[JY57]

inb4 CM Punk makes an endorsement deal with Carvel

[The-Rock-Says]

I think Jason Powell said it best last night on his pod. When it was Cena/Rock they both weren't doing business together. They were trying to get one up on the other by (mostly Cena) cutting each off and smiling and blowing it off like it didn't matter what the person was saying. Just trying to cut the other down. In this feud, both are on the same page and are doing business together. Hopefully they keep it up.

[Evil Peter]

Originally Posted by JY57

isn't Punk trained in the Martial Arts or something?

Yes, he's trained in at least Kempo, Muay Thai and BJJ to my knowledge. I don't know to what extent though. He's still a white belt in BJJ (although it usually takes longer to advance in BJJ than in most other martial arts) but he's friends with some high level trainers so when he has the time to train I guess he's getting some good lessons.

Originally Posted by -Skullbone-

I hate getting into this when I should be talking about the promo. Regardless, the question is: are those people behind their monitors mistaken when they say the could take Punk? Probably the majority of the time when taking wrestling fans into account.

Yes, most likely. Just looking at someone is a horrible way to judge if you can take someone in a fight. A good example is when Roger Huerta (MMA fighter, mediocre at 155 lbs) got angry with a former NFL linebacker who hit a girl. Roger was tiny in comparison but completely beat the shit out of the big man. Of course an MMA fighter is a lot better at fighting than the average guy, but an NFL linebacker is a hell of a lot bigger and physically talented than the average guy as well, so the example still holds some general weight.

I've seen my fair share of big gym guys coming into the MA gyms I've trained and tought at and think that they are tough because they are big and strong. They all learned something new from that.

[-Skullbone-]

It's quite something to see some people proclaiming how Cena and Rock was a 'great' feud. Promotion-wise? Absolutely. Generation vs Generation with the two names involved makes for a splendid spectacle. Anything beyond that? *fart noise* Bunch of awkward exchanges, with Rock actually telling Cena to look at him as if he was a petulant kid while Cena wore that shit-eating grin, as well as an utter lack of substance up to the last three weeks. Crap stuff that probably convinced a few it was worth more due to some great video and promotional packaging. Barely an ounce of genuity there.

Didn't Cena also make a few jabs at Rock's past chest surgery? I know he made a very slight remark involving Rock's mother (of whose involvement Rock is supposedly very sensitive of), but I could swear there was another thing about the ol' man boob thing Rock had done.

[Duke Silver]

Originally Posted by SinJackal

Punk isn't "scrawny". . .but I wouldn't classify him as very strong either. I'd guess he is roughly 40% stronger than the average male, maybe slightly more or less, but around there. The Rock is closer to 150% stronger than the average male if what I've read about his power numbers is even remotely accurate. That makes him around 75% stronger than CM Punk. He's as close to being scrawny than he is being as strong as The Rock.

That's purely if you look at wrestling as a matter of size and strength. I understand why some people have a hard time believing that Punk could beat-up The Rock, but wrestling is as much about technique, leverage and mind games as it is anything. You don't need to dominate someone to kick their ass, neither do you need to physically over-power them. There have been monsters of all shape and size that have shocked and dominated professional sport.

Fedor Emilianenko was a flabby, short, 240lbs man that spent a decade dominating the heavyweight division of MMA. A humble and shy small Brazilian by the name of Royce Gracie took giant men to the ground and humbled them. Anderson Silva continues to obliterate men twice his size in his last 30s.

At the end of the day, kick The Rock's ass is exactly what Punk will do at the Rumble, regardless of whether people buy into it. I don't think too many people will be complaining when it happens. And at least Punk doesn't have fake boobs like some Nitro girl.

[Randy.robinson2012]

Cookie-puss?

Sweet Jesus, is that what it has come down to?

Yabba Dabba Bitch, Fruity Pebbles, Kung Pao Bitch, Cookie-Puss……

Rock has always had a meta- element to his persona, but he used to at least inhabit his character and allow people to invest or find some level of reality in it.

Since he has returned, his character has lost an element it once had, in my opinion, as he seems to slide in and out between "The Rock" and this "Smiling Dwayne Johnson" persona, constantly letting us know that he is "entertaining" us in the middle of a match building promo, and it just makes his whole schtick when he is being the Rock seem particularly forced and manufactured.

The Rock persona used to work in my view because, as ridiculous as it could seem at times, Johnson took it seriously and stayed in character when he was in the ring.


It just seems a shame these days that a creative guy like Dwayne Johnson is happy to recite such silly lines, and its also a shame that the fans these days are so starved of something worth cheering that they will not only accept it, but actually chant it in arenas and tweet it around the internet.

It makes wrestling fans look like such mindless followers to be so ready to chant whatever meaningless slogan he comes up with next. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with fans cheering for whoever they like, but it just seems as though there are certain segments of fans who will literally cheer and chant no matter what Rock says, without stopping to think whether it is actually good or not.

The way Rock talks these days gets more and more ridiculous because everybody knows that no man actually talks that way, and for me, it takes that special spark out of a genuinely great promo that gets you truly invested in a believably authentic conflict.

Obviously, Rock still makes it work to a certain extent, as he is still speaks well and has presence, but I am really hoping in this current stint that he rises above this silliness and either gets serious or gets more creative.

[WWE Jaiden DBZ]

Shield gonna cost Rocky the match, If ya smell what the Rock is cooking.

[AthenaMark]

Originally Posted by Randy.robinson2012

Cookie-puss?

Sweet Jesus, is that what it has come down to?

Yabba Dabba Bitch, Fruity Pebbles, Kung Pao Bitch, Cookie-Puss……

Rock has always had a meta- element to his persona, but he used to at least inhabit his character and allow people to invest or find some level of reality in it.

Since he has returned, his character has lost an element it once had, in my opinion, as he seems to slide in and out between "The Rock" and this "Smiling Dwayne Johnson" persona, constantly letting us know that he is "entertaining" us in the middle of a match building promo, and it just makes his whole schtick when he is being the Rock seem particularly forced and manufactured.

The Rock persona used to work in my view because, as ridiculous as it could seem at times, Johnson took it seriously and stayed in character when he was in the ring.


It just seems a shame these days that a creative guy like Dwayne Johnson is happy to recite such silly lines, and its also a shame that the fans these days are so starved of something worth cheering that they will not only accept it, but actually chant it in arenas and tweet it around the internet.

It makes wrestling fans look like such mindless followers to be so ready to chant whatever meaningless slogan he comes up with next. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with fans cheering for whoever they like, but it just seems as though there are certain segments of fans who will literally cheer and chant no matter what Rock says, without stopping to think whether it is actually good or not.

The way Rock talks these days gets more and more ridiculous because everybody knows that no man actually talks that way, and for me, it takes that special spark out of a genuinely great promo that gets you truly invested in a believably authentic conflict.

Obviously, Rock still makes it work to a certain extent, as he is still speaks well and has presence, but I am really hoping in this current stint that he rises above this silliness and either gets serious or gets more creative.

LMAO. I don't know if you know this or not but no one talks like the Rock period. No Man talks like that? No fucking kidding. No man talks like Austin does either. Or the Undertaker. Or Hogan. Or Jericho. Or like Punk with his insider reference to make it seem like he cares about his peers event though his pay check got bigger while they got squashed out and he did nothing about it.

[The-Rock-Says]

They need to get across the point that the Shield are banned from ringside from the match and if they do get involved, they'll all be fired. Cause if they don't, the people in the arena are just going to be waiting for them and it'll kill some of the atmosphere for the match.

[-Skullbone-]

Originally Posted by Duke Droese

That's purely if you look at wrestling as a matter of size and strength. I understand why some people have a hard time believing that Punk could beat-up The Rock, but wrestling is as much about technique, leverage and mind games as it is anything. You don't need to dominate someone to kick their ass, neither do you need to physically over-power them. There have been monsters of all shape and size that have shocked and dominated professional sport.

You can't deny that WWE is about visuality and presentation though. The world of professional wrestling is largely formed on imagery. Most fans being catered to on the largely platforms are also pretty vacuous in thinking bigger = better; a trait which the company provides them in most cases.

I agree though that it shouldn't be all about that. With guys like Punk and others of smaller stature you have to make reference to their other attributes. They can be smart, meticulous, resilient, tenacious. They are thinkers, opportunists, whatever else fits in their arc. Punk has been champ for near 400 days, yet nearly no one buys him as going toe-to-toe with Rock physically with what's being presented so far in his reign. They have to present him as being Rock's better in some in-ring aspect, and that could well be with the backup he might have with The Shield, Maddox and Heyman.