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Rate The Rock vs. CM Punk Feud

  • Underwhelming :punk3

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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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#2,580 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Marked for Punk doing the eyebrow last night. Can't wait for this feud despite all the worked shoots and fuckery that's going to take place.
Damn, I missed that.

CM Punk will retain at the Royal Rumble and lose it at Elimination Chamber in a match that Austin is referee. John Cena will lose to The Rock at Mania and turn heel.
Hmm, That means Rock wins the rumble? That's if you mean Cena is the one Punk loses the title to.
 
#2,581 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Punk did the eyebrow? lol I guess he needs to steal the peoples move's to get over. First the Bottom and now this. :punk2
 
#2,585 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

I can't stand the idea of Rock and Punk calling each other by their first names and them breaking kayfabe and all that shit again just because it's another Rock feud. My God. Think of something new.

No, no. Don't think of something new. Just present it as straightforwardly as possible.

CM Punk: Bad guy. Bad guy holding WWE Championship. Bad guy holding it for 14 months (at that point). Bad guy doing everything he can to keep said WWE Championship.

The Rock: Good guy. Good guy who wants the WWE Championship. Who was told by some anonymous source back when there wasn't a set GM that he's getting a shot at the WWE Championship held by Punk at The Royal Rumble (because it fits with Rock's schedule, haha).

That's all you have to do. Let Rock do his catchphrases and shit, let Punk be the weaselly heel WWE Champion. Yadda yadda yadda.

But, no. We're going to get "Dwayne" and "Dewey" and "Phillip" and "Phil" and "You're Hollywood, I'm here all the time," and "You'll never be the beloved megastar that I was" and all that shit.
 
#2,586 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

I can't stand the idea of Rock and Punk calling each other by their first names and them breaking kayfabe and all that shit again just because it's another Rock feud. My God. Think of something new.

No, no. Don't think of something new. Just present it as straightforwardly as possible.

CM Punk: Bad guy. Bad guy holding WWE Championship. Bad guy holding it for 14 months (at that point). Bad guy doing everything he can to keep said WWE Championship.

The Rock: Good guy. Good guy who wants the WWE Championship. Who was told by some anonymous source back when there wasn't a set GM that he's getting a shot at the WWE Championship held by Punk at The Royal Rumble (because it fits with Rock's schedule, haha).

That's all you have to do. Let Rock do his catchphrases and shit, let Punk be the weaselly heel WWE Champion. Yadda yadda yadda.

But, no. We're going to get "Dwayne" and "Dewey" and "Phillip" and "Phil" and "You're Hollywood, I'm here all the time," and "You'll never be the beloved megastar that I was" and all that shit.
100% spot on.
 
#2,588 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

It sucks because it kills the suspension of disbelief. It's basically reminding everyone that we are watching actors playing characters. It would be like going to see the Batman movie and having Batman confront Bane and be all like

LOL TOM! TOM HARDY! WHY YOU WEARING THAT MASK BRO! I SAW BRONSON AND YOU SUCKED IN IT! NOW LET'S PRETEND FIGHT!

Yeah, nobody wants to see that
 
#2,592 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

It sucks because it kills the suspension of disbelief. It's basically reminding everyone that we are watching actors playing characters. It would be like going to see the Batman movie and having Batman confront Bane and be all like

LOL TOM! TOM HARDY! WHY YOU WEARING THAT MASK BRO! I SAW BRONSON AND YOU SUCKED IN IT! NOW LET'S PRETEND FIGHT!


Yeah, nobody wants to see that
:lmao
 
#2,589 · (Edited)
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

If Punk/Rock add more action on the feud.
We need The Rock Rock Bootom Punk on the Table
We Need Punk Spit on The Rock's Face
We need Rock and Punk fight of each other like Austin/Rock 2001 Smackdown before Wrestlmania
etc.
this feud would be damn fine as hell.

Cena/Rock feud sucks because they don't do that.All the trash talking.Fuck.(thought Cena AA Rock was good)
 
#2,594 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

How many more matches does Rock wrestle in his career ?

Let's just say he has 5 more matches left and then he's done forever.... Who would you like to see him compete against for those five matches ? I'm thinking more along the lines of...

Punk
Brock
Bryan
Orton
Triple H

The last match is just ALL fantasy booking, with two big time rivals going out at once on the biggest stage of them all. Wishful thinking.
 
#2,605 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

How many more matches does Rock wrestle in his career ?

Let's just say he has 5 more matches left and then he's done forever.... Who would you like to see him compete against for those five matches ? I'm thinking more along the lines of...

Punk
Brock
Bryan
Orton
Triple H

The last match is just ALL fantasy booking, with two big time rivals going out at once on the biggest stage of them all. Wishful thinking.
If it's any five and Punk's obvious RR match wont be included, then:

Orton
Lesnar
Mysterio
HBK
Undertaker
 
#2,595 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

5 more matches? I'd have to think about that, but here's an ideal scenario:

vs. Punk RR (Rock loses to Punk due to Rollins, Ambrose, Reigns (who will be in a faction with Punk officially by that point), and finally Cena, who comes out to seemingly help Rock, and does clear the ring but then lays out Rock with the AA for Punk to get the 1-2-3, and as payback for Rock costing Cena the WM27 main event if they want to add that in there. This of course would mean Cena turns heel)
vs. Cena WM29 (Beats Cena)
vs. Punk SS (Beats Punk, which will be a non-title match, to even the score with Punk)
vs. Lesnar WM30 (Beats Lesnar)
vs. Undertaker WM31 (Loses to Taker and retires... doesn't have to officially be a retirement match, but more along the lines of what they did in 03 with Rock claiming he's faced and beaten them all with finally beating Lesnar at WM30... except one thing that Rock has seen since his leave in 2003 grow to be the biggest accomplishment in sports entertainment, and that's ending the streak.)

Once Rock fails with the streak, he calls it a day and that's it. By that point he will have done every big match he could do by that point except maybe a match with Ryback, though right now we don't know if Ryback will be as big a star as his apparent potential, but if he is they could maybe squeeze one more match out of Rock or instead of the Taker or Lesnar match, put Ryback in there instead.
 
#2,597 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Rock/Brock WM29 and Rock/HBK WM30 is a dream scenario. Rock/Taker @ 30 if Shawn refuses to wrestle again. After those three I wouldn't mind seeing him wrestle Orton on PPV.

:flair3 vs. :Rock3

ONE MORE TIME
 
#2,606 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

5 Rock matches besides Punk at the Rumble:

HBK - WM30
Lesnar - WM29
Sting - WM
Orton - Summerslam/Rumble
Mysterio - Summerslam/Rumble/Rare, once in a lifetime TV match

And like Clique said, if not HBK, then Taker for the streak.

:flair3 vs. :Rock3

ONE MORE TIME
Can still be amazing even today. Would love to see it. Rock is Rock. Flair can still work a great match with the right structure like he proved with Lethal. Verbal interaction would be gold as expected. Like Rock/Macho Man. You put the two most charismatic personalities of all time against each other, no matter when or where and the place will explode with electricity.
 
#2,598 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

I really have no idea who's going to win this. At first I was certain that Rock would win and it would set up Rock/Cena II at Mania. But now I'm thinking Punk could win at the Rumble due to Heyman's other client BROCK LESNAR F-5ing Rock leading to Brock/Rock at Mania. Where would that lead Punk though? Punk/Taker WWE title match wouldn't be a good idea. Taker doesn't need the title but at this point he should never lose at Mania. Plus Punk/Taker would be a step down from HBK/Taker & HHH/Taker. Cena/Taker is the match that can keep that certain star power level of Taker Mania matches afloat.

We've seen Punk/Orton before, we've seen Punk/Triple H before. There would be no one for him.
 
#2,604 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

I really have no idea who's going to win this. At first I was certain that Rock would win and it would set up Rock/Cena II at Mania. But now I'm thinking Punk could win at the Rumble due to Heyman's other client BROCK LESNAR F-5ing Rock leading to Brock/Rock at Mania. Where would that lead Punk though? Punk/Taker WWE title match wouldn't be a good idea. Taker doesn't need the title but at this point he should never lose at Mania. Plus Punk/Taker would be a step down from HBK/Taker & HHH/Taker. Cena/Taker is the match that can keep that certain star power level of Taker Mania matches afloat.

We've seen Punk/Orton before, we've seen Punk/Triple H before. There would be no one for him.
I definitely think Rock/Brock is the way they'll go, and I imagine that Punk will be left with Ryback to face, since I don't see anyone other than him winning the rumble (maybe Cena, but I think Ryback's much more likely). We've already seen it, but I think it would be the only way they can really end Punk's reign at this point properly without him dropping it to a part time star like Rock or Taker.
 
#2,599 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

I swear to fuck if this feud ends up like Rock/Cena then I'm not watching it. I love Rock and when Punk is on he's great but I've had enough of that shit already. The thought of it actually hurts my brain and I won't even care who wins either. Talk about ruining the RTWM. They already partially did it once this year with Rock/Cena and I don't want to see them do it again. Thank Christ we had the masters to give us some quality TV heading into the HIAC this year or the whole thing would have gone to shit. Rock/Punk? I'm in. Dwayne/Phil? I'm out.
 
#2,600 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Pretty obvious that Punk was just taking the piss with the eyebrow thing.....

Anyway, this potentially could be awesome if they handle it correctly and I'm looking forward to seeing it unfold. I know Punk haters badly want to have the title taken off Punk and I wouldn't complain at this point but seeing as most people think its a locked deal and that Rock is walking out of the RR as the WWE Champion I think it would make it more interesting if Rock didn't win the title. Especially seeing as we know Rock won't be there every Raw to represent the WWE as its champion and probably not at the EC either.
 
#2,601 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

if Rock had 5 matches...

Rock vs Punk Royal Rumble

Rock vs Punk vs Cena Wrestlemania 29

Rock vs Daniel Bryan Summerslam

Rock vs Brock Wrestlemanai 30

Rock vs Dean Ambrose Summerslam
 
#2,603 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Rock v Punk
Rock v Cena
Rock v Brock
Rock v Michaels
Rock v HHH

Rock v HHH as the final match of both guys careers
That last match would be a exciting match, but at the same time it would be a very sad day for wrestling fans around the world.

I dont think HBK would wrestle again, so the only change I would make from your list is replace HBK with Orton
 
#2,607 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

I won't give dates of when I'd want them but just names except Taker which is obvious.

Rock vs Punk
Rock vs Brock II
Rock vs Undertaker - WrestleMania
Rock vs Cena II (It will happen again, I just don't want it yet)
Rock vs Shawn Michaels (If he wont do it ) Triple H.
 
#2,609 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Just watched the promo between Cena/Rock the RAW before 28. It's their best promo together. It was very good.

"I'll be damned if I'm going to let some vistor come into my office and take my life" :cena1

"Gonna give you an ass kicking of a lifetime. You know it, I know it and you can bet you ass they know it" :Rock2
 
#2,610 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Of course, I don't expect WWE to put Flair in the ring again, although he will do it in a second. WWE tried to work around the stipulation with Flair a lot in 2009, they put him in a main WM feud to get heat on Jericho, then a parking lot brawl with Orton and probably more that I don't remember. Forgot Batista in the list. Rock/Batista is a match I wanted to see for a long time, especially with the awesome Batista character in 09-10. I can see Batista coming back at some point, he was always a big fan of Rock, if Rock is still available for matches, this is a realistic option.
 
#2,611 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

One of my favorite promos Rock did on the RTWM28 last year was when he talked about how during the Attitude Era "the boys in the back" stood up for themselves and didn't have one guy fighting for them like Cena said he was doing for the current crop of talent. I can see some similar themes coming up in the Punk feud if he mentions being "The Voice of The Voiceless."
 
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