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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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#8,423 ·
The Rock/Punk finish wasn't very good.Punk should've gone for the GTS and the Rock should've countered and gone for Rock bottom and then Punk counters again and then Rock hits Rock bottom and people's elbow.............something like that.
Rock/Cena was sloppy but the finish was brilliant
Rock/Punk at the beginning was brilliant but the finish was sloppy.
 
#8,424 ·
Re: Did Vince make the right decision regarding CM Punk vs Rock?

No he didn't bury Punk.Didn't you see the cheers CM Punk got at RR?Rock also got few boos.He made CM Punk over with the fans.Before Rock's return CM Punk hardly got any reaction from the crowd.Now it's right time for Punk to turn face.
 
#8,427 ·
Re: Did Vince make the right decision regarding CM Punk vs Rock?

No he didn't bury Punk.Didn't you see the cheers CM Punk got at RR?Rock also got few boos.He made CM Punk over with the fans.Before Rock's return CM Punk hardly got any reaction from the crowd.Now it's right time for Punk to turn face.
CM Punk was always going to get cheered from the smarks.

The Rock had nothing to do with Punk getting over.Rock put over Cena something on the lines of Hogan and Austin.He was booed mercilessly at WM27.



But it wouldn't have been a problem for you if Punk dropped it to a way more out of shape and pot bellied SCSA, right? fpalm
Austin has no reason to be in the current WWE.All these legends like Austin,Rock,Taker and even HHH should not be coming back.The Attitude Era promoted young talent.In this era,we having everything going backwards.

I personally hope Austin doesn't appear again.I saw one of my favourite wrestlers being a shadow of his former great self.I don't want that with Austin as well.
 
#8,425 ·
Re: To the people who disagree with Rock beating Punk....

SPCDRI;13214881 said:
You had a 30 year old full timer be a transitional champ to a 40 year old part timer.

Anything The Rock does will have interest and buys because he's The Rock. He doesn't need the belt.

Company could have spent the last say, year, getting ready by building a new face up to get the belt off Punk.
True
 
#8,445 ·
Re: To the people who disagree with Rock beating Punk....

That part timer looked superior "in ring" compared to the full timer.

Rock winning is just plain awesome! I do not want Cena/Rock II either...especially if Cena would get the win...that would be a stupid move by WWE...
You couldn't be more wrong, rock looked awful in the ring and struggled from start to finish.

And of course cena is going to win, do you think rock will be taking the title onto set of his next film like :lmao
 
#8,432 · (Edited)
Re: Did Vince make the right decision regarding CM Punk vs Rock?

I'm probably one of the few on here that don't mind that Cena is going to win the title at WM. And the only way they could get away with Rock v Cena II was if it "happened to be" that they faced each other (i.e. Rock has the title and Cena won the rumble). They couldn't just come out of nowhere and say "lets do it again - stuff the once in a lifetime crap".

What I do mind is that it HAS to be Rock/Cena II. Really, I don't think that has to happen AT ALL and thus I think Vince has made the next 2 months monumentally boring. If rock has to be at WM, he could face more interesting people. Cena could too. I also think WM would have been a fitting way to end Punk's reign - CLEAN - to somebody (as in, not coming out looking like a pu$$y with interference and such - that's all well and good DURING the reign to keep it going, but it was a sucky end to it) - hell, maybe even Cena could have won it off Punk if he has to.

Just for the love of god stop relying on attitude stars to sell PPVs. Take a chance Vince and push some talent. WWE will improve for it in the long run. That's what you did in the Attitude Era. It's great for one-off events but it's happening at every single 'big' PPV (WM, RR, SS)
 
#8,434 ·
Re: Did Vince make the right decision regarding CM Punk vs Rock?

Rock vs Cena for the title makes sense to me (Cena will go over and we have an ultimate top guy again). That means the 'legends match' and 'WWE Title' match is 2 birds with 1 stone. Giving plenty more attention to Taker's match (I assume vs Punk).

Can't really see Lesnar vs HHH being a 'draw' to anyone other than people who already watch and know the story.
 
#8,441 ·
Re: Did Vince make the right decision regarding CM Punk vs Rock?

Rock vs Cena for the title makes sense to me (Cena will go over and we have an ultimate top guy again). That means the 'legends match' and 'WWE Title' match is 2 birds with 1 stone. Giving plenty more attention to Taker's match (I assume vs Punk).

Can't really see Lesnar vs HHH being a 'draw' to anyone other than people who already watch and know the story.
Punk doesn't really have the credibility to challenge the streak any more - and I doubt they can build that up over the next couple of months.

One thing Rock v Cena does give us though, is yet another chance for a heel turn for Cena. I will forever hold out hope for this
 
#8,437 ·
Re: Did Vince make the right decision regarding CM Punk vs Rock?

Meh. Who's to say. The booking here was the poor part as opposed to the actual result, imo.

Sure, it does nothing for me, but we ALL knew it was going to happen. Sometimes you got to be a realist.

It's too bad this thread has to get marred with "rocky mark/hater" this and "punk mark/hater" that. People don't have to like it and it doesn't necessarily reflect them being anti or pro anyone. It's merely a result or decision that left a sour taste in their mouth. It happens.
 
#8,442 ·
Re: Did Vince make the right decision regarding CM Punk vs Rock?

Vince made the right decision by having CM Punk drop the title. And yes, CM Punk could've dropped it to any of the other top 10 guys in the company and I would've been fine with it. If you want names, then here you go: John Cena, Sheamus, Randy Orton, Big Show, Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, Ryback, HHH, Brock Lesnar, and I'll even throw in Chris Jericho as a bonus since he's around again now, and was earlier in his title reign as well.

Would've been 100% fine with him dropping it to any of those guys at any point in his reign, just like I'm 100% fine with him losing it to The Rock. No hesitation on answering that question at all.
 
#8,447 ·
I think it was a horrible decision! Where do you go from now? CM Punk loses his rematch on Raw tonight and then Cena comes down and points towards the WM sign. Then it's 2011/2012 all over again with their rehashed promos which were average a year ago.

I felt they could of had Vince trying to prove it was the shield just off what Cole says he saw and trying to prove they were in cahoots with Punk etc. more possibilities.

BTW why can't the ref count past 8? When the announce table collapsed they were out for nearly a minute
 
#8,449 ·
For a 400+ day reign to end from a People's Elbow, especially one with just a spinebuster as a build up is pretty shit. Think they've ended the reign prematurely to be honest, ever since the heel turn only in Night of Champions did Punk look strong. They made him a bitch for the rest of his reign. It would have made more sense to end it at Mania.
 
#8,450 · (Edited)
Re: To the people who disagree with Rock beating Punk....

Wow there are some whinging bitches in this thread. If you hate things being so 'predictable' then why watch a SCRIPTED TV SHOW? Wrestling is no more than a soap opera. Treat it as such and things get far more enjoyable.

The whole Rock/Cena deal makes a ton of sense. Cena wins this time around and he's beaten the one of the best ever! Much like Rock vs Hogan back in 2002. Your intelligence was 'insulted' then too.

Rock will be putting Cena over big-time, who can then go on to put over multiple wrestlers over the course of this year.

Re: being a draw - what a nonsense. The 'draw' is the wrestling! Why does it matter who's champ? If they're on the roster/getting TV time, then they will draw regardless of being champ or not. Cesaro, for example, will still be a draw when he loses the US title. DB (and Kane) will still be a draw. Punk will still be a draw. Cena, Orton, Ziggler and Sheamus currently are still draws. ADR as a face is more interesting in general and will be more of a draw the way he is regardless of having the title.

The personalities are the draws. The titles are just there to create and fulfil storylines. The sooner you lot get your head round that, the sooner you'll learn to enjoy it. Wrestling is about suspension of disbelief. If you can't do that, you're watching the wrong show.
 
#8,456 ·
It's a shame it ended so weakly but I think they were starting to get pushed for time and Rocky was clearly looking a bit gassed or rusty in the ring. I think he planned to do more with Punk in the match but it was hard to pull it off because they took so long to recover from things. Punk did a good job carrying him through the match though.
 
#8,457 ·
Re: Did Vince make the right decision regarding CM Punk vs Rock?

I don't think you know what the term "buried" means, that implies some kind of squash match where they're made a laughing stock, they both got very good showings in their matches and feuds.

As for Rock, go ahead and let him have a title reign to put over Cena, not important in the grand scheme of things and it'll be entertaining. Just wish the match he and Punk put on hadn't been so disappointing.
 
#8,458 ·
Re: Interesting Reaction From The Rock/Punk Match

lol thats funny
 
#8,464 ·
Re: Did Vince make the right decision regarding CM Punk vs Rock?

I'm so glad Punk is not the Champion anymore, he gets the "go away" heat from me, but on the other hand, you have a movie star part-timer dethroning him and his 500 days reign, which speaks volumes about WWE's booking and inability to create big stars.
 
#8,467 ·
Vince "screwing" Punk can set-up Punk/Triple H for Mania. Punk attacks Vince, Hunter comes out to make the save. Much like Orton/Triple H in 09. Only this time, the heel has to go over.

So we might get what was my favourite scenario the whole time: Cena/Rock, Punk/Triple H and Lesnar/Taker along with Orton/Sheamus, Show/Ryback and Jericho/Ziggler.
 
#8,468 · (Edited)
Think they had a very good match but the ending ruined it all. Loved how they were targeting each others weak points. Punk aiming at Rocky's mid section while The Rock targeting Punk's injured left knee was very well worked out. Only thing that irked me was the ending. Was expecting something better. Some finishers out of nowhere or something. Great match, but nothing really spectacular and the fact that all these mean we're going to get The Rock vs Cena II at Mania, with :cena going over makes me want to punch something so hard. :downing

Vince "screwing" Punk can set-up Punk/Triple H for Mania. Punk attacks Vince, Hunter comes out to make the save. Much like Orton/Triple H in 09. Only this time, the heel has to go over.

So we might get what was my favourite scenario the whole time: Cena/Rock, Punk/Triple H and Lesnar/Taker along with Orton/Sheamus, Show/Ryback and Jericho/Ziggler.
For what? The World Heavyweight Title or his Money in The Bank contract again?
 
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