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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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#5,607 ·
Most annoying thing about that promo? Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler s......ing like they were stoned at the announce desk whenever the Rock made a punchline because, and here's the long and short of it for me: The Rock isn't funny. And having those two fools snorting and giggling like they've been smoking their stash during the ad breaks whenever he made one of his lame jokes just came across as trying WAY too damn hard.

They might as well have just cut back to them at the desk looking right into the camera going "oh my god, isn't the Rock just, like, SO funny you guys? He's just amazing, isn't he? Oh how we've missed him."

Maybe nobody else put too much effort into hating that aspect of that promo, but it just bugged me. Whenever they did it I just wanted to reach through my screen and slap them. Maybe it's just because I don't find the Rock to be at all funny, I dunno. Just pissed me off.
 
#5,618 ·
nah i absolutely agree with you man. It's frustrating as hell and it totally deflates the intensity of the promo.
 
#5,609 · (Edited)
I dont see how anyone can say that 1 definitively owned the other. Punk was the heel so he was all intense and shit. The Rock was the face so he was hyping the crowd, made jokes. Punk's intensity impressed me but his content was stale IMO. Same old thing he does all the time. Pretends to be disgruntled, breaks kayfabe, blah blah. To me he seemed to talk about alot of things yet there was no link between them. He just came out and kept moving from talking point to talking point, yet none of those points really had anything to do with eachother. It was quite strange.

Rock was a bit stale with his jokes and all that pandering but i like the fact that he outlined why he came back and seemed hungry. I loved his " discount double check " after he RB'd Punk. Looks like a man on a mission. He really looks like he wants to be champion again after 10 years. He sold Punk well as a threat. Punks boxing line to me was funny. He in no way seems like he can beat The Rock kayfabe or not. So to me the line was stupid. It would be like Ziggler telling Stone Cold he was going to kick his ass. Say what? I also liked the fact that The Rock brought up that Punk has said he was going to change the E and be the voice of the voiceless and all the things that happened in the Summer of Punk, but it all ended without any resolution. That to me was the most impressive thing about the promo. Rarely does a face aside from Cena talk about a heel's failures on a personal level.It felt real. Punk said he was going to kick his ass but Rock really touched a personal nerve with that one and that is more impressive than a simple " im gonna kick your ass" line to me. That was cool. Cookie puss was stupid. I didnt know what it was. It does kind of look like Punk though lol. All in all Punk had some good moments and some bad, while the Rock did some silly jokes. I prefered the Rock but he wasnt spectacular. Both men were blehh IMO. But not too bad.
 
#5,612 ·
Just watched the promo this morning when I woke up and absolutely loved what The Rock did. Sure, he came out with some childish insults but that's part of his shtick and I've learned to accept it instead of crying about it every time. Other than that, I felt the passion in his words, the intensity and he also completely destroyed Punk when he said the fans rejected him.
 
#5,613 ·
That segment was so much better than either man has been in such a long time. If Punk wasn't already cemented as a main-eventer that would be the promo that did it. Punk and Rock have a ton of chemistry. It goes to show just how good Punk's reign could've been, had the WWE handled it differently.

I totally agree with JR. Punk is the best heel in the business. Add to that The Rock's inert ability to play the babyface challenger role better than anybody. We've got something special on our hands. These two have great chemistry and if last night's promo is any indication, WWE could've finally found a feud worth building. It's been a long time since I've seen that kind of electricity. Rock/Cena didn't have it, neither did Rock/Miz, Punk/Jericho or any other combination of 2011/12 (with the exception of Punk/Cena MITB).

Punk had some awesome lines, Rock hit hard. Either way, Punk was standing toe-to-toe with one of the greatest mic workers of all time. I couldn't ask for much more, regardless of who "won".
 
#5,614 ·
best promo in a long, long time. Both men did what they had to do and did perfectly. Rocky was Rocky and Punk was Punk. Long may it continue. Not going to get started in one-upmanship, I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the next three weeks. Great start to what looks a fantastic feud.
 
#5,617 · (Edited)
it was really good for a first promo, but both need fresh material, specially Punk. And please, give this feud a decent storyline. Yes shooting can be good once in a while, but as Rock/Cena showed, pointless cheap shooting doesn't work. You actually need a STORYLINE. Why was Punk/Cena MITB successful? Because of the whole storyline that Punk would leave with the title, Cena might get fired, etc. The shooting actually made sense. Now they just throw two guys together to shoot at each other, whatever happened to clever booking? WWE should realize that after a while repeating the same thing gets old, you need something fresh.

It was great for a first promo, i'm just hoping they don't repeat the same stuff the next two weeks. Shooting for the sake of shooting doesn't work. The way the built Rock vs Cena was, stupid childish shooting every week, and it made no sense. What they could have done, was actually give them a decent storyline, some backstory, and a goal. But unfortunately we only got any a bit of that in their last promo before WM.
 
#5,621 ·
I don't like it when superstars are smiling and happy in the pictures, I agree with you. Unless it is part of there character of course, like Zack Ryder or Santino or something equally as goofy.

Why do we have del Rio smiling in his pictures, he's the heel? Why is Sheamus smiling when he's that supposedly bad ass Irishman etc. Fuck off. Love how intense Punk and Rock are being with this feud and I know it can only get better from here.
 
#5,623 ·
Lots of people arguing about the "winner" of that promo, the way I see it, the winners are us, we've got one of the best Heels in a while, taking on the returning Great One, for the title, best bit about it, so far, no "Dwayne's" and "Phil's"

Promo's like that aren't about winners, they're about selling the feud by making the 2 people look strong.
 
#5,624 ·
The thing is, the promo between Rock and Punk last night completely opened my eyes.

NO-ONE on the roster in the main event is on the same level as them, Punk is the only one on the same level as Rock and that's very, very bad. Considering in a previous era you have three or four people who could go head to head with him and not sound like an absolute GEEK the WWE is in a dire state. It confirmed what we've known for ages, people like Sheamus and Orton have absolutely no business in the main event, as main event talents you should be able to go head to head on the stick with other main event talents, especially as main event baby faces.

The main event needs to be rehashed completely, we need more people like Punk in it and less people like Sheamus, because that's the only way we're going to get interesting main event segments like the one we witnessed last night when people like Rock aren't around. Push the Sandow's and Ambrose's, sure they aren't on Rock level right now, but they CAN be.
 
#5,628 ·
I have no doubt that they gave Punk even more freedom to do and say whatever last night. I don't know why they don't do this to other superstars so they can build up steam, get the fans behind them whether they are heel as face and build character.

They did it in the Attitude Era. I mean it is not coincidence that EVERYONE during the Attitude Era had respectable mic skills, I mean what are the chances that they all have decent mic skills in the hottest era in history? Bollox, they were allowed to go out there and say what they wanted in regards to what storyline/angle they were in at the time.

The only other person I could perhaps THINK they have been giving some sort of creative freedom to lately is Dolph Ziggler and he has been getting praise on "improving" on the microphone when it isn't the case, he is just allowed to be more like his character and given freedom.
 
#5,630 ·
Thoroughly enjoyable promo last night, with some terrific work from Punk (as standard with him). His speech before Rocky came out was probably my favourite material of his since 2011, not that he wasn't in form last year, he certainly was. I knew this feud would be something special, but oh boy is it going to be something special.

Thankfully made up for an otherwise lacklustre show.
 
#5,634 ·
the thing is, the promo last night wasn't about "who owned who" that people are so concerned about, because the feud isn't about that

the Rock/Cena feud was based on an argument between the two, Cena claiming Rock doesn't care about the fans and returned just to promote his shit, while Rock claims otherwise and claims Cena is a phony

it was more of a debate than a feud, so you kinda assume that people are eventually gonna go all "A owned B" , as silly as that was


but Rock/Punk isn't based on claims, it's a feud based on Rock wanting the WWE championship, Rock wants the belt and Punk wants to keep it, it's not about the "War of Words" or "Who owned Who" BS

it's your basic wrestling feud between two wrestlers fighting over a championship belt, but since Rock/Punk are both beyond brilliant mic workers it's natural that people would compare both efforts in promos , but really the promo wasn't about that, it was just to build intensity and add fuel to the feud



the irony is, while Cena/Rock is a reality-based feud, yet so far Rock/Punk feels much more edgier
 
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