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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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#183 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

The way I want it(very unlikeable though)
Brock beats HHH at SS thus demanding a tittle shot because he has beaten the boss. He gets it and faces the wwe champion at wm.
(Now I don't really believe that Punk will have the tittle another 4 months to rumble but he will lose it and regain it probably a ppv before the rumble) thus setting a match with The Rock.
The Rock somehow wins by turning heel(Hollywood Rock maybe!!??)
brock vs rock II wm 29

:ex:
 
#184 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Possible scenario

CM Punk retains the title at Royal Rumble against The Rock.
The Rock enters the Royal Rumble match and wins to gets his spot for Wrestlemania.
Brock or Cena wins the title at Elimination Chamber and main event Wrestlemania against
The Rock.

If the Rock win the title at Royal Rumble means that he will have to be to every
show (+ Elimination Chamber) until Wrestlemania.

With his crazy schedule i can't see it happening.
 
#185 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

I was thinking they might actually have Punk retain all the way to the Rumble (and if he does retain at NoC he still might), but with all the talk of him actually possibly doing it on WWE TV and WWE's website, I'm thinking Punk loses to Cena at NoC or Hell In A Cell (with him retaining in a flukey way at NoC), setting up a re-match for Survivor Series - maybe a Best of Three Falls or IronMan, with Cena retaining, and then retaining again in a multi-way match at TLC, setting up Rock-Cena 2 for the Rumble, where Punk would then win the Rumble and Rock would win the title; setting up Punk versus Rock if or the WWE Title as the Main Event of WrestleMania; which would be awesome IMO.
 
#186 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Punk Vs Rock is happening at RR. Somehow, someway Punk will be holding that title at RR.

They aren't going to have a match at WM. That's RockvsCena.

They are going to have a match, that's for sure. They just don't allow Punk attack him then bad mouth him (probably for months this will happen) and not have a pay off.
 
#189 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Personally, I do think that The Rock will win the WWE Championship at Royal Rumble and he'll do it by defeating CM Punk. The reason I say this is because I honestly can't see WWE having Cena lose to Rock at WrestleMania XXVIII without having some sort of endgame in mind. I just feel like there's going to be a point where we'll see Cena get that victory back and I think that will be at WrestleMania XXIX by defeating The Rock when the stakes are even higher, with the WWE Championship hanging in the balance. If Cena is going to beat The Rock, I think that it has to happen at WrestleMania.

I suppose that Rock could fail to win the title, due to some sort of interference, which sets up his next opponent for WrestleMania (Brock Lesnar?), and giving Punk a huge win in the process. Or maybe even Cena costs Rock the match, setting up their rematch? To me, though, if they're really going to do Cena/Rock II, then the title should be on the line. They could do it without the title on the line, but I feel like the stakes should be raised a bit if they're doing the same match two years in a row. (See HBK/Taker and HHH/Taker).

Unless someone becomes a huge megastar between now and April, I'm still sticking with WrestleMania XXIX looking like this:

WWE Championship
The Rock (C) vs. John Cena

The Streak
The Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar

CM Punk vs. Triple H or Stone Cold
 
#190 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

As for my whole thoughts.

Rock winning is not a big issue attendance wise for him. He can easily hold the championship. Have a contendership match at Elimination Chamber, and give the Rumble to a Smackdown star. He can easily fly in and out to make each RAW. As for house shows, Cena/Punk can easily carry that weight and not have the championship there. Currently Punk was on Smackdown to cover for the loss of Orton while no Championship was defended at house shows.

Now, as for the whole feud. Punk/Rock would be great. Although as others have said, a hot potato to Cena randomly before then would damage all parties there. The Reign of Punk right now is all about getting the full spotlight. He needs to get through Cena again and run with the spotlight to increase his status as a top star even further. Have him as a calculated power hungry heel. Heck, have him run through Cena at SummerSlam and NOC, then at HIAC have him go through Orton. Survivor Series have him defeat Undertaker with help from Lesnar(Thus setting up a feud). Then at TLC have a triple threat with two faces.

Going into the Royal Rumble this will add so much hype. Punk will be one of the longest reigning champions in years. The Rock will want his first championship in years.
Doubt can be put in peoples minds due to the length of Punk's reign with correct build-up. I DEFIANTLY want to see CM Punk VS The Rock just go all out in promos and see how they fare. But please, not "Phil" VS "Dwanye" we need "CM Punk" VS "The Rock". Rock winning will put Punk over massively too. Remember, you dont have to win to help add creditability/overness.

For Rock moving on he would obviously face Cena in a rematch, passing the title to him. As for Punk, he could face HHH or Austin. And I would love for them to build the feud into Punk having to deliver a coup de gras to either man, helping Punk transition more into a face role again post mania.

That all said. I am under 100% belief Punk will drop the title at NOC 2012. It is just all pointing towards another Cena moment WWE want to force on us.
 
#195 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

I don't see what's so bad about Phil losing to someone with ten times the talent he's got. And if there is anyone in the roster with enough credibility and talent to justify going over The Rock, it's Cena. (and Orton after him, but he's already sort of beat The Rock in that tag team match at WM20)
 
#200 · (Edited)
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Spewing stupid rhetoric and overusing stupid smilies and gifs. Yup, you've got all the tools for being a proper idiot with no argument.

And the headline reads....TheF1BOB is a silly bitch.
It's okay troll, you can do better. :cena2

Love Austin but its the truth no matter what people say. No fanboyism at all to see this fact. In 2012, Rock is the biggest thing going. Anything with him will be big. Period.
Tell that to trollanomics. :Rock3
 
#202 · (Edited)
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Rock has always relied on the same old repetitive, nonsensical, and juvenile drivel for his promos, and yes, they are comparable in the ring, and Punk, or should I say Phil because cool kids use his real name, is better in almost every aspect. Btw, a look is just genetics, not a talent.

You say "attention seeking trolling", I say "facts". =)

But please, continue on with your circle jerk.
 
#204 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Anyway, I'm sure the actual rumble match will be in the middle of the card again like it was in '06 and this match will main event instead, since I'm sure Vince would consider it a travesty if Rock didn't main event.
 
#207 · (Edited)
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Anyway, I'm sure the actual rumble match will be in the middle of the card again like it was in '06 and this match will main event instead, since I'm sure Vince would consider it a travesty if Rock didn't main event.
It IS a travesty kid. Why? Because every time Rock is there, it's his show, hell, it was his show from 2001 when he chose his opponents, he wanted to work with Flair, Eddie, Lesnar, Booker, RVD etc and wrestled all of them, TV or PPV. He can choose to push Curt Hawkins, a guy he knows and trained with and he will main event the PPV with him over anything. I don't think some people understand the power of being bigger than the entire industry, the power when your talent is more recognized than an entire stigma of a business like wrestling. Always funny to see comments like "Vince this, Vince that" when it comes to Rock, like he's some worker there, Vince is answering to Rock, not the other way around and is doing it for over 10 years, he works around Rock's schedule.

No, Austin is a bigger star than Rock, and Austin hasn't wrestled since '03. Austin is also more of a natural fit for Punk to feud with than Rock is. The only thing I'm dealing with is facts.
Austin was never a bigger star than Rock from July of 99 with the gap astronomically growing every year. That's 13 years ago, probably your age. The moment Rock started the momentum train as a babyface in 99, nothing and nobody could touch him, not the horrible booking, not the politics, not the position. He had the biggest year for any wrestler in history in 2000, bigger than Austin, Hogan, Bruno etc. He destroyed the entire industry by a huge gap from 99 until the day he left to bigger things because he was too big to be tied in the borders of the wrestling industry. So no, the only way you're going to see Austin/Punk is in the video games because there's no money in it. Austin himself knows it, that match will never happen anyway and in fantasy booking if it does, the entire selling on that kind of match will be a megastar like Austin's return to the ring, just like if his opponent is Punk(who is not drawing, no matter who is opponent, proved with HHH and Cena last year when he bombed with them on PPV), the entire selling point on Rock's Rumble match is him wrestling for the WWE title in over 10 years.
 
#205 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Despite the Rumble being one of the uniquest gimmick matches and perhaps the best, it makes all the sense in the world for the title match to go last because most people pay to see this match rather than the Rumble, which in this case is just a bonus. If Mark Henry could main event over the match itself (I understand why), I'm sure The Rock definitely can as the special attraction.
 
#211 ·
WWE Contemplating Punk dropping the title at Summerslam.

WWE's booking committee are contemplating a scenario where CM Punk would drop the WWE Championship to John Cena at SummerSlam to set up a rematch between Cena and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson at Royal Rumble-Johnson announced at Raw 1,000 that he would face whoever the WWE Champion is at the January pay-per-view event. Johnson would defeat Cena at the Rumble and then defend the title against Punk at WrestleMania XXIX. - Rajah.com
Having Cena as champ would make me sad but if Punk faced Rock at WM29 I wouldn't mind having Cena as champ for a while.
 
#218 ·
Re: WWE Contemplating Punk dropping the title at Summerslam.

Having Cena as champ would make me sad but if Punk faced Rock at WM29 I wouldn't mind having Cena as champ for a while.

It would also help complete Punk's Heel turn just like last time. Back in 2009, Punk was also in the midst of a Heel turn and it was him dropping the World Title to Jeff Hardy and him snapping on him on the ensuing Smackdown that completed the turn. Same could happen here with him and Cena.
 
#212 ·
Re: WWE Contemplating Punk dropping the title at Summerslam.

I was just going to post this lol. Punk-Rock at mania tho? I wonder if rock would put punk over there.
 
#213 ·
Re: WWE Contemplating Punk dropping the title at Summerslam.

If they set up CM Punk vs The Rock for mania, i'd fucking love it.

Having John Cena as Champion wouldn't be that bad, maybe a fued with Bryan would be pretty nice.

I have a feeling Big Show will become WWE champion and then drop it between now and the rumble to The Rocks opponent.
 
#214 ·
Re: WWE Contemplating Punk dropping the title at Summerslam.

But then, wouldn't they have to book Cena/Rock III at Elimination Chamber? That would kinda kill the idea that Cena/Rock is a special match. Either that or it would be Punk/Cena/Rock at Mania.
...
Just keep the belt on Punk, it makes more sense.
 
#215 ·
Re: WWE Contemplating Punk dropping the title at Summerslam.

Why is this booking commite so stupid? Why dont Punk retain till RR, lose to The Rock and then Rock goes on to face John Cena, and Punk has his rematch at Wresltemania? These 3 need a triple-threat because they all have a personal vendetta towards each other.

Punk vs Cena vs Rock - WWE Championship = BOOK IT!
 
#216 · (Edited)
Re: WWE Contemplating Punk dropping the title at Summerslam.

Not gonna happen.

1. Punk will lose to the title to Cena at NOC.

2. Win it back at TLC or HIAC.

3. He'll drop the WWE championship to the Rock at the Rumble.

4. John Cena will win the Rumble or an Elimination Chamber match to face Rock at Mania.

5. Rock will drop the belt to Cena thus getting his "win back".

Punk will work with Austin or H at Mania.

Guarantee it.
 
#217 ·
Re: WWE Contemplating Punk dropping the title at Summerslam.

Didn't they "contemplate" Punk dropping the belt for the last 6 months now? After every PPV vs Bryan a report came out saying "They considered giving the belt to Bryan, but changed their mind."

Dirtsheets, say whatever you want and if you're wrong just say WWE changed their mind at the last second.
 
#219 ·
Re: WWE Contemplating Punk dropping the title at Summerslam.

If it gives Punk VS Rock at mania? Sure as hell do it. Biggest match of Punks career on the biggest stage of them all.

But it is not happening. Punk VS HHH is for mania and Punk VS Rock is at RR.
 
#221 ·
Re: WWE Contemplating Punk dropping the title at Summerslam.

I would do it like this:

Retain at Summerslam, continue being WWE champion until Royal Rumble or a month earlier to set up for the Rock/Cena storyline.

Otherwise, WWE risk pissing off those who chanted "434 days."
 
#230 ·
Re: WWE Contemplating Punk dropping the title at Summerslam.

I just can't see Cena losing to Rock twice. But if Rock put over Punk in the ME of MANIA for the title, that would be friggin HUGE for punk.
You know what else would be huge for Wrestlemania? Jesus makes his triumphant return and Daniel Bryan immediately makes him tap. Know what these 2 ideas have in common? Neither are even remotely close to coming true.
 
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