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Rate The Rock vs. CM Punk Feud

  • Underwhelming :punk3

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  • Great :punk:rock3

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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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#6,276 ·
the problem with Rock/Cena and now Rock/Punk's build up

They have no idea how to build these feuds up. In Cena/Rock every week, we got the same bashing and shooting on the opponent. Every week. Now it looks like they're going the same route with Punk/Rock. It was ridiculous how Punk came out just for the sake of shooting/bashing, and next week Rock will do the Rock Concert, where yet again we will hear constant insults/bashing.

My point here is, that is not how you build up a feud. Cm Punk, John Cena and Rock are all three top professional stars, who are meant to be too big to care about any comments someone makes, so the pointless bashing just seems very unprofessional and you can't expect the person to act 'offended', or in IWC's words 'sell' the bashing that comes their way.

Now i know that these are all big talkers and people expect to see them have some heated promos. But the way they are being booked is outright stupid. They shoot on each other just for the sake of shooting on each other. As professional wrestlers they need to have reasons to be angry, bashing or insulting the opponent. For example Rock cost Cena the title at WM 27, yet that was barely brought up in their build up to WM 28, it was a good reason for them to heat things up but no, WWE went with the unprofessional bashing. Same with Rock/Punk. They could have turned this heated, had Rock come out and straight up go for Punk because he GTS'd Rock on the 1000th episode, but we are expected to believe that Rock 'respects' what Punk did. They are turning professional wrestlers into pop celebrities, they have lost their own art of wrestling.

Punk came out on Raw and gave a similar shoot to the one he did in 2011, but it was really out of time so it didn't deliver nearly as well. What he should have done was come out and explain his attack on Rock and why hates The Rock. He could have talked about how Rock just comes back and gets anything he wants, and that irks Punk and that's why he has no respect for Rock and attacked him on the 1000th episode. He could have explained how Rock coming out to be the hero and do the People's Elbow on Big Show was what triggered Punk to attack Rock. That would have given them so much material to work their promos and actually given them a decent backstory/storyline. But Punk preferred to talk about how people don't matter and it was honestly ridiculous, the constant 'you all don't matter' cheap heat tactic.

Also when Rock came out, he preferred to use his same-old tactics where he literally asks the crowd to chant something for him, and goes on to make lame jokes. When he should have talked about his goal to become WWE Champion and how/why he hates Punk. His jokes on Smackdown against Rhodes Scholars actually made sense, cause that was a homecoming promo on two random superstars. But his feud with Punk is meant to be more serious, more serious than making jokes and laughing everything off at every turn possible.

If the Punk/Rock feud has any chance of becoming one of the greatest feuds of all time like most people on here are expecting, then it actually needs a decent storyline/backstory, and the overused 'break-kayfabe' shooting needs to stop.
 
#6,277 ·
Rock Concert 3 last year was classic and segment of the year but I'm not sure if it's fitting in the context of this program. For example on SD Rock said how disappointed he was that he heard Punk is not there because he wanted to continue what he did on RAW and kick his ass. Either way, Rock Concert is always welcome and I'm sure he will change the tone to fit it in the situation. I liked that they're doing different things in this feud and not just promo after promo. Rock/Sandow/Rhodes was an awesome segment, Rock's bit with Lilian on Rhodes after the Schindler's List answer was money. Heyman and Punk did a good job in the stadium segments.
 
#6,325 ·
Rock Concert 3 last year was classic and segment of the year but I'm not sure if it's fitting in the context of this program. For example on SD Rock said how disappointed he was that he heard Punk is not there because he wanted to continue what he did on RAW and kick his ass. Either way, Rock Concert is always welcome and I'm sure he will change the tone to fit it in the situation. I liked that they're doing different things in this feud and not just promo after promo. Rock/Sandow/Rhodes was an awesome segment, Rock's bit with Lilian on Rhodes after the Schindler's List answer was money. Heyman and Punk did a good job in the stadium segments.
:bron

Also Rock is the BEST person that Punk could lose the title to, hell the exposure he's receiving now is tremendous just wait until the Rumble where there's even more eyes on him.

Trust me Punks in good hands :rock4
 
#6,278 ·
Re: the problem with Rock/Cena and now Rock/Punk's build up

I thought the Punk/Rock segment was amazing. They certainly weren't shooting on each other. I agree about Punk's promo before The Rock came out, though. That sucked, IMO. But isn't what you would've liked Punk to do somewhat shooting, the thing you just said you didn't like?

Basically, this is all about Rock wanting revenge for Raw 1000, Rock wanting the WWE Championship, and CM Punk wanting to prove to everyone that he is the best in the world. It's got a great face/heel dynamic right now, I think we should wait another week before we really start making judgements on this feud, because it's just started.
 
#6,279 ·
Re: the problem with Rock/Cena and now Rock/Punk's build up

I thought the Punk/Rock segment was amazing. They certainly weren't shooting on each other. I agree about Punk's promo before The Rock came out, though. That sucked, IMO. But isn't what you would've liked Punk to do somewhat shooting, the thing you just said you didn't like?

Basically, this is all about Rock wanting revenge for Raw 1000, Rock wanting the WWE Championship, and CM Punk wanting to prove to everyone that he is the best in the world. It's got a great face/heel dynamic right now, I think we should wait another week before we really start making judgements on this feud, because it's just started.
i'm not that against shooting, if it's done for a reason and there's a decent storyline/backstory. Shooting for the sake of shooting, like WWE made Rock and Punk do this week, and Cena/Rock in pretty much all their promos, is just bad booking. Why was Punk's shoot promo before MITB such a success? There was actually a backstory to it and the whole storyline of him leaving with the title was compelling. Also it was all the frustrations build up inside him finally coming it, there was a base to it, can't say the same for these promos.

Yeah i don't want to make judgements so early either, but it looks like they're taking the route of 'SHOOT ON EACH OTHER EVERYWEEK', and that's going to kill this feud just like Rock/Cena.
 
#6,280 ·
A bit strange to be doing another Rock concert, they only have two episodes of Raw left and it seemed to me like their feud was going to be more serious/straight up (if that makes sense). Kinda feels out of context as Rock316AE says. I'm sure I'll enjoy it though, last year's one was the highlight of the Rock-Cena feud for me. Hopefully there is some action within it and not just Rock singing and that's it, have Punk come out and interrupt or whatever.

Also III (minus the botched ending) was better than II. Neither comes close to the first one in Sacramento though.
 
#6,281 ·
It won't happen but they really should put Punk over at the Rumble. Obviously his reign has been amazing and he's already a big star but a win would really put him over the top and elevate him. You can have Rock win at EC or Mania, just give Punk a win first.
 
#6,283 ·
It won't happen but they really should put Punk over at the Rumble. Obviously his reign has been amazing and he's already a big star but a win would really put him over the top and elevate him. You can have Rock win at EC or Mania, just give Punk a win first.
He's not.
but a win would really put him over the top and elevate him
If Cena putting him over FOUR times in 15 months didn't do it, maybe there's just nothing to rub on Punk. Even a clean win over Dooowayne won't do anything to his standing and relevance.
 
#6,285 ·
I guess this is the appropriate thread to vent in?

But I am sick and tired of people moaning about how The Rock winning the title is a slap in the face to the other wrestlers. Not necessarily on this forum, but in general.

Apprently The Rock winning it is so disrespectful, I really don't get how a wrestling legend winning the belt is so awful, am I crazy or something?
 
#6,297 ·
Rock concert? Not sure this is the right move considering the seriousness of the promo we saw this week but I'm looking forward to it none the less. Rock Concerts are damn sure entertaining. Who knows, maybe Punk will come out and proclaim himself the BITW at singing and we'll get a sing off lol.
 
#6,301 · (Edited)
John Cena,Jericho,Bryan,Ryback etc can't take the title of Punk.A part-timer who hasn't wrestled in a decade can just win the title in his first match.It's a slap across the entire roster.
Yeah, April 2012. Can't wait for WM38 in 3 months. Hope they built that new face of the generation for Rock to beat. Need to keep the WM18/Hogan, WM28/Cena streak going. Rock can win the title because he wants and because he can, that's a good enough explanation. It's not a matter of him wanting the belt, it's more IF he agrees to take the belt for another run. Which he agreed and in one promo made it mean more than it meant in years.

With the talk of Ric Flair coming back on RAW to be involved in Rock/Punk. I think that a Rock/Flair duet in the Concert is too much money not to do. Would be interesting to see how they do it, because there were reports about how Punk is going to attack Flair with Rock making the save.



To Know Your Role Boulevard? :mark: Hope we hear the SmackDown Hotel song one more time.
 
#6,305 ·
It's Punk's turn to finish on a high this Monday after the Rock Bottom last week :Rock even though I would love to see Heyman's reaction to a guitar to the head, I predict a Rock/Flair promo, with Rock giving Flair his guitar as a present, later Punk takes the guitar from him and Flair ends up picking guitar strings out of his own teeth. Punk gets dat heat and 'wins' (for want of a better word) that Raw.
 
#6,316 ·
Funny how austin 3:16 G.O.A.T is saying that it's not credible that a guy who hasn't wrestled much in 9 years is beating Punk for the title. I will not be surprised if he was rooting for Lesnar (a guy who had not wrestled in 8 years) against Cena at Extreme Rules 2012. Inconsistency.
 
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