Jump to content

Marmite Rock


Fatty Facesitter

Recommended Posts

  • Paid Members

...I still love him. But I can totally understand why people are getting turned off by him. After his emotional return last year where he vowed he was never going away, he's appeared a handful of times since that time. His promos are long winded and some say he shouldn't be in the main event of Wrestlemania this year when other talents have worked hard all year round to be apart of it.

 

Like I said, I understand it. But I still think he's one of the absolute greats and he continues to bring the goodness, albeit on a limited basis.

 

I still enjoy his promo work. I love the energy and enthusiasm he brings to the microphone and he's still the absolute best worker on the microphone the company has IMO, above Cena and above Punk. He can still go in the ring. He was out for how long, seven years? And he hadn't missed a single step. Absolute class.

 

So, love him or hate him?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd put myself in the same boat as you here, Nicko. You could stand and argue all day long about how others deserve to be in the main event of 'Mania but everybody on the card knows that the extra revenue the event draws by having Rocky there will be distributed among the pay-cheques.

 

Rock and Cena at Wrestlemania is realistically as big as it's going to get, and there's not a single other match they could put on that could follow Rock/Cena if it weren't to go on last.

 

If Rock were to have been involved in more appearances or matches then it would have done nothing but water him down. What we saw at Survivor Series was just a perfect amount to whet our appetites.

 

I can see why people are saying the Cena is in the right here but come 'Mania, Rock is going to get one of the biggest reactions in the recent memory.

 

He was on top when I first got into wrestling and I still love him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rock has had some great promos since his "return" though his inspirational tweets come off like David Brent at times and I really can't get behind the "Boots to Asses" thing which sounds like a parody of his character's ability to create marketable catchphrases. At times I have actually felt for Cena despite being an "older" fan. Rock almost seems so infuriated and obsessed about Cena's character that he comes off like those sad 30 year old anti-Cena fans who sit front row with their t-shirts and go nuts while Cena walks off smiling, belt in hand. I want someone now to mock up Rock as Grimey from the Cena going on a rant about Cena having everything.

 

Still Rock is a part of my two favorite moments in wrestling, being Mania X7 and Backlash 2000, which more than makes up for some of the overplayed and overrated stuff from his tenure like Rock's Birthday Party.

 

They've done a pretty good job of keeping the match in people's minds for a whole year pretty much, intermittently referencing it in Cena's other fueds like with Punk in July/August and now tying Kane to it as well. It could have really bombed having a full year to anticipate the match but they've managed without blowing their load and hopefully in the proper road to Mania they'll really put their foot on the pedal.

 

Might not be the best place to out this but I was considering it the other day. Just say Mania is the moment that WWE do the unthinkable which has been clamoured for and actually turn Cena heel, whether for the short or long-term. When he does that one action which is meant to symbolise the turn, how strange is it going to be if the older, smart Mania crowd that usually attends the big show, cheer when he makes this move because they've been waiting for it to freshen things up? One of THE biggest heel turns in the history of WWE and the first initial audible reaction is cheers. Going to be a funny if it does happen.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I was fifteen, The Rock was my favourite wrestler. His title win at Survivor Series '98 was what made me go from watching Livewire (or whatever it was at the time) on Saturday mornings to finding a place to watch Raw on Friday nights. I had the t-shirts, the stationary, I used to do the eyebrow and the catchphrases at school and the lot.

 

A few years ago, I was rewatching his old stuff and found most of it from '99-2002 cringeworthy. I don't rate his babyface act at all, looking at it now. It's cheesier than Cena's act, and even further from anything resembling a real person. But his Nation and Corporation stuff, and his brief Hollywood run, are some of my favourite things in wrestling even now.

 

I thought his return in February was superb. Goosebumps, watery eyes and waves of nostalgia, the lot. But since then, I've found him to be a load of shite. He's phoney as fuck, he can stick his motivational speeches and false grin up his arse, and all his catchphrases are on par with "JBL is POOPY." I'm firmly on Team Cena for WrestleMania. But as much as I'm not a fan of Rock these days, he absolutely should be in the WrestleMania main event. It's not like anyone else has made a great case for themselves. Ziggler's miles away, Orton's incredible in-ring but a shit promo which makes it hard to get involved in his storylines, and Ice Cream Phil is one of my current favourites but you'd have to be a headcase to think he deserves to close the biggest show of the year ahead of Rock vs Cena (or even Undertaker vs Triple H).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah it absolutely deserves to be the main event of Wrestlemania. The Taker's match (whoever he fights) would be big enough to go last most years, but not this time.

 

I think they've made a bit of a pig's ear of Rock's return overall though, and the feud with Cena. The Rock's video promos were pretty great and I enjoyed the back and forth cussing matches between the two early on, but it all went to shit for me when Cena chose Rock to be his partner at Survivor Series (because no-one else was good enough to help him beat two upper-midcarders in Truth and Miz). Didn't really make any sense. Did Mr Super Nice John Cena not have a single friend in the locker room he trusted? No, he'd rather have a bloke who hates him as his partner! Just made him look like an idiot.

 

I enjoyed the Survivor Series tag match in the sense that I loved seeing Rocky back in there (and he looked f'n awesome), but the event did nothing but make Cena look like a complete second-rate chump.

 

The idea behind this current Cena/Kane story is interesting in concept (getting Cena to embrace his darker side) but it's playing out as some of the biggest Wrestlecrap in ages. Cena's "Mad face" on RAW was unintentional comedy gold.

 

I've not enjoyed Rock's more recent, pandering, motivational-speaker shit, but at the same time at least his promos still captivate the audiences. The whole crowd treats him like the Second Coming most times he appears.

 

I honestly can't see how Cena is going to come out of the match looking good, if they plan on keeping him Face.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

Rock's only booked for two dates so far, leading into WrestleMania. I hope to Christ, we aren't going to get a shit load of pre-recorded Titan Tron videos. I think the buyrate could really suffer if they dont have a good build. The Rock vs Cena's novelty has worn off a bit. They need to make this angle super special again. It'll still be a massive success and I'm looking forward to it, but the build up to Survivor Series made Rock and Cena look like a pair of arguing fish wives, more than the Warrior and Hogan. They need some big angles in the build up.

 

Although, to be fair when Hogan and Rock wrestled, the had a super face off to kick start the feud and it never really reached that high again until the actual match. I might be wrong, with the above.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

The Rock's best promos have been the pre-taped ones. Mainly because he gets down to business in them, instead of the "BUY MY SHIT!" routine he does when he's there live. There is still plenty of time and I guess you can argue they've done well not to give us too much. Things should heat up after the Rumble.

 

WWE made this poor the night of Wrestlemania. The ending wasn't that great and the follow up on Raw was weak (the fans barely reacted to the announcement and they booed The Rock after he put Cena over). Really, it's been one anti-climax after another. I'd argue it's almost impossible for them to fuck up the buyrate for this 'Mania (especially with added Shaq and UFC cancelling their PPV).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...