The Anti-Rock Sentiments - Why It Makes the Wrestling Community Look Bitter & Jealous

**Shockage** · 01-30-2013, 04:50 PM

Why did you say "that has nothing to do with this"? It has everything to do with this. You have a man, a shell of his former self hanging around wrestling when he should just go home, and you attack the Rock for abandoning wrestling? I'd rather pick the guy who has a good head on his shoulders and who isn't addicted to the spotlight than a stupid has been who doesn't want to wake up. I guess financial debt is another wrestling trait you want to glorify as well.

**WWE Gary** · 01-30-2013, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by The Legend Killer

He's only been in the WWE for what? 7 years? It's a long enough time now to prove your talent, but, he's still got decades left in him. !

Maybe not if you ask Shock . He might be dead tomorrow ...... maybe he could use that as an excuse to turn his back on his wrestling fans and go to Hollywood .

Wrestling fans were booing The Rock a long time back . As far back as ,what I believe ,was his first sabbatical to film The Scorpion King . Because they knew then , like they know now , he is more interested in his movie career than his wrestling career .

Now suddenly every one is cheering him again ? Please !

**Shockage** · 01-30-2013, 04:52 PM

Originally Posted by WWE Gary

Maybe not if you ask Shock . He might be dead tomorrow ...... maybe he could use that as an excuse to turn his back on his wrestling fans and go to Hollywood .

Wrestling fans were booing The Rock a long time back . As far back as ,what I believe ,was his first sabbatical to film The Scorpion King . Because they knew then , like they know now , he is more interested in his movie career than his wrestling career .

Now suddenly every one is cheering him again ? Please !

huh, tall poppy syndrome lol.

**The Legend Killer** · 01-30-2013, 06:15 PM

They were mad because that movie wasn't that great! Well, I never saw it, but, I don't remember anyone ever saying, "MAN! GO SEE THAT MOVIE!!!!!!" As far as people want to cheer The Rock and boo CM Punk, it could just be that basic face VS heel thing. Or just being a sheep. Everybody knows who The Rock is, he's one of the biggest icons in wrestling, and his movies........ummmm..... well I liked Doom at least! I think maybe now it's just starting to hit people that maybe CM Punk isn't as great as you want to believe. After his one promo, people jumped on the C M PUNK bandwagon, and now it's, "Oh wait, so someone else is better?" I will say though, CM Punk hasn't been forced down our throats like other superstars (no, I haven't watched WWE in 3 years until last month), but, at least with CM Punk he was just shown as the champion. Not, "CM Punk is trhe champion! Let's hear EVERYTHING he has to say!" "WOO HOO! It's CM Punk eating breakfast! It's CM Punk sitting in his car! It's CM Punk walking down the hallway! It's CM Punk picking his nose! It's CM Punk standing in front of a door!" In the last month i've been watching WWE again, i've only seen a few things about CM Punk, with other superstars,. for just 1 show you'd see 20 promos about them.

Again, i'll say that it is kind of weak that The Rock can come back after being gone forever, and just, "Here you go, here's your WWE Championship." Maybe WWE is just trying to tell CM Punk or the IWC something. Yes, the man is talented at what he does, but he's not the greatest thing to ever come into the WWE. If he's the future of the WWE, I want to see why. His one promo was memorable, but, one great promo is what tells us a superstar is the future of the WWE? Wake me up when he does something else. Punk VS Rock has alot of promise to it, i'd look forward to it, and I don't even like CM Punk. Really, how awesome would this storyline be if The Rock actually wrestled full time for the next couple of years?

Beat CM Punk, win, win, win, win, loss, loss, win, loss, win, win, screwed, great promo, great match, wrestle several other superstars for a year, another great promo, crappy match, title win. Whee. We all knew The Rock would be the WWE Champion again, we all knew it. It sucks it came quickly to him, but, it was going to happen. CM Punk is a talented superstar, yes, no doubt, but, people need to stop with the "Oh it's not fair! He's the greatest in the world! He's been in several main events!" The Great Khali was in several main events, and he was a WWE Champion, does he need to do that again? No way! Again, yes, CM Punk is talented, he's definitely going to have a great career in the WWE, but, he is not The Rock. He's fun, he can have some good matches, but let's just relax. Prove to the WWE, and the IWC that he IS a champion, that he can be The Rock, that he's not just going to be fun for a few months.

**Mr. Tambourine Man** · 01-30-2013, 06:24 PM

Can't The Rock and CM Punk both just be great performers? does it really have to be one or the other?

**Turley** · 01-31-2013, 12:14 AM

Yes but they cannot both be champion...

CM Punk had a decent run as champion. I think it takes people the best part of a decade to really belong at the pinnacle of the sport. Punks last year could be counted as two years in terms of development. He is nowhere near the level of The Rock and is still years off being a dead set, main stream household name.

**Darth Shizzel** · 01-31-2013, 12:23 AM

I say that 2012 soldified Punk as a main eventer how he goes after his feud with the Rock however is a different story.

**I Am Me** · 01-31-2013, 07:04 AM

The thing holding CM Punk back from becoming the household name like the Rock, is there isn't a group of guys there to help him like there was during the Attitude Era. That falls on the WWE and the way they push their wrestlers. If they would let guys develop more being rushing them into the main event then Punk and Cena wouldn't be sitting at the top looking down at everyone else. The Rock and Stone Cold might be the two biggest names to come out of the Attitude Era but they had plenty of help from other wrestlers to push them to the top. Had CM Punk been around in the Attitude Era I honestly think he'd be on the same level of Rock and Austin. He is far too good in the ring and on the mic to not be, plus his character would have been able to push the envelope more back then. Now days characters are watered down. There's no way Stone Cold would drive out a beer truck and hose down the McMahon family during the current era of professional wrestling. Things like that are what helped Stone Cold become the larger than life character he is. The Rock was able to say whatever he wanted on the mic and the fans loved every second of his promos. CM Punk has been able to go a little further than most but there's still a restriction on his character development. I could see Punk being a lot like Raven in ECW in terms of developing his character if he was allowed to do what he wanted.

It should be interesting to see how the WWE uses Punk now that he has lost to the Rock. Losing to Rocky could actually help him a lot if they use him properly.

**WWE Gary** · 01-31-2013, 07:40 AM

Originally Posted by I Am Me

The thing holding CM Punk back from becoming the household name like the Rock, is there isn't a group of guys there to help him like there was during the Attitude Era. That falls on the WWE and the way they push their wrestlers. If they would let guys develop more being rushing them into the main event then Punk and Cena wouldn't be sitting at the top looking down at everyone else. The Rock and Stone Cold might be the two biggest names to come out of the Attitude Era but they had plenty of help from other wrestlers to push them to the top. Had CM Punk been around in the Attitude Era I honestly think he'd be on the same level of Rock and Austin. He is far too good in the ring and on the mic to not be, plus his character would have been able to push the envelope more back then. Now days characters are watered down. There's no way Stone Cold would drive out a beer truck and hose down the McMahon family during the current era of professional wrestling. Things like that are what helped Stone Cold become the larger than life character he is. The Rock was able to say whatever he wanted on the mic and the fans loved every second of his promos. CM Punk has been able to go a little further than most but there's still a restriction on his character development. I could see Punk being a lot like Raven in ECW in terms of developing his character if he was allowed to do what he wanted.

It should be interesting to see how the WWE uses Punk now that he has lost to the Rock. Losing to Rocky could actually help him a lot if they use him properly.

I fully agree .....100%

The problem nowadays , compared with the Attitude Era, is that we are watching a family show. Don't forget it is all PG rated now . Remember when Austin almost crippled Bret Hart and then beat him up in the back of the ambulance ? Remember when Austin went to Brian Pilman's home and we had the gun incident ? And when Undertaker hung Austin from a crucifix on Raw ? Then there was all of The Rock's promos . Do you think a wresler could call an announcer a hermaphrodite nowadays ? Or that they could talk about Pootang Pie ?

Nowadays wrestlers are definitely restricted . Can u imagine Punk been part of the Ministry ? Or feuding with Stone Cold ? Imagine him in a hardcore series with Mick Foley ? I'm sure that we would be speaking about him today like we was a legend . Great post I Am Me .

**I Am Me** · 01-31-2013, 07:46 AM

Originally Posted by WWE Gary

Great post I Am Me .

Thank you, thank you.. I'll be here all week.

**Shockage** · 01-31-2013, 08:16 AM

It doesn't help either that the WWE locker room lacks unity unlike previous generations when there was one face, and mostly everyone worked hard to support that face and the promotion. Like I said along the lines, everyone in the WWE locker room is an important part of the WWE body, some are best utilized as a leg, or an arm, but there can only be on appealing face for mostly everyone to appeal to.

The animals in the WWE locker room and their fans are so foreign of the concept of good business that they feel threatened when a successful part of the Attitude Era comes back to help them accomplish what they weren't capable of doing themselves for the last 7 years. It's pitiful, no wonder Chris Jericho goes on leave every 2/3 years to be with his band. No wonder Undertaker doesn't stick around much. A lot of those peasants don't deserve the rub.

**Macho Man** · 01-31-2013, 03:07 PM

Seen a couple of posts that say the same old crap; The Rock abandonded wrestling, bollocks. He had his first acting role in 2001 when he went to film his part in The Mummy Returns, he had time off, shot his scenes, and came back. He then stayed with wrestling for the next few months before filming his next film; The Scorpion King, as his cameo appearence lead to an entire film for him to star in. He said in interviews around the time and before then that he never wanted to have a big exit as it would overshadow others, instead he semi-retired in 2002 and juggled both careers for a time. Making returns to put over Brock, face Hogan, Austin, and Goldberg. He then also made several promos and had a few matches to help put over Eugene, The Coah, Evolution, etc. Before finally making the decision to focus on his acting career over his wrestling career (which really only had a few years left before the fans turned). He worked hard playing several different roles to avoid being typecasted. Whilst prioritising hid new career he still made appearences for WWE, as his work load increased he was less able to commit to WWE appearences, but still put them in via satalite. The Rock never abandoned wrestling, he simply moved on with his life, but he still kept coming back since his semi-retirement in 2002.

And I'm sorry but didn't Austin take his ball and go home? Didn't Hogan jump ships to a rival company? Didn't Hogan testify against Vinnie Mac? Didn't Ultimate Warrior demand more money or threatened to no show? Didn't Brock join a rival sport after a two year mega push? But yet they all came back to WWE with welcome arms from the fans. Several big names have abandonded WWE, but in the end they all came back. The Rock found success in acting, unlike many others The Rock proved that he could make it without WWE. But unlike the others The Rock parted on his own terms and on good terms, unlike the others who did infact abandon WWE and turn their backs on it.

Or would people prefered him to go like Austin and constantly appear as the referee? Oh and where is Austin now? That's right, making movies. I'm aware the majority have said they are fine with The Rock's move to acting, but for those said otherwise, please keep your own biterness from realising the truth of the reality. What those fans can't handle is that The Rock wasn't as dependant on wrestling in the same way others were, The Rock was a star in his own right.

As for the title, why not The Rock? Before he left he had more WWE title reigns then any other, more the Austin, more then Hogan, more then Triple H, mord then Bret Hart. The Rock's time in WWE he proved himself as a mega-star, and his time after WWE he proved himself a mega-star. The Rock is a house hold name, and is bigger then the entire WWE roster. And given how long Punk's reign has been, is it not better for him to drop the title to a big name wrestler? How would it look if Punk lost the title to Ziggler? Ziggler rarely seems to win a match, but if he cashed in and won it, would this not make Punk look weak? And given how many set backs Punk's had whilst the champion over the past few years, a loss to Ziggler would have been another knock. It's the same for the majority of the roster, Punk losing would have hurt Punk. So who is big enough to not hurt Punk, especially at this point where they started booking him stronger? I can only think of Cena or Brock. Cena/Punk has been done a fair bit of the past couple of years, and it is possibly a bit to soon to dip back down into that rivalry. And Brock is a fellow heel, and has also not competed much since his return. So why not go with The Rock? Why not have Punk lose his 400 day plus reign to someone who is a mega star? Punk remains strong as he loses to someone credible.

Punk could always be redemed later on by pinning The Rock. Imagine at Backlash having Cena (C) vs The Rock vs CM Punk, have Punk pin The Rock, regains the title, Cena loses the belt without being pinned, both look strong and can go on to have a match or two over the title, giving them both a win over the other. But for now Cena/Rock is a much better option then Cena/Punk at WrestleMania. So I really can't see the issue with letting The Rock have a brief run and allowing some fresh air into the current repetitive title scene.

AJ · 01-31-2013, 04:34 PM

Nicely Put Macho, kudos to that but issue isn't rock winning title or even beating Punk for it. The issue is Rock's win and Cena's Rumble win which puts Rock vs Cena at mania which I think took the thunder away from Punk. Hows Punk's gonna redeem if he's not gonna be in the title picture at Mania. It should have been Punk vs. Rock at Mania which would have made both men look equally good

**Goldie79** · 01-31-2013, 05:01 PM

Originally Posted by AJ

Nicely Put Macho, kudos to that but issue isn't rock winning title or even beating Punk for it. The issue is Rock's win and Cena's Rumble win which puts Rock vs Cena at mania which I think took the thunder away from Punk. Hows Punk's gonna redeem if he's not gonna be in the title picture at Mania. It should have been Punk vs. Rock at Mania which would have made both men look equally good

The WWE are not thinking about Punk.
Its all about making their top man (ie Cena) look equal to Rock by getting the return win at Wrestlemania.

Besides... if Rock won the title at Wrestlemania ... he might not be able to fit it into his schedule to drop the title in May, June, July.

AJ · 01-31-2013, 05:04 PM

^ Even you know how sad that sounds, don't you?

**The Legend Killer** · 01-31-2013, 06:00 PM

I like what one of you was saying about what if CM Punk was around in the Attitude Era. Thinking about that, yes, Punk is definitely working the best he can with what he has. I stronglony agree about him losing to The Rock was almost best for him. Losing to even a well established superstar ;like Orton or someone would have been almost good, but, still kind of lame. People would have had 2000 reasons why Orton didn't deserve it, but, losing to The Rock had nothing but help for CM Punk. People can say all day long, "Well, Orton or Cena are good, but, CM Punk shouldn't have lost the belt to them. WWE needs to push new stars.", but nobody can say that The Rock isn't an icon, a headliner, a main evneter, a champion, a legend, etc. You can hate The Rock all you want, but, no-one can say that The Rock isn't 10 steps above CM Punk.

CM Punk has tons of promise, I don't doubt we'll see great things from CM Punk during his WWE career, but WWE kenwm that losing to The Rock was probably the best move they could have done. Attitude Era fans are happy, newer fans get to see just who The Rock is, CM Punk gets to push himself as a heel, it was all good. Maybe the problem is people thinking CM Punk can't do any better. Maybe people do see him as just who he is today, and this is the best he'll ever be, maybe they're right, but, I think he can do better. Maybe this is the companys way of seeing if CM Punk needs the WWE/World Championship to be a good heel, or if he can do it by himself. If he's injured and can't compete for 1 year, then why would the WWE keep the championship on him? Maybe now we'll find out if he's the great heel people want to believe.

People try to act like CM Punk is the greatest thing in history, so I guess now we'll see. Besides, if we're going to see a feud with him VS The Rock at WrestleMania, how great would it be for him to screw over The Rock? He would almost become the ultimate heel. The Rock is one of the biggest superstars in WWE history, if CM Punk got a victory over Thee Rock at WrestleMania, that would be something he could brag about. The superstars in the WWE today aren't pushed very well, everyone is either pushed way too soon, ONE HUGE push for a month, then back to midcard you go, or never pushed at all. CM Punk gets to work with The Rock, he can learn a ton from him. This can only help CM Punk. The only way it would make him look bad is if he gets shown that he's not the heel people want to believe he is. I believe he is better than that, i'm curious to see where this goes.

**Turley** · 01-31-2013, 11:25 PM

im really worried if there are people who actually think CM Punk is even remotely close to the Rocks level....

**Shockage** · 02-01-2013, 12:02 AM

Originally Posted by Turley

im really worried if there are people who actually think CM Punk is even remotely close to the Rocks level....

There are people out there, they come in the form of spoiled heffers who throw tantrums and drunken old men.

**Darth Shizzel** · 02-01-2013, 12:10 AM

Punk isn't on the Rock's level none of the current roster is (full timers that is) not even super Cena however if he was pushed better same with the rest of the roster we could have a great roster with great wrestling and great storylines all round.

**I Am Me** · 02-01-2013, 03:22 AM

Originally Posted by Turley

im really worried if there are people who actually think CM Punk is even remotely close to the Rocks level....

There probably are some people out there. Punk clearly isn't on Rock's level but by the time he calls it quits from wrestling he should be. Notice I said should be, it isn't a guarantee.

**Goldie79** · 02-01-2013, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by I Am Me

There probably are some people out there. Punk clearly isn't on Rock's level but by the time he calls it quits from wrestling he should be. Notice I said should be, it isn't a guarantee.

He won't be. You could look at Rock being perhaps the 3rd most over star ever in wrestling behind Hogan and Austin. (I'm discounting the dinosaur era here because wrestling didnt have the same media exposure in Bruno's time).
Nonetheless.... its beyond difficult for any wrestler to reach the popularity Hogan/Austin/Rock had. These 3 wrestlers alone really helped the WWE reach boom periods of business.
No matter how hard WWE have pushed Cena he hasn't come close. Whilst todays stars may keep the exisiting audience, they are not bringing in or reaching out to a new audience... they haven't been able to make wrestling 'cool'... like the 3 superstars aforementioned

**The Indy Junkie** · 02-01-2013, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by Goldie79

He won't be. You could look at Rock being perhaps the 3rd most over star ever in wrestling behind Hogan and Austin. (I'm discounting the dinosaur era here because wrestling didnt have the same media exposure in Bruno's time).
Nonetheless.... its beyond difficult for any wrestler to reach the popularity Hogan/Austin/Rock had. These 3 wrestlers alone really helped the WWE reach boom periods of business.
No matter how hard WWE have pushed Cena he hasn't come close. Whilst todays stars may keep the exisiting audience, they are not bringing in or reaching out to a new audience... they haven't been able to make wrestling 'cool'... like the 3 superstars aforementioned

There is a reason wrestling via WWE is not cool. It is called WWE Style. They bring in guys who on their gimmicks alone or wrestling skill alone can attrack fans then they break them of their moves and gimmicks to make them into something they would never have been in the indy organizations. That is why WWE superstars can't make wrestling "cool" like Austin and Rock did. They could do what they wanted after they had the gimmick power. Let these guys be what they were on the indy scene and I bet my hard earned money Punk and the lot like him could make WWE and Wrestling "cool" again.

**Goldie79** · 02-01-2013, 12:50 PM

Originally Posted by The Indy Junkie

There is a reason wrestling via WWE is not cool. It is called WWE Style. They bring in guys who on their gimmicks alone or wrestling skill alone can attrack fans then they break them of their moves and gimmicks to make them into something they would never have been in the indy organizations. That is why WWE superstars can't make wrestling "cool" like Austin and Rock did. They could do what they wanted after they had the gimmick power. Let these guys be what they were on the indy scene and I bet my hard earned money Punk and the lot like him could make WWE and Wrestling "cool" again.

I am not saying that Punk isn't talented. He is one of the better talkers in the game today. But he still isn't as charismatic or likeable as Rock or Austin.
Its not all about WWE direction. You have to strike a chord with the mainstream public who don't watch wrestling week in week out.

When wrestling became 'cool' again in the UK from 1999-2001, there were dozens of people who I knew personally, that started watching because Austin and Rock really caught on. It was like a craze that swept over the young demographic population.
Once they left and WWE started making new stars.... the casual audience lost interest and started watching other sports.
When I mention wrestling now to peers, they don't have a clue who is in the WWE these days.... but still remember Austin and Rock and ask if they are still going

**Shockage** · 02-04-2013, 04:55 PM

These 2 pieces tie in with my thread. Thank you.

Steve Austin Explains What's Wrong With Today's WWE Wrestlers
http://forums.onlineworldofwrestling...353#post197353

The Rock Battling Bitter Backstage Resentment From WWE Locker Room
http://forums.onlineworldofwrestling...425#post197425

**Shockage** · 03-04-2013, 02:28 PM

I saw this on facebook, and laughed at how the guy mis-spelled promotions. On the other hand, these stats are accurate in theory, but in practical, the Rock did much more for pro wrestling between 1998 and 2002 than CM Punk has done in his entire career.