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Rate The Rock vs. CM Punk Feud

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Official The Rock vs. CM Punk Discussion Thread

823K views 9K replies 1K participants last post by  Nimbus 
#1 · (Edited)
wwe.com said:
Perhaps the parade was premature. Perhaps the celebrating, the humble tweets to The People and the legions of Team Bring It, and the proclamation that FINALLY, The Rock was WWE Champion once again jumped the gun by just a bit. Maybe, just maybe, The Rock put the horse before the cart when he celebrated his latest triumph on Raw Roulette, because CM Punk is not done with The Great One by a long shot.


How could he be, either? When a Superstar holds the WWE Title — Punk’s “life’s work,” in his own words — for 434 days spread across three calendar years, he does not just simply throw up his hands and call it a good run when the prize is taken from his clutches. So it was of no surprise when, during The Rock’s celebratory address to the WWE Universe as its new champion, The Straight Edge Superstar himself declared would be evoking his rematch clause – “granting” Rock a rematch was how he earned it – at Elimination Chamber. It was also of no surprise that The Rock gladly accepted.

But once again, maybe Rock is counting his proverbial chickens too early, because for all CM Punk’s feverish boasting in his final days as champion, he was right about one thing after the Royal Rumble: Hedidpin The Rock. It was one-two-three in the middle of the ring, although it took a sneak attack by who we can only assume was The Shield to weaken The Brahma Bull enough for Punk to make the pin. And it was only after Mr. McMahon restarted the bout that The Great One found enough of a second wind to silence CM Punk and put The Straight Edge Superstar to sleep, claiming his eighth WWE Championship in the process.

So at Elimination Chamber, the most brutal pit stop on The Road to WrestleMania, The Rock will face his own personal demon yet again. And The People’s Champion will have to be very, very careful, because CM Punk does not make the same mistake twice, and he is very, very angry. The very real opinion exists — depending whom you ask — that Punk should still be WWE Champion. And with it, the very real possibility exists — should The Rock think one victory equals winning the war — that The Brahma Bull’s parade could end as soon as it began and that CM Punk will be champion again, with history in his hands for the third time.


Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson said:
Over 100 years of Heavyweight Champions.

3 generations in my blood.

New WWE Champion.

My honor. TEAM BRING IT.


wwe.com said:
Attitude Era original Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will compete in his first World Title match in more than a decade when he challenges WWE Champion CM Punk, the longest-reigning WWE Title holder of the past quarter-century, at Royal Rumble on Jan. 27.

The WWE Universe has anxiously awaited The Great One’s return to the WWE Title picture since he announced his championship opportunity on Raw 1,000 last July. Though there was no guarantee at the time whom The Rock’s opponent would be, the always-confident Punk fired an opening salvo that night, cutting down The Rock with a clothesline before knocking him out with a picture-perfect Go to Sleep. The following week, The Voice of the Voiceless defended his actions by suggesting The Great One, having been “gifted” a WWE Title match, viewed victory at the Royal Rumble as a foregone conclusion.

Whether a real or perceived slight, the implication that The Rock places himself on a higher plane than the current WWE Champion was seemingly all the motivation Punk needed to make sure he would still have the title on Jan. 27.

In the half-year since Raw 1,000, The Second City Saint stunned WWE fans by aligning with Paul Heyman and ratcheting up the vitriol of his speech. More important than either of those details, he has — by hook or by crook — maintained possession of the championship gold. Having turned back challenges by John Cena and Ryback in recent months, The Best in the World now looks ahead to testing himself against the seven-time former WWE Champion who vowed in 2012 to regain the title.

For The Rock, an A-list Hollywood action star and third-generation Superstar who has sports-entertainment coursing through his veins, the Royal Rumble title match represents the start of a potential career renaissance inside the ring. Since March 2004, The Most Electrifying Man in All of Entertainment has competed in only two sanctioned WWE matches, teaming with John Cena to shred The Awesome Truth (The Miz & R-Truth) at Survivor Series 2011 and overcoming the Cenation leader at WrestleMania XXVIII.

But by vying for the most treasured prize in sports-entertainment, The Rock is committing to more than another appearance as a “special attraction.” Rather, he is setting his eyes on again becoming WWE’s gold standard.

Hell-bent though The Rock may be on introducing a new generation of WWE fans to The People’s Champion, there is no discounting Punk’s deftness once the bell rings. Controversial endings to several high-profile title defenses may have tarnished The Second City Saint’s reputation in the eyes of some critics, but they have done nothing to change the fact the WWE Championship still sits around his waist. Before his seedier side came into focus in late summer, Punk spent much of 2012 disposing of WWE’s best and brightest, ranging from Chris Jericho and Daniel Bryan to Dolph Ziggler and Kane. How will the WWE Champion match up against one of the pillars of The Attitude Era?

As the WWE Universe excitedly counts down the days until Jan. 27, the back-and-forth between two of WWE’s most compelling talkers is bound to pick up steam. It will not be until the Royal Rumble, however, that the trash talk gives way to the gravity of a game-changing WWE Championship bout, the likes of which hasn’t seen in years. Will Royal Rumble mark the rebirth of a championship Brahma Bull, or will it only underscore what Punk has claimed all along, that he is untouchable and in a class by himself?
The Rock explains why he wants WWE Title

WWE part-time star The Rock revealed why re-capturing the WWE Title is important to him in a new interview with WWE Magazine. It's a statement that has been missing from WWE television leading up to the Royal Rumble PPV.

"It starts with recognizing what the WWE Championship represents to me," Rock said in the February 2013 issue. "Every time I hold that title over my head in victory, it not only signifies the fact that I have delivered the absolute best entertainment that I could to the WWE Universe, but that I'm taking a moment to live an experience that all the generations of wrestlers in my family strived to achieve.

Rock continued, "There is no other award that I could receive that's as deeply ingrained in my blood and history as the WWE Championship - and that's why it means so much to me."

At the same time, Rock said that after his first WWE Title reign - which came in 1998 - he decided that he would never allow his possession of or lack of the WWE Title define his career.

"After my first WWE Championship run came to an end, I made a conscious decision that night that I would work harder than any other Superstar in the locker room to become the type of WWE entertainer who, if I never had another championship run again, it would not define my career. I never wanted to rely on a title run for success."

Rock's next statement reflects his recent approach to mixing "entertainment" with "seriousness." Rock concluded, "My goal was to get to a place where I relied only on what I could bring to the table in terms of being entertaining and having a one-of-a-kind - and electrifying - connection with all of the WWE Universe."

[ FYI: Rock's interview is part of a cover-feature on Rock in the latest WWE Magazine. ]

Link - http://pwtorch.com/artman2/publish/WWE_News_3/article_68014.shtml














 
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#2,473 ·
Re: The Rock shooting a movie next March

I still say Vince isn't going to turn down The Rock going to Hollywood, movie promotions, and filming sets with the belt on his shoulder. Huge $$$$$$ & advertising for him.
 
#2,474 ·
Re: The Rock shooting a movie next March

I've always felt it could go either way with Rock's title match at Rumble. People assumed since it's Rock challenging for his first WWE Title in over 10 years that he would win. Just like when people thought Cena was going to win at Mania because "Vince wouldn't put a returning legend over the current face of the company."

As far as I'm concerned Rock has only publically guaranteed to appear at Rumble and Mania. I'm sure he will be at a couple of episodes for the build and aftermath of those shows due to his busy schedule and I'm fine with that. He's a special attraction star. This is why I want Rock to face Lesnar in a non-title special attraction match at WM29. Lesnar can destroy everything in his path on the RTWM and Heyman can do the talking until Rock appears (in ring, taped, etc).
 
#2,475 ·
Re: The Rock shooting a movie next March

Lesnar cost Rock the title at the Rumble, Rock wins the Rumble an hour later. This way it keeps the title on the show while Rock is away and he can appear when he can around Elimination Chamber time. At the Chamber Lesnar wins the title and we have Rock vs. Lesnar as the Main Event of Wrestlemania for the title. Ta-da!
 
#2,476 ·
Re: The Rock shooting a movie next March

People are overreacting to this news. I still think he'll win the title at The Royal Rumble or at least I hope he does. This horrible Punk reign needs to end. Its been so bad. I'm sure Rock adjust his schedule to just show up on Monday. Maybe not every week in March but for the most part.
 
#2,486 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

I can't wait to see The Great one as WWE champion again. I don't think there's anyway in hell Vince passes on the chance to have the WWE title on all those Red Carpets and all those talk shows. So much mainstream coverage on the title and we know how much Vince cares about WWE getting as much mainstream coverage as possible.
 
#2,487 · (Edited)
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

14 Years ago today, in one of the best PPVs of all time and IMO, the best booked pro wrestling event in history. The Corporate Champion was born and The Rock began his inspiring journey to become The Greatest of All Time, a pop culture icon and one of the biggest action Hollywood mega stars in the world, while becoming WWF Champion for the first time. Time flies.





I will never forget the "Deadly Games" theme for this show. Nostalgic.
 
#2,489 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Bad from a wrestling standpoint but very entertaining and booked well. And I take good booking and good writing over a few good wrestling matches.

In a perfect world we should have both of course. And sometimes we get it, Canadian Stampede, Mania 17 and Summerslam 02 to name a few.
 
#2,492 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Bad from a wrestling standpoint but very entertaining and booked well. And I take good booking and good writing over a few good wrestling matches.

In a perfect world we should have both of course. And sometimes we get it, Canadian Stampede, Mania 17 and Summerslam 02 to name a few.
It was great in every aspect, you got a lot of big star power combinations along with a great main event and a brilliant storyline progressing throughout the entire PPV. Rock/Mankind, Rock/Shamrock, Austin/Mankind, Taker/Kane, Rock/Taker etc. Which resulted in the perfect payoff. You can't ask for more and this IMO, is the Shakespeare of wrestling. Russo also declared this program as his best work and the most enjoyable period for him as a TV writer.
 
#2,494 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

The idea of Rock beating Cena again isn't out the question IMO, it would obviously lead to a 3rd and finale which Cena would win (Heel turn or Heel from the off) similar to how Rock/Austin series panned out.
 
#2,495 · (Edited)
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

It was a 14 matches card on a 3 hour PPV. So knowing that you can't really expect a 20 minute classic in every match, they delivered it big time with the Rock/Foley main event. Other than that they worked the tournament concept perfectly and had some good matches all over the card(Rock/Shamrock, Austin/Mankind and Rock/Taker for example), it's just that the story was so well done and a crucial part of the execution which is why it overshadowed everything. I watched this PPV a few months ago and the flow of this show is one of a kind.
 
#2,501 ·
Okay, logic aside , who would you most like Rock to take on at Mania based on who is currently on the roster full-time / part-time , and assuming he can work the Rumble, Elimination Chamber (would be awesome) , and mania , how would you book him throughout ?


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#2,509 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Okay, logic aside , who would you most like Rock to take on at Mania based on who is currently on the roster full-time / part-time , and assuming he can work the Rumble, Elimination Chamber (would be awesome) , and mania , how would you book him throughout ?
Royal Rumble: Beats Punk with the Sharpshooter to win the title.
Elimination Chamber: Defends it inside the six-man chamber match.
Wrestlemania XXIX: Beats Brock Lesnar to retain the title.
Extreme Rules: Loses WWE Title to John Cena who turns heel.
SummerSlam: Wrestles Randy Orton in a third gen vs third gen match.

Obviously fantasy and too good to be true.
 
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