The Official WWE / NXT Discussion Thread *May Contain Spoilers*

[crownsy]

Rock was so bad on that promo and Punk so good that Punk may start getting face pops.

 

People complain about Cena, but at least Cena can cut a serious promo.

 

I disagree, Punk was better on the mic, but id didn't think rock was bad. Rock was rock. This was his promo work when he was in the WWE, over the top making fun of people which gets over with the crowd interspersed with serious segments.

 

And he did that well, Cena could take a lesson. In between doing his typical rock stchik, he made sure to call punk's reign incredible and put punk over as a dangerous superstar (don't think I don't know how bad you are, you laid me out colder than a block of ice, ect)

 

I say Cena could take a lesson because his promos against heels give them zero creditability. See last weeks "crap on dolph" promo. Rock made fun of punk, of course, but he made sure, several times during the promo, to acknowledge that punk is a serious threat and competitor and reaffirm it's all about the title to rock. Cena never does that in between his poopy jokes, and the title often seem secondary to his character getting a laugh with his 6th grade humor.

 

So yes, Rock being goofy was goofy, like it always was during his career, but I thought the promo was great between the two of them, made me wanna see thier match, and had better intensity than any promo cena, orton, or the like has been able to pull off with Punk.

 

My one complaint is Rock should have stayed in serious mode when responding to Punk's final salvo, prior to the rock bottom.

[infinitywpi]

I liked my booking better.

 

That said... if we get Barrett/Steamboat at Royal Rumble, I'll be happy. Or even on Raw. I mean, it's been a couple years since the last time he wrestled on TV, but he sure seems like he's stayed in shape. Better him than Flair.

 

I also liked "See, he's got you chanting about ice cream just like I did last year!"

 

Between Cena, Ziggler, Rock, and Punk, a lot of promos seemed to be focused on discussing the problems with how other characters are booked. I keep wondering on if the writers are revolting.

[Nathers7]

"Your arms are just too short to box with God"

 

Punk was on another level when he went on his tirade, great to watch.

 

Cena vs. Ziggler was bizarrely booked, why have Ziggler lose clean even after Langston interfered?

[Minarin]

I enjoyed the Rock/Punk segment. I unfortunately never got to watch wwe between 1994 and 2004 so never saw the whole rock/austin thing as it happened. Rock and Punk have got me interested in their match.

 

Barrett vs Steamboat would be nice to see but has Steamboat fully recovered from his health issues, if so, there could be a mini fued there as Barrett and Nexus attacked Steamboat as well.

[bigtplaystew]

The Rock was The Rock. Came out. Did his act. Did fine. It wasn't terrible. I said the same thing year. The Rock does what the Rock does. And it's fun in small doses.

 

But Punk held court for 10 minutes and made the WWE Universe hate him, and somewhat hate itself in the process. It was a very creative, unique promo that I haven't heard a thousand times before, whereas the Rock...

 

 

Honestly though, I think it's cute that the IWC is all on Punk's jock on this one. I'm not knocking you guys. I'm reading interesting thoughts and opinions here so far. I'm talking about the memeverse and the smark crowd in general here. They hated Cena no matter what he did. Even though he as well held his own against the Rock. The Rock came out and did great his first few nights back, but The Rock was also allowed to go into childish PG-13 territory which had live audiences ensnared but the TV audiences were a little lukewarm with it. When Cena was a bit more "unchained" I think he not only held his own but on a rare few nights here and there actually outdid the Rock.

[Teh_Showtime]

Yes Rock got clearly outdid against Cena too

 

for the same reasons as last night. Cena was pretty much serious and Rock talked about Cena as much as he talked about twitter and genitalia

[djthefunkchris]

I was so worried they were going to go with Ryback vs Rock when I finally had the chance to watch the show.

 

"The Great One" vs. "Punkeye the sailorman!" Honestly I liked both promo's, and strongly agree with Crownsy about Rock's promo. I've never been a huge fan of The Rock, but the points Crownsy made are "rock" solid in my opinion. I can't help rooting for Punk on this one though. Would like to see a huge twist with him winning, instead of what we all "know" is going to happen.

 

All my life I've always been more of a fan of the bad guys. The only guy I can think of that I liked more as a good guy was Jimmy Snuka for some reason, and I've always been a fan of Ricky Steamboat. These days I try to stay more objective. I didn't really get into internet stuff til' after 2000, and so never knew there was such a huge support for people like The Rock (or Stunning Steve Austin) til' I joined this forum to be honest (around the release of TEW2005 I believe). Never really dug Chris Jericho til' after hearing people's opinions here, that seemed to be genuine more then "fanboy" stuff. Try to see everything people point out and weigh on the validity I actually see on the shows. More times then not, I can see it.

 

I never felt The Rock was any better then Cena in the ring... I felt Cena actually carried him in their match (just about the whole feud). I know I'm alone in that opinion, and only stating it to show where I'm coming from. I've always thought him to be the happy go lucky joke maker at everyone else's expense, and never really thought most of it was that funny.

 

I'm a Punk fan, so it's hard for me to be objective, but I can see what Rock did with that promo, and I'm impressed, to the point I can't believe I didn't catch it when he did it with Cena. He did though, I remember now. I guess I'm paying more attention to this one then I did that one. I'm just going to end my post by saying The Rock has gained new respect from me, that wasn't there before. The Rock is starting to win me over as an actual fan.

[Teh_Showtime]

I never felt The Rock was any better then Cena in the ring... I felt Cena actually carried him in their match (just about the whole feud). I know I'm alone in that opinion, and only stating it to show where I'm coming from. I've always thought him to be the happy go lucky joke maker at everyone else's expense, and never really thought most of it was that funny.

 

No you're not alone. Cena also got the best of him on the mic last year and carried their match when Rock was sucking wind 10 minutes into it.

 

He's always been amazingly average in the ring and while people complain about Cena he at least has added moves while you can only count about 3 moves outside of his signature moves for rock.

 

Entertainment value is an entirely different thing, the dude practically pisses charisma, but in terms of his actual work it's far from special.

[TakerNGN74]

I never felt The Rock was any better then Cena in the ring... I felt Cena actually carried him in their match (just about the whole feud). I know I'm alone in that opinion, and only stating it to show where I'm coming from.

 

You are not alone on this man just like The_Showtime said, I too thought that Cena did much better with his promos than the Rock did when they were leading up to their match last year (especially the one where he pulled out his old school rapper gimmick). Last year at Mania was the first time I actually found myself legitimately cheering for Cena to win a match because of who he was up against and he lost and I was very disapointed. Cena carried him to a above average match and lets face it Cena did all of the work in that match just so that the Rock could win and not look like he was out of Cena's league (Rock in his prime would be no comparison to Cena but this is Rock way past his prime).

 

The fact that they are probably going to give the belt to the Rock at this point is just plain stupid. If Punk is going to lose the title he should lose it to a guy who actually will stay around. If Rock wins the title then the holder of that title wont be around every week which wouldn't be a great idea. At this point The Rock is worse than Hulk Hogan ever was. We all know that Hogan was famous for coming back and saying that he wanted to win (against Michaels) but that match wasn't for a title and even though he recently said he wanted to be the TNA Champion the TNA title isn't looked at in the same way that the WWE Title is. The fact that Rock is even getting this match makes me sick because he did nothing (except for defeating Cena which is huge but not enough to warrent him a title oppertunity) to earn it.

 

Anyways that does it for my long rant, it's probably the longest post I have posted in this thread but I felt that it needed to be said.

[Nathers7]

He draws more than anyone else can, the prospect of Rock vs. Punk is appealing to casual fans, add in on top of the Royal Rumble and the PPV will have a great buyrate. I'm not a big fan of the guy either but his presence is a financial boost for WWE, without a doubt they're going to cash in on it, they're a business at the end of the day.

[Teh_Showtime]

He draws more than anyone else can, the prospect of Rock vs. Punk is appealing to casual fans, add in on top of the Royal Rumble and the PPV will have a great buyrate. I'm not a big fan of the guy either but his presence is a financial boost for WWE, without a doubt they're going to cash in on it, they're a business at the end of the day.

 

ratings were not moving last year on the raws when he was advertised vs the ones when he wasn't in the weeks leading to wrestlemania

 

sure he's a draw right now but where is he the other 9 months of the year?

[Tha Black Phenom]

He's out filming blockbuster movies... still being a draw. He has transcending popularity & is able to make a horde of defunct wrestling fans tune into a product they deem abysmal. That's what.

 

It's not even just a business move, millions of fans have also been clamoring for this for years.

 

For years when The Rock was gone, all you would see on Youtube and forums and blogs is hopeful wrestling fans wishing someone *like* The Rock would come back and A) slap the taste out of Cena's unfunny mouth, b) win the title "we need tha attitude era back guyz1!!"

 

Rock or no Rock, there's still gonna be a glass ceiling in the WWE and someone like Cena would've gotten the title shot at the Rumble anyway... okay or since this is the Rumble, it would've been a flip coin between a main-eventer and an upper midcarder on the rise getting a passive title shot. Rock wouldn't hold the title for more than two months maybe and imagine the rub upon who HE drops it to... this talk about deserving things comes up and yet, people don't see that much ahead? Surprising.. or then again maybe not

[Teh_Showtime]

yes Cena really needs more rub

 

How can you possibly think anybody else will be the one to beat him?

[Tha Black Phenom]

Because I'm open to possibilities, because I hope they don't go with this abysmal idea of a WM rematch between the two, because Rock would be willing to put over a cockroach if it meant good for the business and because I doubt it's on Cena's list of demands either(but I wouldn't be any wiser on that last one).

 

And because I'm not trying to lock down an outcome of an outcome of something that hasn't even happened yet. There's opponents out there for Rock if they play their cards right.. unless the dirtsheets have been telling people otherwise

[b0shey]

Obvious Spoiler: Highlight to see

Breaking News: Del Rio beat Big Show at Smackdown to become World Champion.

[Psycho Sam]

Obvious Spoiler: Highlight to see

Breaking News: Del Rio beat Big Show at Smackdown to become World Champion.

 

That...is...so...stupid of WWE.

 

I'm not sure, but IMHO, I believe that the world title should only change hands on a PPV.

 

Midcard titles are alright occasionaly, but this is a main event title.

 

Now I'm starting to wonder if WWE is starting to be booked by Vince Russo.

[SaySo]

That...is...so...stupid of WWE.

 

I'm not sure, but IMHO, I believe that the world title should only change hands on a PPV.

 

Midcard titles are alright occasionaly, but this is a main event title.

 

Now I'm starting to wonder if WWE is starting to be booked by Vince Russo.

 

Great way quoting a spoiler that revealed the spoiler.

 

Trivia question:

 

How many different wrestlers won the WWE Championship since 2012? 1 (CM Punk)

 

Now count how many different wrestlers won the World Heavyweight title since 2012. 1 (Daniel Bryan), 1 (Sheamus), 1 (Big Show).

 

And if WWE starting to be booked by Vince Russo, count how many WWE Championship during 1999.

 

Then count wrestlers that held WCW World Heavyweight title during Vince Russo time from 1999-2001.

 

Now I'm starting to wonder if we forgot how to count.

[BHK1978]

That...is...so...stupid of WWE.

 

I'm not sure, but IMHO, I believe that the world title should only change hands on a PPV.

 

Midcard titles are alright occasionaly, but this is a main event title.

 

Now I'm starting to wonder if WWE is starting to be booked by Vince Russo.

 

Thanks for spoiling the outcome Sam...

[Jaysin]

WWE.com is reporting it...

[djthefunkchris]

WWE.com is reporting it...

 

It's part of their new outlook. They are trying to get people to watch Smackdown so they spoil it themselves almost every time in the last six months or so.

 

I read (it was a while ago) that they were going to get into putting more emphasis on their shows, working PPV's around the shows instead of the normal work shows around PPV's.

 

On the subject of Rock... The part people quoted me on is/was just to let you know where my thought process was. My post was actually a "pro" Rock post, at least that was how I intended it. I'm just hoping it didn't get lost in the shuffle there.

[Psycho Sam]

Thanks for spoiling the outcome Sam...

I do apologize.

Great way quoting a spoiler that revealed the spoiler.

 

Trivia question:

 

How many different wrestlers won the WWE Championship since 2012? 1 (CM Punk)

 

Now count how many different wrestlers won the World Heavyweight title since 2012. 1 (Daniel Bryan), 1 (Sheamus), 1 (Big Show).

 

And if WWE starting to be booked by Vince Russo, count how many WWE Championship during 1999.

 

Then count wrestlers that held WCW World Heavyweight title during Vince Russo time from 1999-2001.

 

Now I'm starting to wonder if we forgot how to count.

Yes, yes I have.

 

Point is, with their recent quality, they are slowly losing fans. Plenty people have switched to either TNA or RoH because of the differing types of quality.

 

I'm not saying it's because the PG era is crap, it's because of the quality of the angles and matches for an international promotion. TNA doesn't fare much better.

WWE.com is reporting it...

Boy that makes for a lot of excitement.

 

It's part of their new outlook. They are trying to get people to watch Smackdown so they spoil it themselves almost every time in the last six months or so.

 

I don't get it. It's like a more failed version of when Tony Schiavone announced that Mankind would win over The Rock. (Which was actually entertaining). It's backfiring on themselves massively. People aren't going to watch Smackdown if they know what's going to happen.

 

I read (it was a while ago) that they were going to get into putting more emphasis on their shows, working PPV's around the shows instead of the normal work shows around PPV's.

 

I don't really know about that business decision. To me, buying the PPV is like an additional show for the fans, with bonus content.

 

And again, I apologize to those who have been spoiled.

[milamber]

The fact that Rock is even getting this match makes me sick because he did nothing (except for defeating Cena which is huge but not enough to warrent him a title oppertunity) to earn it.

 

The Shield agree and have made it their mission to teach Rocky a lesson before the Rumble

 

He draws more than anyone else can, the prospect of Rock vs. Punk is appealing to casual fans, add in on top of the Royal Rumble and the PPV will have a great buyrate. I'm not a big fan of the guy either but his presence is a financial boost for WWE, without a doubt they're going to cash in on it, they're a business at the end of the day.

 

Having Rock defend the title at the Elimination Chamber could also be good for business. I expect if he's champ he'll drop to Punk, setting up another match at WM29 with Punk retaining so Rock can disappear again.

[milamber]

Daniel "The Dazzler" Bryan. I'm glad this got a mention on Raw!

 

http://www.wwe.com/videos/daniel-bryan-reveals-what-hed-like-to-be-called-in-2013-wwe-app-exclusive-decemb-26080928

[Psycho Sam]

Having Rock defend the title at the Elimination Chamber could also be good for business. I expect if he's champ he'll drop to Punk, setting up another match at WM29 with Punk retaining so Rock can disappear again.

 

That...is actually a good idea.

[panix04]

I don't think Cena carried the Rock at 'mania. I thought it was a great match as well. And the rock may have only a handful of moves outside of his 'trademark moves' but he does have a pretty big arsenal of trademark moves. I agree that Cena 'out-promo-ed' the Rock in their feud. But I don't think he buried the guy, they both had a fair bit of momentum going into 'mania.

 

I think in Monday's Raw that both Punk and the Rock were great. In very different ways. I actually think that punk's mic work has been a bit slack and cliche of late (still better than most, but not at his best) but he pulled out the big guns on Raw and gave a helluva promo, but the Rock was very entertaining and his point about CM Punk looking "high" was so on the money. (his eyes always look red and puffy) just a shame he forgot the word 'pipe' and fluffed his joke a bit.