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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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#3,218 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Rocky will not win the title at Rumble. If he does, I'll leave this site forever.
 
#3,222 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

I think it'd be better if he didn't win it at the Rumble. Not only would it help CM Punk to look legitimate but it'll mean more when The Rock does finally win it.

If he win's at the Rumble he'll have been away for almost 10 years, came back and in his first (singles) match beat the top star and in his second match won the title which I think would make the title look bad. If however he loses and has to work for a rematch before finally winning it, it'll look like more of a accomplishment.

Just my thoughts.
 
#3,226 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Ryback needs to win at TLC so you have the Shield get their revenge on him the night after, Punk returns on the 24th but no Ryback, Vince announces Ryback will get his title shot on the first Live RAW of 2012 on the 7th so you close the new years Eve show for the buildup for Punk/Ryback week after.

7th you have Rock kick the show off, leaving it saying he'll be out their for the Main Event, Punk and Shield either both beatdown Rock and Ryback or the both of them clean house at the end whichever works and you transition into Rock/Punk and Ryback/Shield who'll all be in the Rumble I assume.
 
#3,229 · (Edited)
Rock Advertised For Raw

The Rock is currently advertised for the 1/7, 1/21 and 1/28 episodes of WWE Raw. He is not advertised for the 1/14 show which is the 20th anniversary of the series.

source: wrestling news world
 
#3,231 ·
Re: Rock Advertised For Raw

Thanks for the info. So The Rock won't be appearing for 3 weeks after TLC? Sigh.

That's disappointing. Least we get him on 3 episodes though and Royal Rumble. Maybe he'll make an unscheduled appearance the week before or something.

But what concerns me is that he's not scheduled on any Raws after the one after RR. Does this mean he's going to lose and leave? :\
 
#3,234 ·
Re: Rock Advertised For Raw

No reason for Rock to appear around Christmas and New Year time anyway when the show just filler during the holidays for those wondering why he won't be on Raw after TLC. He's also scheduled for the Raw after Elimination Chamber. For whatever reason, I'm still leaning toward Rock not winning the title at Rumble. I'm excited and can't wait for January to get here. Exciting times ahead.
 
#3,236 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Would love to see him win the title and go Hollywood heel taking off with the title to Hollywood and appearing on various shows with it. Would be great build to WM and could give a much better rub to whomever takes the title from him. This could greatly benefit the WWE giving them mainstream exposure but I am doubtful WWE would want to go with this option for various reasons.
 
#3,241 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Rock is not advertised for the 1/14 show which is the 20th anniversary of the series. I bet he wont be there bc Austin is going to be there and maybe WWE doesnt want the attention split between them. I read it was going to be held in Houston and Austin loves home court advantage so maybe hell confront Punk.

Just maybe he will be at WM 29 after all to face Punk after he drops the ittle to the GOAT. God i pray WWE isnt stupid enough to do Rock/Cena II for the title. I bet if Austin is planning on coming back they will do it to insure most of the attention is on Austin/Punk, they know Rock/Lesnar or Rock/Taker would steal the show from Austin/Punk.
 
#3,247 · (Edited)
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

I don't see what people thought was going to happen for the build up, we knew Rock was going to be on 2-3 RAWs months ago, only thing is I thought he was going to return at the 20 years special instead of the week before. No idea why he's not booked for this show if they want to make it big, 20 years should be a bigger deal than 1000 episodes IMO.

But anyway, Rock's first appearance should be talking about what happened and hyping the Rumble, then in the main event segment giving Punk a Rock Bottom to get the GTS out of the way. Then in 2 weeks you can have a final promo between them with Rock selling how much the title means to him and after 10 years he has a chance to win it again. Kinda like he did before WM28 when he said that for 8 years the first question people asked him was when he is coming back.

A cool spot can be Rock doing a random run-in in his first appearance, something like that:

1:00


"Stronger than a Bear. Faster than a Buck" - Legit :Rock
 
#3,250 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

It would be awesome. Rock should just turn heel for Cena feud II since that'll at least make it entertaining and he'll no longer have to pander and talk about twitter. Plus anything that consists of him beating Punk is automatically perfection!
 
#3,254 ·
Re: Official The Rock WWE Championship Discussion

Yeah, Rock becoming heel would just be entertaining. So what if they cheer him. At least it will be memorable rather than him talking about twitter and pandering to the fans all the time. And at the end of the day, that's what it's about. ENTERTAINMENT!
 
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