Ladies and gentlemen, the following public service message is brought to you by your friends from D-Generation X, who would like to remind each and every one of you that if you're not down with that, we've got two words for you... about having a beef with the Rock.
"You know, the thing about that is, he's not around. It doesn't help morale when the guy goes right from his limo to the dressing room to the dressing room to the ring. He's very bourgeois Hollywood."
"He came back, he did WWE Raw after [his pre-Wrestlemania cameos]. He said he was never gonna leave. And the next time we saw him is a month later. Yeah, it does bother me. A little hello would have been nice. He could have run by with his own entourage."
"I have my beef with John Cena, and I have my things that I don't like Cena, but you know what? I try to tell him everyday. For The Rock to criticize, come on."
"I can't say [Rock's a diva]. At least the WWE Divas say hi to me in the halls."
Oh snap on that last one, lol.
Seriously, though, I've felt all along that Rock is the real heel here in terms of how he's acted and the lack of substance to his side of the debate (he still has not bothered to come up with a "justification" for leaving the WWE high and dry for seven years) and it's sad that he's getting a pass on it just because of the continuing irrational unjustifiable hatred for Cena. I think it says something that no less than the next face down the chain from the top, beloved by all, is on Cena's side of the argument, and that should make everyone think for a moment. I doubt it'll happen, though.
smark/net attack Advisory System Status is: Elevated (Holds; June 18, 2006) While the switch from Cena to RVD should alleviate some complaints, the inevitability of the belt's return to Cena (note where Summerslam is this year) and the poor initial showing by the new ECW are enough to keep the indicator where it is for now. The pieces are in place, though, especially on RAW, for improvements to be made to the IWC's psyche in the near future.
The Rock's only mistake last spring was uttering that "I'm never leaving" line. That created the impression that he was going to be much more of a regular on WWE programming, which was never intended to be the case and had it not been for Rock getting the itch after being in front of a live audience, his obligations with WWE would've ended at Wrestlemania 27.
That being said, parroting the "Cena is here everyday" line is somewhat chintzy on Punk's behalf, even if I get his point. Punk is a dyed-in-the-wool pro wrestler and I'm sure it offends him that Rock basically left WWE behind and is only now looking back because it's a good business move.
Rock's "side of the debate" is one of those things they can't acknowledge on television --- he's having a great time as a movie star, making tons more money, it's safer on his body and he's grateful to have left WWE behind. If he outright acknowledges this on TV, it does indeed sound heelish, and the fans certainly don't want to boo the beloved icon back after a long absence. It's a weird parallel to 10 years ago, when Hogan was the beloved returning icon they actually tried to make the heel against the Rock, who was the face of the company that a portion of the fanbase was turning against.
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." --- Bart Giamatti, on baseball
Well, to be honest wouldn't *ALL* of them have left if they got the movie deals/career Rock got the chance to pursue? Cena himself wouldn't have left if "The Marine" somehow hit box office gold?
The thing with Rock and his persona, he left WWE on a pretty long run of being a loud-mouthed disrespectful face that did borderline heelish promos. All those times running down Coach or Hermie backstage (or even Foley) wasn't exactly "Being a Star".
"I'm never leaving" was a poor choice of words. But "I'll never deny my heritage as a sports entertainer again" is hard to put in a soundbite. But Rock's not heeling primarily because he came back to re-engage this audience, not to alienate them.
(Oh yes, there's a point in Punk hitting Rock for acting 'Hollywood' backstage, Rocky should know better than any celebrity what the protocol is. OTOH, if that promo about his day leading up to last week's Raw appearance is accurate, if were Punk I'd probably cut him some slack, especially since he's the guy helping build a bigger pool for my Survivor Series PPV bonus.)
Everyone seems to be taking the "You would've done the same thing" tact in defending Rock. I don't think anyone (including Punk) wants to deny him his fame or make him think he doesn't belong. He's simply saying that Rock doesn't mingle at all with any of the talent and criticizes Cena while he's away in Hollywood.
Sure, go ahead, have a great Hollywood career, come back when you want, but have a little frickin' respect for the guys in the locker room. According to Punk, it doesn't seem like he has much.
Punk has every right, and then some, to criticize the Rock for acting the way he has. I agree with Texas Kelly that Rock looks more like the heel in this instance.
The thing is after being there live, you could tell Rock being around helped sell that show. The fans were cheering for Punk as was I before the start of the show, but if Rock showed up that place would have exploded. Also, Rock being at Survivor Series is going to help Punk be a star just by the giant buyrate I expect it will bring in. Punk has had two great moments this week and the fans love him. So, in a weird way, Punk will probably owe Rock a lot just for the fans tuning into see Rock while getting Punk.
As long as Rock is not holding anyone down, I really don't care about the backstage. Rock beating Miz is mute since Cena beat both of them two weeks before by himself. As far as I am concerned they were already buried by Cena and his promo last night did not help. Would it kill him to say hi to Punk and the boys, no, but he is also on a tight schedule where he is contracted to do a multimillion dollar movie. If he went to MSG and then flew out to New Orleans that night to shoot Monday morning, it sounds like a rather tight schedule even though all of us think the movie is going to suck as much as the first one did.
I also think KJames is also on target.
(edited by lotjx on 22.11.11 0749) The Wee Baby Sheamus.
Twitter: @realjoecarfley its a bit more toned down there. A bit.
Originally posted by Texas Kelly(Dwayne Johnson acts too Hollywood for the WWE wrestling ring, says CM Punk)
Let me fix that:
(Dwayne Johnson will make John Cena a lot of money, and I'd like to get in on that action, says CM Punk)
And a bit of:
(Dwayne Johnson is headlining Wrestlemania as long as he's healthy, and should John Cena manage to get hurt, don't go throwing money at, say, a Shawn Michaels when your ol' pal Punk can jump right in there.)
I think we're seeing, via his most recent interviews, that - much like Cena is the guy who does the bulk of the charity work for them, Miz handles certain TV appearances and Sheamus gets sent to do stuff in Europe and get slimed on Nickelodeon or whatever they'll eventually have him doing - Punk has assumed his role as an external face of the company, and that he's out there to bait the cranks like us and the people who stopped watching but don't have the self control to completely walk away. It's a public voice they've been missing, and he's obviously very good at it.
The Rock knows who everyone backstage is. As we saw on RAW, in the post-match footage in MSG, The Rock clearly knows who Zack Ryder is. Maybe Punk should get himself a YouTube show if he wants The Rock's attention.
The Rock knows who everyone backstage is. As we saw on RAW, in the post-match footage in MSG, The Rock clearly knows who Zack Ryder is. Maybe Punk should get himself a YouTube show if he wants The Rock's attention.
This is really absurd reasoning, John. Whether he knows who everyone backstage is or doesn't, (and him knowing woo woo woo doesn't even remotely prove that) he should be shaking hands with everyone. That's just the protocol.
That being said, Punk, as Dionysus said in an above post, could very well be working.
Originally posted by DionysusI get the vibe that Punk is just working people. Are there any reliable reports from backstage that Dwayne was unapproachable?
Meltzer basically said that Rock is the LAST guy who'd refuse to shake hands. I remember hearing some story from his last run long ago about how he was known for making time to chat with everyone, no matter their position on the card.
Meltzer does seem to have a friendly relationship with Rock, so take that for what it's worth. But I saw the Punk thing and my first thought was "he's angling for a match."
And clearly, as a guy on the internet who doesn't know any of these people personally, I'm the one who'd know.
I don't see any possible way this ISN'T a work. Yeah yeah, I know CM Punk is Mr. Edgy, Mr. Anti-Establishment, Mr. No Holds Barred. But if what he said was legit, I'd say there's a pretty good chance he'd be ruffling The Rock's feathers, and I'm not sure how much Vince McMahon would appreciate that. Punk has to be smarter than that.
Originally posted by DionysusI get the vibe that Punk is just working people. Are there any reliable reports from backstage that Dwayne was unapproachable?
Meltzer basically said that Rock is the LAST guy who'd refuse to shake hands. I remember hearing some story from his last run long ago about how he was known for making time to chat with everyone, no matter their position on the card.
Meltzer does seem to have a friendly relationship with Rock, so take that for what it's worth. But I saw the Punk thing and my first thought was "he's angling for a match."
And clearly, as a guy on the internet who doesn't know any of these people personally, I'm the one who'd know.
Dave said on the podcast that it wasn't so much a refusal to shake hands as it was the Rock arrived late to the show (because he had to fly in from New Orleans), he had to spend time in his limo learning his lines, and he had to leave the instant the show was over, so he didn't really have the chance to shake hands. (Presumably he was more personable at Survivor Series.)
The Big Bossman raised the briefcase.
Go Pack Go! (10-0, 1st NFC North) Let's Go Riders! (5-13. At least we got the #1 pick; can we draft Andrew Luck?)
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Originally posted by ScottyflamingoI just hope they don't do Cena/Punk/Rock. Three way matches suck as main events.
I disagree.
Triple H/Shawn Michaels/Chris Benoit, World Heavyweight Title, WM20.
While the match was certainly awesome, the main story was Benoit finally winning the title and thus Michaels' feud with H could've waited. His inclusion in the match wasn't that necessary.
My side is the side of love, peace and submachine guns.
Originally posted by ScottyflamingoI just hope they don't do Cena/Punk/Rock. Three way matches suck as main events.
I disagree.
Triple H/Shawn Michaels/Chris Benoit, World Heavyweight Title, WM20.
While the match was certainly awesome, the main story was Benoit finally winning the title and thus Michaels' feud with H could've waited. His inclusion in the match wasn't that necessary.
The match was awesome but it was the exception that proved the rule. There hasn't been one triple threat anywhere close to as memorable since. And as exceptions go, let's face it, that particular match is sort of ruined now and probably shouldn't be raised as an example.
Which bring to another point: one can only get good by having an extensive program with the best in the business. Austin started his career with an extended feud with his mentor Gentleman Chris Adams. He either had to get good or get out of there.