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Rate The Rock vs. CM Punk Feud

  • Underwhelming :punk3

    Votes: 78 20.6%
  • Decent/Good :rock

    Votes: 171 45.1%
  • 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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#8,173 ·
http://www.prowrestling.net/artman/publish/WWE/article10029521.shtml

WWE News: What happened with The Rock after the Royal Rumble ended?
Jan 27, 2013 - 10:12 PM

Dot Net Member Efren sent the following recap of what happened after the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view concluded.

The Rock said Mike Chioda told him he needed to position himself to get the WrestleMania sign in for the shot. "Excuse me, but I'm talking to Phoenix," Rock said. The crowd went ballistic.

Rock thanked the Superstars because it takes one hell of an effort to put on a night like tonight. Rock thanked his family and from the bottom of his heart. He thanked the fans. "It feels good to do this again and be WWE Champion... if you smell what the Rock is cooking."

The Rock heaved the microphone to Justin Roberts, who barely clutched it like a vase. Rock autographed his No. 94 Johnson jersey for a fan and left.
 
#8,175 ·
http://www.prowrestling.net/artman/publish/WWE/article10029521.shtml

WWE News: What happened with The Rock after the Royal Rumble ended?
Jan 27, 2013 - 10:12 PM

Dot Net Member Efren sent the following recap of what happened after the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view concluded.

The Rock said Mike Chioda told him he needed to position himself to get the WrestleMania sign in for the shot. "Excuse me, but I'm talking to Phoenix," Rock said. The crowd went ballistic.

Rock thanked the Superstars because it takes one hell of an effort to put on a night like tonight. Rock thanked his family and from the bottom of his heart. He thanked the fans. "It feels good to do this again and be WWE Champion... if you smell what the Rock is cooking."

The Rock heaved the microphone to Justin Roberts, who barely clutched it like a vase. Rock autographed his No. 94 Johnson jersey for a fan and left.
 
#8,179 ·
Still think the match should've happened at Wrestlemania but whatever. Decent match but the ending wasn't all that surprising. Elimination Chamber is gonna be interesting. Probably gonna be Rock defending in the chamber and Cena facing off against Ziggler. Can't see them sticking Cena in the chamber now that he's won the Rumble.
 
#8,188 ·
I think people are more upset at how Rock won rather than the fact he did.

Finished Punk with one Rock Bottom and one Peoples Elbow. Not only that but there must have been about 10 minutes between them. Now seeing Punk take 2 AAs from Cena or seeing him take 2 pedigrees from HHH and a load of chair shots and still kick out it just makes him look weak.

For a 400+ day reign I think it should have been something a little bit more special to finish him off.
 
#8,190 ·
Rock beat Hogan with the People's Elbow at Wrestlemania, and he beat HHH with it for the title at Backlash 2000.

Just informing all of the raging newbies who don't know shit about shit, but want to be mad about something.

If Hogan and HHH can lose to the People's Elbow, so can Punk. GET OVER IT.
 
#8,204 ·
Anyways people how would you rate this match?Stop being a mark and rate it on match quality,just don't say I'll give it one star because CM Punk lost or I'll give it 2/5 because Rock beat Punk with only 1 people's elbow and Rock bottom,Rock gave 2 people's elbow and a Rock bottom mind you.
I'll rate it as ***1/2
 
#8,205 ·
Correct result to the match, but a shitty match overall, crowd was the only think that made it seem semi good. The Rock was gassed pretty quick though, which is probably what led to a lot of filler in the middle. The Rock is in great shape, but now has a bodybuilder physique, when in his prime he was lean as hell. I'm sure Punk goes on to challenge Taker now, unless he wants his rematch at Wrestlemania.
 
#8,206 ·
Really slow paced match. I was disappointed in the lack of quality ring work I saw out of that match, but as storytelling the finish was pretty well done, and I know that I was excited when Rock won. I just pray we get Rock/Cena/Punk. That match has the potential to be a classic, just like this one did, but alas Punk and Rock weren't very compatible. It seemed to have a lot of strikes and not a lot of either guys' actual moveset, and that was a real problem for me. Rock's pre-match promo was excellent.

Also, the Spanish Announce Table gets revenge! Ahaha that was hilarious (once I knew that neither guy had gotten hurt... really hate seeing people get hurt.)
 
#8,209 ·
Match was even slower than I thought it would be. Obviously Rock isn't going to be able to run in circles for 40 minutes straight but there was a lot of down time. Punk carried the match very well and both guys looked good for most of it, despite how slow it was. I am confused by the finish...why have the shield interfere? Whats the point? Let Punk win, or have Rock win clean. Do what you're going to do. But don't build up "the shield cant interfere" only to then have them interfere anyway.
 
#8,215 ·
Well go to the store tomorrow morning and grab yourself a couple of boxes of fruity pebbles. IF you thought CM Punk's reign was bad, wait till we have a reign where the guy isn't even on TV every week followed by a rambling Steroid Junky that cuts terrible promos and has no in-ring skills... Oddly enough that description sounds like both the current and future WWE Champs...
 
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