[Starbuck]

First things first, I 100% commend Punk for NOT doing 2 things I was absolutely convinced he was going to do:

1) DUWAYNE
2) Laugh, smile and no sell everything like Cena

The simple fact that he didn't do these things gets him a massive from me. Thank the lord. Staying with point number 2, the very fact that he stood there and didn't smile like a fucking idiot automatically puts the whole thing over as something serious to him which is absolutely what needed to happen. Big kudos to him for that.

The most important thing about this promo and something that I'd like to flag up would be the intensity they brought to the table. That was great and made for compelling TV. However, the promo didn't blow my mind like it did for a lot of people here. Sure, it was intense, but some of the content on both sides was poor. There were a lot of things I found silly, mainly Punk calling himself dangerous and Rock's most dangerous opponent ever lulz. I just can't take him seriously when he says he's going to kick somebody's ass when he has been booked like shit and when he looks like a lanky teenager when standing next to a guy like Rock. I just can't. It makes me lol. Anyways, I could sit here and nitpick on them and ultimately ruin this for myself like most of the rest of you but I'm not going to do that. At the end of the day, I came out of this wanting to see more and wanting to see the match and that's their job done.

[admiremyclone]

I was so excited about waking up this morning and watching RAW. I mean, I had to forward through a LOT of crap to get to the important stuff but it was definitely worth it.

The Rock DELIVERED and CM Punk DELIVERED in their exchange. Both men were absolutely fantastic and sold me and probably everyone else on buying the Royal Rumble. Now I'm just wondering what else they're going to do for three weeks?

The ONLY part I didn't like was Punk's promo before Rocky came out. It seemed to drag and the crowd wasn't responding to it at all. He was trying so hard for the heat but wasn't getting it. He rambled a bit and none of it was really relevant to The Rock and the feud. However, he had his game face on when The Rock came out and from there it was magic for this fan.

There was no "Dwayne" or "Phil" or "I'm here every week and you're never hear, you don't care about the fans blah blah" or any of that crap we had with Cena last year.

Punk is the long-reigning champion and he believes he's the best in the world. You can hear it in his voice; conviction and belief. On the other side of it, it was great to hear The Rock say he came back for three reasons - to entertain the fans, to stop Punk, and to win the title. In that one sentence, and with Punk holding it up after he said it and staring at it, the title became THE most important thing in the company again after playing second fiddle to Cena for a year. Phenomenal stuff, and it took all of ten seconds to elevate the belt again.

As for the idiotic people here ripping Rock's promo apart because of one or two corny lines....erm, have you guys just met The Rock for the first time or something? It's The Rock. He cuts an intense promo and throws in jokes here and there. Most work but one or two don't. The crowd eats it up every time, and the proof is in the pudding as he's a proven PPV draw in this dire climate. 99% of the fans pay to see The Rock do his thing. If he didn't do his thing, he wouldn't be The Rock. Simple as that.

And for those who say Rock's promo was crap because of one or two bad jokes...let's all go to page 3 of our hymn book and remember this nugget from the allegedly "legendary" Summer of Punk 2011:



From 5:40. Possibly the unfunniest thing I've ever seen, and absolutely cringe worthy. One could say it was....childish? No, surely not! CM Punk doesn't do childish! He does serious and intense! Nobody's perfect.

[TheF1BOB]

Originally Posted by Starbuck

First things first, I 100% commend Punk for NOT doing 2 things I was absolutely convinced he was going to do:

1) DUWAYNE
2) Laugh, smile and no sell everything like Cena

The simple fact that he didn't do these things gets him a massive from me. Thank the lord. Staying with point number 2, the very fact that he stood there and didn't smile like a fucking idiot automatically puts the whole thing over as something serious to him which is absolutely what needed to happen. Big kudos to him for that.

The most important thing about this promo and something that I'd like to flag up would be the intensity they brought to the table. That was great and made for compelling TV. However, the promo didn't blow my mind like it did for a lot of people here. Sure, it was intense, but some of the content on both sides was poor. There were a lot of things I found silly, mainly Punk calling himself dangerous and Rock's most dangerous opponent ever lulz. I just can't take him seriously when he says he's going to kick somebody's ass when he has been booked like shit and when he looks like a lanky teenager when standing next to a guy like Rock. I just can't. It makes me lol. Anyways, I could sit here and nitpick on them and ultimately ruin this for myself like most of the rest of you but I'm not going to do that. At the end of the day, I came out of this wanting to see more and wanting to see the match and that's their job done.

Just shows what simple things like selling can do for a feud.

LOL admiremyclone owns all with that video.

[The Cynical Miracle]

I admit that it was so fucking stupid for Punk to put his delusional heel gimmick by saying he's the most dangerous man The Rocks ever faced. He should behave like all the other cowardly heels in the WWE and look like a geek IMO.

Speaking of which. When Rocks done with Punk and most likely Cena which will pop a buyrate so I cant wait for it. Who else does THE ROCK feud on the current roster. Sheamus? Randy Orton?

[Skyfall]

Originally Posted by Starbuck

First things first, I 100% commend Punk for NOT doing 2 things I was absolutely convinced he was going to do:

1) DUWAYNE
2) Laugh, smile and no sell everything like Cena

lol STOARBOOK!

just kidding.

I think Punk will win, but then Rock will win at Elimination Chamber. I have no other comments.

[Gamblor]

It's laughable that people have to resort to "ROCKY OWNED PUNK!" or "PUNK OWNED DWAYNE!" or some shit like that. They both complimented each other well and did a great job of making their feud very heated in just one night off of just one promo. It wasn't just Punk's delivery/content or Rock's delivery/intensity, it was BOTH. If you say Rock owned Punk, you clearly have a problem with Punk and/or you're just overly obsessed with Rock. If you say Punk owned Rock... well, just switch the names around in the last sentence. I do hope that those saying it are just trolling and don't truly believe that's what the product is about.

I personally feel Punk was better last night, not only because he was on his A-game and delivered in all aspects of promo work, but more the fact Rock for 75% of his promo was using lines as bad as the ones Cena use. Now of course, Rock delivers those type of lines a billion times better than Cena does, and he delivers them much better than Punk did back when Punk was a face, but it doesn't change the fact it irked me a bit and made me feel Rock wasn't on his A-game for the whole promo. With that said, Rock's intensity in those last couple of minutes leading up to the Rock-bottom was other-worldly, and I hope Rock brings that intensity in all and for all of his promos in the next few weeks leading up to the Rumble.

And don't misinterpret what I said above as me thinking Punk OWNED Rock. Owning can only be truly done if the material allows it, which didn't happen last night except arguably when Rock talked about Punk's failures as the top face (though I thought it was stupid to say the fans rejected Punk when Punk got the biggest pops night in night out when Rock, Taker, and the likes weren't there and he was still making the company money in merch). I just see it as Rock had a very good night. Punk had a great night. It's got nothing to do with "owning".

[Oliver-94]

Rock fans are the best lol

[Starbuck]

Originally Posted by The Cynical Miracle

I admit that it was so fucking stupid for Punk to put his delusional heel gimmick by saying he's the most dangerous man The Rocks ever faced. He should behave like all the other cowardly heels in the WWE and look like a geek IMO.

I didn't say it was stupid. I just said that I found it silly. His 'boxing with God' line would have been much more effective if he wasn't booked like a pussy and actually looks like he can back up what he says. You're an uber mark. You bought into it and probably thought it was the best thing ever said by any wrestler in the history of life. I didn't buy into it so it made me laugh and I found it funny. Deal with it.

[D-Tre]

1 promo of Punk and Rock topples everything Cena did with Rock, it's insane. The Rock brought intensity with his usual jokes, which Punk matched instead of just laughing it off and having nothing to say like Cena. Should make for good TV these coming weeks. If Rocks going to be around, don't really know what's going to happen after this promo. They've said all they needed to. Wonder how long until 'The Shield' gets involved.

[The Cynical Miracle]

AW MAN, CHECK THIS OUT GUYS!

Some potential good news for WWE and USA Network's Raw TV ratings is the viewership trend during the BCS National Title game.

Due to the blow-out nature of college football's championship game, there was a drop-off from about a 20.0 rating at 9:30 p.m. EST to about a 15.0 rating at 10:00 p.m. EST, which is when the game officially became a blow-out at halftime. At 10:00 EST, WWE went right into their TV main event of C.M. Punk vs. Ryback in a TLC match for the WWE Title.

By the time halftime was over, the BCS game only returned to about a 16.0 rating before falling to about a 14.0 rating at the end of the 10:00 p.m. hour. As Raw was set to deliver the much-anticipated confrontation between C.M. Punk and The Rock, the BCS Title game rating fell to about a 13.0 rating.

The picture bodes well for the performance of WWE's third hour, which has struggled during the three-hour Raw era. WWE is currently on a 20-show streak where viewership has declined from the second to third hour. If the third hour holds up, the overall Raw TV rating should be perform better-than-expected prior to the game starting.

- The following are Key Points in the BCS TV Ratings, based on a timeline released by sports reporter Darren Rovell (@DarrenRovell)

- 8:25 p.m. EST: 14.0 rating for final pre-game activity
- 8:30 p.m. EST: 20.0 rating game-start
- 9:00 p.m. EST: 21.0 peak rating at start of Raw's second hour
- 9:30 p.m. EST: 20.0 rating
- 10:00 p.m. EST: 15.0 rating at start of Raw's third hour
- 10:30 p.m. EST: 16.0 rating post-Halftime
- 11:00 p.m. EST: 13.0 rating start of Raw over-run
- 11:30 p.m. EST: 12.0 rating for end-game