Set almost one year ago, The Rock vs. John Cena is a dream match that many have waited for a long time. Comparable to the Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8, the main event of WrestleMania 28 will see one of the Faces of the WWE during the Attitude Era go up against the current Face of the WWE in an epic clash that should be nothing short of magical. Ever since Rock made his first shots at Cena over a year ago on Raw, fans and also other wrestlers have split into Team Rock and Team Cena. While neither Rock nor Cena are among my favourite wrestlers, I want to put my opinions on these seemingly polarizing characters in anticipation for their upcoming main event match at WrestleMania. Considering that is a lot to talk about here, I will be breaking this article into two parts. As you can see from the title, this article will be all about the People’s Champ, The Rock and next week’s article will be all about John Cena.
I did not start watching WWE until late 2003, early 2004, so all I knew of the Rock at the time was what my friends who heavily followed wrestling said about him. As my passion for professional wrestling grew, I started collecting wrestling pay-per views and other DVDs and a handful featuring many of the Rock’s great matches and promos. I learned quickly what an amazing wrestler and entertainer the Rock was and still is. Some of my favourite WrestleMania matches feature the People’s Champ. I also believe the Rock is one of the best talkers to ever grace the squared circle. When you talk about the Rock, the biggest elephant in the room seems to be that he supposedly “abandoned” the WWE for the glitz and glam of Hollywood. This point has been repeatedly been brought to the forefront lately as it is a key part of Cena’s argument why he is better than Rock. For all those who think Rock abandoned the WWE, I will be blunt, get your head out of your behind and face reality. We are no longer in the day that will see wrestlers stay in the business for years upon years, decades upon decades. You will never see a career as long as Ric Flair or Hulk Hogan ever again because professional wrestling is incredibly taxing on the body and mind. These guys and gals cannot do this job forever. They either succumb to nagging injuries or get out before they have to. Just look at Edge, Bret Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin who all forced to retire from the ring because of injuries. Also look at Undertaker who can only wrestle one match a year now due because his body cannot take anymore than that one match. Back in 2003, Rock figured out that the Attitude Era was over and the WWE did not need The Rock anymore. So instead of over staying his welcome, Rocky stepped aside for others like Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Edge and John Cena, yes, John Cena to get their time to shine in the main event. While he did leave WWE, he did not turn his back on it. Rock came back again and again to do promos when it did not conflict with his other commitments. Eventually when things calmed down, he came back to the WWE to help bring in fans and put over others in this transitional period in the WWE. The Rock may not be able to be with the WWE ever single show, but he is giving back to the company that made him the star you see today. While I do have a lot good things to say about Rocky, his promos as of late have not come close to his return promo from last year or his promos when he was a full time employee of the WWE. Maybe Rocky has been scripting his promos out way too much instead of letting his creative juices flow and his mouth just go. Hopefully as we get closer to WrestleMania, the Great One will go back to what made him great in the first place and stop making notes on his wrist. You are a great wrestler and an amazing talker Rocky, but at the moment your promos are not up to standard you set for yourself.
Love or hate either the Rock or John Cena, you have to at least respect them and their contributions to the WWE and wrestling industry. The second part of this article will be on my opinions of possibly the most polarizing WWE superstar of all-time and the current Face of the WWE, the one the only John Cena as the Road to WrestleMania 28 series will return next weekend.
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