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Rate The Rock vs. CM Punk Feud

  • Underwhelming :punk3

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  • Great :punk:rock3

    Votes: 130 34.3%

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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#8,470 ·
Ending to Rock/Punk Match.

I actually thought the restart was done very well. Rock taking the loss, Vince about to take the title off of Punk, Rock exhausted telling Vince not to do it that way, then Rock saying "you aren't going to take the title off of him, I am!" was great.

My problem was with the continuation. They should have booked a few more kick outs and near falls.


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#8,472 ·
Re: Ending to Rock/Punk Match.

It was good babyface booking. Giving the swerve win to Punk before it was great. I just wish they had an exchange of maybe 1 finisher each or something and a few nearfalls, would have only needed about 3 minutes.
 
#8,473 ·
Re: Ending to Rock/Punk Match.

absoultely, after the restart it ended far to abrupt, that was bullshit
 
#8,485 ·
It's weird waking up today knowing The Rock is WWE Champion again. What a moment it was.

I was at a house party watching it, and we were all just silent and disappointed when Punk got the win. We thought it was an utterly crap way to end the match, so we were so excited when Vince came out.

The crowd was interesting, because throughout the match it seemed 50/50 at certain points. However, once Vince came out and restarted things the crowd seemed 100% behind The Rock. After Rock said, "You don't take it from him...I do" it seemed to totally turn the crowd and it was electric to watch imo.

Like others said, its crazy that WWE tried so hard to make Rock & Cena 50/50 last year even thought Cena was booed heavily as a face but last night Punk was the heel and got lots of support. Vince needs to learn to stop trying to force the crowds to react the way he deems fit.

Anyways, great moment for me to see Rocky with the gold again. RAW tonight should be very interesting! Will we get a Rock/Cena face off? Perhaps a rematch with Punk? Who knows!
 
#8,486 ·
one serious question. why didn't everyone get that Rock was winning when RAWK played the cancer card?

as if he lost people were going to say

"uh guys remember the guy whose mother had cancer, he lost to a guy looking like a cookie puss on crack LOL what a loser"
 
#8,488 ·
Re: Ending to Rock/Punk Match.

The way he won, was very underwhelming. People expected a match like Punk vs Cena at NOC with both guys throwing everything they had at each other and ending with a finisher spam, and maybe some finisher reversals like Punk using the Rock Bottom and the Rock trying the GTS. But for it to end with the elbow drop and a bunch of interference, just underwhelmed a match that was hyped up for so long.
 
#8,498 ·
Anything involving The Rock centers around "hype". Hype > actual match quality. I don't see the point in giving Rock the title only to lose it to Cena at Mania. For that, they should've just given Ryback the strap.

Is Rock being champion similar to David Arquette being WCW champ? I respect Rock's accomplishments in WWE and respect Dwayne's rise to stardom and successful movie career, but he just doesn't belong with the WWE title. The build to Rock/Cena 2 will center around bad jokes, moments of seriousness that Cena will laugh off, and more bull crap.
 
#8,505 ·
lol alot of butthurt Punk marks around here.

In all seriousness, Rock did alot better than I thought he would(WM 28), and saying that he was gassed 5 min into the match is just laughable. It's called SELLING. Punk did a great job carrying the match. Overall all, it was a good match, considering the fact that it's their 1st match together, they did good, the chemistry was there, they told a great story, but my only problem is the way it ended. Punk should've atleast kicked out of the people's elbow, hit Rock with the GTS, Rock kicks out, and then end the match with the Rock bottom.
 
#8,507 ·
since the mods were kind enough to lock my thread i'll post my thoughts here

Let's get something straight.


As myself, I am a Punk mark and I was hugely upset over Rock going over Punk at Rumble you why?

It wasn't because WHEN I THINK OF PUNK WITH DA CHAMPIONSHIP I JIZZ IN MY PANTS.

It wasn't because I wanted Punk to challange Streak vs. Streak Taker at mania.

It wasn't because I wanted Punk to be champ forever.


IT WAS BECAUSE THE WAY IT ENDED AND THE WAY IT WAS DONE.

Yes, you know it, I know it, EVERYBODY knows it.

The way it was done was bullshit.

Punk going down by the People's elbow? It should have ended after few Rock Bottoms and GTSs.

How many times did Punk hit the GTS? None? Ok...

I'm also a Rock fan, but I think the ending left a bad taste in my mouth.



I'm writing this because I'm pretty sure about 90% of Punk fans share the same opinion as me. No one hates the Rock. They might dislike him but everyone in their heart knew it was time to give up the title to someone, but in a fashionable and in a memorable moment.

But what did we get?

-Shield
-No GTSs
-1 or 2 Rock Bottoms
-Punk finished by an elbow drop?


That's the way you would end an 434-day reign which is the longest reign in the last 29 years? Really?

Punk was done being a chicken-shit heel but they have to jump that road and fuck it up?

the table botch shouldn't be counted. Both men got hurt from that.


It was a championship match FFS and they wasted it IMO. I mean I didn't want it to turn into a finisher fest but I didn't get the emotional roller coaster like the matches between Cena/Punk-MITB'011 or Austin/Rock.


My problem isn't really the finishing move. We accepted the Night Of Champions finish, so this should be pretty acceptable.
echnically it's an elbow drop but the "impact" it had shouldn't have been "enough" to finish a 434-day reign.

They had 45 minutes to make the match an all time classic but....
 
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