant to the WWE product. It would be comparable to say, for the time being, Triple H took 5 years off along with Christian to pursue acting. Who do you think would get the bigger reception upon their return and who would garner the most flak from fans whilst away?

 

[nosnoh]

Well Rock gave us...hmmm 7 or 8 years of wrestling? I mean 2003 was hard because of how off and on he was. Then he Left for 8 years except for a few vids.

Chris Jericho was in the business for like 14 years, burnt out and took a break for a year and comes back for 4 more years. 4 real years of wrestling, unlike the rock recently who wrestles only 1 ppv lol.

So who do you think wrestling fans respect more, a guy who wrestled 18 years, or a guy who wrestle 7 or 8 years and the years he took off, he was embarrassed of his wrestling past?

 

[Pedigree1]

as people have already said Jericho never once said he promise to stay!! Jericho doesnt do cheesy via satellite saying he loves us he will never leave plus when jericho leaves you know sooner or later he will be back!! Rock on the other hand as much as i respect the guy hes kinda of well a liar sorta!! He says he loves us he will never leave and what does he do he freakin leaves!! I have more respect for rock if he just said you will see me when you see me!! At least thats honest!! I dont hate jericho nor do i hate rock but i think jericho has more clout for the reasons i stated

 

[SPR*VLN]

I said the same thing in my head, and thought of the same responses that eveyone would say, and they're the same as I'm hearing. The Rock "turned his back"! Jericho comes back . . . Horrible arguement. Because people have been saying The Rock sold out in 05, when he was still there. I just think people are genuine haters that can't stand someone doing better for themselves. People rather see the Rock as a old broken down man wrestling risking his body to please them.

 

[J.J.]

People would have found a reason to dislike The Rock, even had he stuck around all those years. What were they going to do, keep pinning the title on him, how much criticism would that have earned over time? "Rock always has the belt, nobody else gets a chance". He owes nobody anything and at SS he looked better than everyone on the card.

 

[Dagger Dias]

why would Jericho get hailed as a hero by the same people who are upset that the Rock came back and is still around, when he did essentially the same thing with Fozzy.

It is a respect issue. Jericho didn't leave for seven years. He also didn't go through a phase of refusing to acknowledge his wrestling background. The Rock did both of those things and it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Sure I prefer Jericho as a wrestler rather than his work with Fozzy or on Dancing With the Stars. I prefer The Rock to Dwayne Johnson any day as well. What makes it different is how Jericho came back for a second run after a couple of years while still putting over the WWE product and talking about his time in the ring. Dwayne Johnson completely refused to answer to his wrestling name at one point. He gets more heat for leaving than Jericho because of giving WWE and its fans that type of disrespect. I still like The Rock.... Just nowhere near as much as I used to back in the Attitude Era. Return or not, he disrespected the fans and some of his return has felt like sucking up to try to get some of the approval back. Note that those upset with him are in the minority though.

 

[RJJ]

I think one of the things that is often overlooked with Rock is the fact that Vince and the WWE (specifically Johnny Ace) let his contract expire. He wasn't extended or re-signed, and if I remeber correctly it was rumoured he took great offense to that. I think that has more to do with his comparative lack of returns. He is a busy man, but as we saw with WMXX he was willing to return and help. I think that burnt bridge took a long time (and a lot of money) to repair, which is why it took until 2011 to get him back in a significant role and not a hotshot appearance.

...Alongside HHH and stephanie. They thought they could "Move on" without Rock. His contract got expired and he was pretty much pissed off at the fact that they didn't inform him about it. At that time, there was some serious heat btw rock and vince. They've had a meeting, and I remember rock saying afterwards(in an interview), he still consider vince as a "father".


And for all the "call me dwayne" shit, just so you know, vince co-own the name "The Rock".

 

[George Steele's Barber]

It is a respect issue. Jericho didn't leave for seven years. He also didn't go through a phase of refusing to acknowledge his wrestling background. The Rock did both of those things and it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

Except the Rock went out of his way to induct his family members in to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008 thus acknowledging his wrestling legacy and his own wrestling background.

Sure I prefer Jericho as a wrestler rather than his work with Fozzy or on Dancing With the Stars. I prefer The Rock to Dwayne Johnson any day as well. What makes it different is how Jericho came back for a second run after a couple of years while still putting over the WWE product and talking about his time in the ring.

A man can do what he wants to do. Neither guy owes anyone anything. I am not a Hollywood or music insider but I assume that Jericho and Rock's options outside of wrestling are a far cry from one another. Who are any of us to say Jericho would not have done the same thing if he had the same options as The Rock?

Dwayne Johnson completely refused to answer to his wrestling name at one point.

Do people not realize how stupid it would be for a grown man to go around calling himself The Rock outside a wrestling ring? Dwayne Johnson is his name, if a man wants to be called by his own name he should get that respect.

He gets more heat for leaving than Jericho because of giving WWE and its fans that type of disrespect.

These fans don't understand respect, neither man is your daddy and neither owes you anything.

like The Rock.... Just nowhere near as much as I used to back in the Attitude Era. Return or not, he disrespected the fans and some of his return has felt like sucking up to try to get some of the approval back. Note that those upset with him are in the minority though.

Whether it is 7 years or never in the ring again, Rock doesn't owe anyone anything and I have never heard him talk badly about the fans. It is well documented that dealing with Vince isn't the easiest thing in the world to do.

Who among us have had a job where we go back to work occassionaly to revisit with the customers because they were helping to pay your salary at the time? Professional wrestling isn't a church or a neighborhood that people who have found help should feel compelled to give back, it is a profession.

In the end if a famous actor who makes a crapload of money works out a deal and decides he is willing to come back and spend some time entertaining wrestling fans again and you find him entertaining you should be thankful.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

The same people who hate The Rock for leaving were either never fans to begin with or were fans but are the same ones who always ignore this question: What does Dwayne Johnson personally owe you?

Sure I was pissed when The Rock left but I wasn't self-absorbed to the point where I thought he actually owed me more matches or frequent returns. I can look past my own childish nature and admit that anything I wanted from him after he left was out selfishness. People who are unable to see that they are not entitled to anything from their favorite TV show characters, are really screwed up in the head.

 

[Attitude>>>PG]

G.S.B. thank you for enlightening post. Someone has to talk sense into these rock haters and marks. Geez some of these wrestling fans act like if you're a wrestler then you will always be a wrestler and you have no other options and goals in life and if you leave you're a traitor. Get a grip people. There is no more discussion about why you hate the rock or dwayne unless you just don't like him or his gimmick. But don't sit there and post dumbshit like he's a traitor to wrestling, he left us for 7 years, he lied about coming back or wrestling isn't in his heart. You don't see today's bodybuilders talk shit about Arnold do you? Why? Because they respect his legacy he left behind and are proud of his accomplishments in and out of the world of bodybuilding.
Same thing with Dwayne. Outside of the ring he is the most SUCCESSFUL wrestler to make a transition from wrestling live every Monday to acting in Hollywood. Even Hogan couldn't do that with his acting career. Had Vince not acted like a bullheaded idiot and put his ego in check and not let Rocks contract expire (which is insulting btw) they could have had Dwayne show up and wrestle every now and then as well as make movies. Hell he could have made a WWE film or two to help out. Oh btw I like to add is other than the fact that Vince owns half of his name,do you realize how silly it is for a grown man outside of the ring to be called The Rock. He has to be taken seriously as a legitimate and serious actor and he can't be known by his wrestling name. It bad business and in no way disrespectful to the wrestling world.

 

[H33LTurn]

Because before IWC fans speak up they must remove any sort of logic from their arguments. The Rock gave years to the business and when he reached the ideal age for someone to retire from a sport like wrestling, he said I'm gone because there are other things I want to do but I still appreciate what I gained from the WWF. Then he comes back not because hes in need of money, not because he started to become irrelevant in the entertainment scene, but because he wanted to give the fans one more match. The same fans who had kept their damn mouths shut and not once complained about The Rock selling out during these 7 years now feel the need to criticize. I wouldnt be surprised if this time he really does leave and never comes back. Ungrateful fans. Maybe they prefer Jerichos one or two months of wrestling followed by some stupid excuse to leave, followed by denying involvement with WWE and acting likes hes "so over all of that", then repeat. Jericho is really not in good graces with me, hes a smartmass on twitter and doesnt show wrestling fans the respect guys in his position and with his experience usually do. It kind of like the Edge scenario, where I respect him but the fact that he can leave so peacefully and not even show his face until its absolutely necessary makes me feel like hes detached from the sport and the fans.

 

[JohnJohnson]

It's just like being in the military. You initially enlist for a 4-8 year contract and when that's up you have the option to re enlist for how ever many more years or get out. Some people join the military and serve a full 20+ before retiring. Others may only serve 6 years and then get out. Some of them have other goals in their lives, some of them just can't handle the toll it has on their life anymore, some just hate being away from family for extended periods of time.. Are they a traitor for not continuing their service for the rest of their youth? Absolutely not. The fact is they put their lives on the line and in the hands of the government. The same applies to wrestlers. They put their bodies on the line to entertain us and we should appreciate that. Sometimes they have other goals in their lives or need to look out for their future, health wise. They also have families to whom they do have an obligation. To hate on The Rock or any other wrestler for leaving is just insane. Do they need to die or be critically injured in order to walk away?

 

[shanezam203]

I don't think Rock sold out at all, like Jericho leaving Raw because he wanted to tour with his Band, Rock started in WWE and then was called to Hollywood.

Who wouldn't make a movie??? Kane, HHH, Randy Orton, they are all in at least a single movie; IF ratings and money was good I bet they would do the same thing Rock did.

Brock going to UFC or playing Football after WWE; I don't see that as selling out. Rock or Jericho don't have an obligation to stay in WWE anytime past their contract.

 

[moneymaker90]

I don't like that either of them left the business for Hollywood or music, but they are in their full right to do so. The difference between the 2 is that Jericho never "forgot" about wrestling, Jericho never lied to the fans by saying that he was never gonna leave. So the main issue here is one is a big headed liar, the other isn't. Very simple.

 

[shafe_41]

Everybody has said it already... The Rock gave us the impression that he loved wrestling and it was what fueled him day to day. We learned that wasn't the case and he wanted money, fame, and limelight. Now is that the fault of the wrestling fans? Yes it is. In part. A lot (not all) wrestling fans are too deep and too involved in the spectacle and characters on TV, that they lose all objectivity and the simple fact that "The Rock" doesn't actually exist. Dwayne Johnson wanted to go on to bigger and better things. I mean let's get real here people... There is only so many times that winning a prop title means something to you regardless how much you love the business. So he left to go do something different. Something that challenged him more. If he hadn't left, sure he would deliver a lot of epic promos in that 7 year span. Sure he would have given us some damn classic matches. Sure he would have won countless titles. But that runs the risk of getting stale. Stale to the audience. Stale to Dwayne. What else was there for him to accomplish? Assuming winning matches is a real competition... he beat Austin. He beat Hogan. Arguably, those are the 2 best of all time. Face it kiddies... The Rock did it all. And he did it quickly. It was time for Dwayne to move on.

Would I have liked him to stay? Sure. But with that... he runs the risk of serious injury, and not loving what he does anymore. You also have to look at wrestling in that 7 year period. Who the hell was there to feud with? Cena? We're getting that right now with A LOT of build-up. It feels personal. It feels real. This is something wrestling has lacked for a long time. The only guy the Rock really missed in feuding with in that period of time is Edge. I would have loved a Rock/Edge feud. The mic work and them screwing with each other would have been legendary. But to hang around an extra 4-5 years at the least to have 1 great feud with a Hall of Fame guy like Edge? It's not realistic. As fans, you have to step back and look at Dwayne Johnson as Dwayne Johnson and not The Rock. But that's the consensus. As fans, The Rock did turn his back on wrestling and on us. But The Rock isn't real. So how mad can you really be?

That's your difference. Jericho never gave us (as fans) the feeling he'd be back, and stay away for 7 years with the exception of sending in 3 or 4 pre-recorded videos. And we (again... as fans) have been VERY lucky with Jericho staying away from the injury bug and give us A TON of great memories. Jericho is also a different superstar than The Rock. You can move Jericho up and down the card better than anybody in recent memory. And it's believable. You could not have done that with Rock. Could you move the Rock down the card and have a believable feud with Cody Rhodes over the IC Title? Hell no. If you wanted to with Jericho, you could do that. I'm not saying the Rock wouldn't put a guy like Rhodes over, but it's just not realistic in a wrestling mind. Once the Rock hit the pinnacle, he was not a guy you could stick mid-card and have it believable. So that goes in with the Rock not having anything left to prove. In 6-7 years, he put himself IN THE CONVERSATION to be the best of all time. No feuds between 2004-2011 would have moved him any higher in that discussion.

Should the Rock have said to the fans "I will never...ever leave again..." no he shouldn't have. I'm saying he's forgetting the power of the microphone, but I think it does slip his mind. But just remember, he's back and I think he will give us... AT LEAST 3 more matches. He could work with Miz, Punk, and maybe a couple other guys. He's still got it and even in 5-7 years, I think he will still have it to maybe put another guy over that makes a Cena or Orton-like impact. But only time will tell.