Update On The Rock

[haVoc 0]

We may not get as much Rock as expected...

 

The Rock has told WWE.com late last year that he would work WWE shows during January. January has since come and gone with no Rock. Now it is looking as if he won't work much of March either. Many feel that the Rock will only appear once or twice, possibly only in taped vignettes, for the build to the Rock/Mick Foley vs. Randy Orton/Batista WrestleMania XX match. Many in WWE feel that WWE should not bother promoting the Rock while he is "all about Hollywood."

 

Credit: PWTorch Newsletter/411

 

It's nice that the Rock has all this time to hang at the Super Bowl and all the red carpet parties and other Hollywood things I always see him doing, but no time for WWE. When ever WWE needs him he's all "Hollywood."

[Guest Besus]

I WANT ORTON/FOLEY!

[Downhome 0]

Then screw him, I wish he'd either just stay or go away forever.

[TheFranchise 0]

Then screw him, I wish he'd either just stay or go away forever.

Yet when he makes all the smarks mark out like little girls just by throwing a one liner out.......

[Austin3164life 0]

Eh, Rock should just make up his mind about what he wants to do. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing him back full-time, but if he decides he wants to fully pursue a movie career, more power to him. It'll be a bit weird not seeing him at WM XX, assuming he does not show up.

[Guest Ghettoman]

Why does it matter at this point? If he's there, good, if not, more time and room for the other guys on the roster.

[Fökai 0]

Why does it matter at this point? If he's there, good, if not, more time and room for the other guys on the roster.

That's honestly the best way to put it.

[Downhome 0]

I love the guy when he's around, I wish that he'd just stay in WWE because he does add to the entire company just by being there. I'm simply tired of him showing up out of nowhere for no good reason other than he has a day off or something in Hollywood. I'm even more pissed at hearing rumors of him coming back, or hell him saying it himself, and then waiting and waiting show by show for him to finally show up and start a feud with someone, only for it to not happen.

 

It's starting to make me not care, and like I said, basicly wish he'd either stay for a while or just never come back anymore period.

[Guest JMA]

Rock is probably one of the most unselfish guys in the wrestling business. I doubt he'll just abandon wrestling for greener pastures.

[Guest Ghettoman]

"I'm simply tired of him showing up out of nowhere for no good reason other than he has a day off or something in Hollywood. I'm even more pissed at hearing rumors of him coming back, or hell him saying it himself, and then waiting and waiting show by show for him to finally show up and start a feud with someone, only for it to not happen."

 

Why are you tired of the appearances? They always freshen up the show and there never just gross acts of selfish promotion.

 

And the latter thing hasn't even really happened once yet so I don't see how you could be tired of it.

[2GOLD 0]

Maybe he really just doesn't want to be part of the Foley/Orton feud?

 

The Mania match is a moot point since Foley vs Orton will probably be the semi-main for Summerslam.

[Downhome 0]

Why are you tired of the appearances? They always freshen up the show and there never just gross acts of selfish promotion.

Because over the last year, his coming back just for one or two shows, or whatever, have served no purpose. He shows up, cuts a promo or wrestles one match, and leaves. It doesn't help any of the workers, does nothing for WWE longterm, and it takes up a spot of someone who IS there full time. I see no reason for him to keep coming back if he can't stay for more than a couple of weeks or so.

 

And the latter thing hasn't even really happened once yet so I don't see how you could be tired of it.

 

Yes it has. He not only said in interviews over and over again that he would be in WWE for most of 2004 up untill WrestleMania XX, but he actually said it on a WWE program RAW. I've been awaiting his return to the show, ready to see him finally be involved in an actual program with someone that lasts for more than a few short weeks, and he has yet to deliver. He'll show up for WrestleMania XX, but why should I care? He more than likely wont be on RAW the next night or anytime in the recent future, so just why? Why insert him into a major program out of nowhere for no good reason? It might be awesome when he IS there, but it helps nothing at all.

 

I'm just sick of it, I want him to either be in WWE or not be, either way is fine with me by this point.

[Art Sandusky 0]

I don't care if he pops on for one show, says "Howdy!" and walks out. Any Rock is better than no Rock.

[Guest Duncan Eternia]

Because over the last year, his coming back just for one or two shows, or whatever, have served no purpose. He shows up, cuts a promo or wrestles one match, and leaves. It doesn't help any of the workers, does nothing for WWE longterm, and it takes up a spot of someone who IS there full time. I see no reason for him to keep coming back if he can't stay for more than a couple of weeks or so.

Hmmmmm ok...so putting over Hurricane, and Goldberg on PPV and being involved from February til the end of April only counts as one or two shows and there was no purpose. So much for us all being "smart" marks. You can't even be considered and common sense mark yet.

[Guest Ghettoman]

"Because over the last year, his coming back just for one or two shows, or whatever, have served no purpose. He shows up, cuts a promo or wrestles one match, and leaves. It doesn't help any of the workers, does nothing for WWE longterm, and it takes up a spot of someone who IS there full time. I see no reason for him to keep coming back if he can't stay for more than a couple of weeks or so."

 

Who's spot was he taking?! If you don't have room on your roster for one of your most over workers even if for one night you have major problems. Everytime he's come back it's been a mini-involvment to get something more over than it was or a simple heel/face banter for the crowd. He's never taken the slot of someone by just showing up at the show and bumping someone down, he's never been selfish with his character. Just what is so tiring about it?

 

"Yes it has. He not only said in interviews over and over again that he would be in WWE for most of 2004 up untill WrestleMania XX, but he actually said it on a WWE program RAW. I've been awaiting his return to the show, ready to see him finally be involved in an actual program with someone that lasts for more than a few short weeks, and he has yet to deliver. He'll show up for WrestleMania XX, but why should I care? He more than likely wont be on RAW the next night or anytime in the recent future, so just why? Why insert him into a major program out of nowhere for no good reason? It might be awesome when he IS there, but it helps nothing at all."

 

He said he'd be back for Mania, and he will, just not as long as we expected, and hell if it's simply for a tag match, then whats the point? Why not come back suprisingly a few weeks before hand, help send the build into overdrive, and then go back to doing his thing afterwards? Because you like him too much to see him go? Well it's time to get over it.

 

Rock has two jobs now, he doesn't have to choose between either, he shouldn't choose between either, and if we were in his shoes none of us would want to either.

 

He's not hurting the product, he's not there simply for himself, what the hell is the big deal? As long as he's not killing the show or his career, more power to the man.

[Papacita 0]

Because over the last year, his coming back just for one or two shows, or whatever, have served no purpose. He shows up, cuts a promo or wrestles one match, and leaves. It doesn't help any of the workers, does nothing for WWE longterm, and it takes up a spot of someone who IS there full time. I see no reason for him to keep coming back if he can't stay for more than a couple of weeks or so.

Hmmmmm ok...so putting over Hurricane, and Goldberg on PPV and being involved from February til the end of April only counts as one or two shows and there was no purpose. So much for us all being "smart" marks. You can't even be considered and common sense mark yet.

 

I got the sense that he was referring to the thing with Foley and La Rez from late last year, but even with his two month run from early in the year, Rock did little to nothing for the company in the long run. He did a great job in attempting to put Hurricane over, but after all that effort, Hurricane's back in the same spot he was in before. And Rock *didn't* put Goldberg over. He may have jobbed to him, but by then, he had eaten so much of the man's heat, that a large portion of the audience was booing the man. I like Rock a lot, but really, his short returns have little-to-no effect on the fed in the long run.

[Guest hunger4unger]

I guess The Rock has to do what is best for himself personally. I owuld however like him to return full time (yes I know it's not going to happen). He's truly unique.

[humongous2002 0]

I don't mind Rock making a few appearances here and there, but if Rock being at Mania means that somebody like Booker,RVD,TWGTT or Matt Hardy get stuck on Heat or not even appear at the biggest ppv of the year then WWE is again making a stupid decision.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

I don't care if he pops on for one show, says "Howdy!" and walks out. Any Rock is better than no Rock.

I feel the same way about this topic. The Rock is an asset to WWE no matter how you look at it, so having him around is ALWAYS a good thing. I could see all the Rock bashing if he was challenging for a title or something, but not in the role they are using him in. Plus, everytime he has returned from a hiatus he has done everything and anything to put over the younger guys. For him doing this he will always get respect from me.

[Downhome 0]

Because over the last year, his coming back just for one or two shows, or whatever, have served no purpose. He shows up, cuts a promo or wrestles one match, and leaves. It doesn't help any of the workers, does nothing for WWE longterm, and it takes up a spot of someone who IS there full time. I see no reason for him to keep coming back if he can't stay for more than a couple of weeks or so.

Hmmmmm ok...so putting over Hurricane, and Goldberg on PPV and being involved from February til the end of April only counts as one or two shows and there was no purpose. So much for us all being "smart" marks. You can't even be considered and common sense mark yet.

Think about what you just said, read Papacita's post, then get back to me when you are able to give an opinion without resorting to bullshit putdowns and the such.

[NoCalMike 0]

Rock hasn't been an asset for over a year now. The last two times he came back, it didn't affect ratings much at all, and he won't in the future if it continues to be one time appearances. Even the marks have caught onto his plan which is to pop in for a night between hollywood parties. He isn't looked at or viewed as a WWE wrestler yet and that has been and will continue to be his downfall in the future. Sure he may pop a crowd, but ANYONE can pop a crowd.

[Downhome 0]

Ahhhhhh, this whole "he put over The Hurricane" business and other such comments drive me crazy. What good did that do exactly? So he lost to Hurricane once, what did it accomplish? Oh yes, now I remember, it didn't accomplish anything at all.

 

It happened, and that's all. It didn't put Hurricane over anymore than he is now. It was just one of those things that happen to pop a crowd for a single night, that's it. Most of the "marks" don't even remember that it happened.

 

Perhaps Rocky needs to relearn what "putting someone over" is all about. It's not about wrestling a single match for no good reason other than to just do it, and then loose to the guy. It's about being in a program with someone, allowing the other person to get the upper hand and to keep it, and then allow the momentum from that event, to carry them forward. He didn't put Hurricane over, he simply lost to him once for it to just be forgotten in time.

 

If you want a more recent example of putting someone over, look at HHH/Foley, and hell, look at Orton/Foley. Foley has already put Orton over, and it hasn't even involved him LOOSING to the guy yet. Now that I think about it, putting someone over doesn't even involve a loss...it's all about making the other guy look good, and not just for one show.

 

With all of that said, Rocky didn't even put Goldberg over, he just lost to him. If anything, and this isn't anything at all against Rocky because it wasn't in his hands I don't believe, but if anything he made Goldberg look bad just by working with him. As I've said before, Rocky vs. just about anyone is a bad deal, if his opponent is trying to play the role of the face.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

Perhaps Rocky needs to relearn what "putting someone over" is all about. It's not about wrestling a single match for no good reason other than to just do it, and then loose to the guy. It's about being in a program with someone, allowing the other person to get the upper hand and to keep it, and then allow the momentum from that event, to carry them forward. He didn't put Hurricane over, he simply lost to him once for it to just be forgotten in time.

In all fairness DH, the reason why the Hurricane push didn't work out is because they failed to book him correctly after he beat both Rock and Flair.

[humongous2002 0]

Perhaps Rocky needs to relearn what "putting someone over" is all about. It's not about wrestling a single match for no good reason other than to just do it, and then loose to the guy. It's about being in a program with someone, allowing the other person to get the upper hand and to keep it, and then allow the momentum from that event, to carry them forward. He didn't put Hurricane over, he simply lost to him once for it to just be forgotten in time.

In all fairness DH, the reason why the Hurricane push didn't work out is because they failed to book him correctly after he beat both Rock and Flair.

In other words he was getting too over for his own good................damn Triple cHHHin.

[Downhome 0]

Perhaps Rocky needs to relearn what "putting someone over" is all about. It's not about wrestling a single match for no good reason other than to just do it, and then loose to the guy. It's about being in a program with someone, allowing the other person to get the upper hand and to keep it, and then allow the momentum from that event, to carry them forward. He didn't put Hurricane over, he simply lost to him once for it to just be forgotten in time.

In all fairness DH, the reason why the Hurricane push didn't work out is because they failed to book him correctly after he beat both Rock and Flair.

Had Rocky been there to actually have some sort of a program with the guy, his push would have worked. You don't push people by having them blindly beat some big name guy here and there by being "lucky", people push and the pushes work by giving the fans something to actually care about, and Rocky could have done it for the guy.

 

Just by someone beating say, Rocky or Flair, doesn't = a push. I've seen it said before and I'll say it myself, wins in this industry doesn't mean that much anymore, if it's not done with some sort of meaningfull feud. That's why I don't see what it helps anyone by having Rocky show up here and there, and loosing to someone, it doesn't help push anyone at all. If Rocky can't stay around long enough (the RR-WM timeline for example, that was a perfect idea) to be part of some sort of feud, then he serves no purpose for me.

 

But hey, that's just me, if some of you guys are ok with him showing up every few months for the cheap pop, then more power to you. I'll mark out right along with everyone else, but at the end of the night I'll not be pleased with what happened.

[Guest Goodear]

I'm with Downhome with a few minor changes. I can see being entirely resiliant to the idea of having The Rock come in for a show or three, immediately inserting him into angles and then have him leave again for eight months. Such actions hurt the flow of the show and give everything way too much of a holding patern feel. After all if Rock is leaving right away, he can't react to the final part of the angle and so we never get the impression of whether he cares if he wins or loses.

 

But The Rock still has charsima coming out his ass. So if the Rock wants to come out and call someone out who isn't a wrestler either, such as Bischoff, I really don't have a problem with giving the crowd a thrill. Then have someone attack him and Ross go all ape shit... and have Rock come back during the commercials so the crowd still has a happy. Its all good in the hood.

[Downhome 0]

But The Rock still has charsima coming out his ass. So if the Rock wants to come out and call someone out who isn't a wrestler either, such as Bischoff, I really don't have a problem with giving the crowd a thrill. Then have someone attack him and Ross go all ape shit... and have Rock come back during the commercials so the crowd still has a happy. Its all good in the hood.

If he MUST be on TV, then this is how I'd use the guy. Keep him out of the way of actual talent/feuds, and just be used to pop the crowd. Even with this though, it's still just jerking the fans around making them think once again that the guy that they love more than anyone else is "back".

 

It also makes all of the other talent look somewhat bad when they bust their asses off week after week and no matter who they are in WWE right now, they NEVER get a response like that of Rocky, and then when he shows up out of nowhere they go apeshit like they always have for him.

[Guest Goodear]

Well unfortunately for them (except for Austin), they might never get that kind of response. I'm sure they felt the same way when gimpy old Hogan dropped a leg and the crowd gave him a standing ovation for the next 10 minutes. But hey, those guys are the PINNACLE of charisma. Just as people should should strive to learn from Chris Benoit or Eddie Guerrero about how to be a great wrestler, they should always be trying to bend the ears of the charisma kings. Just being resentful helps nobody.

[dubq 0]

It never ceases to amaze me how dull-witted the people are in this forum. The Rock is all about Hollywood because Vince McMahon is always a producer [or one of them] of his films and gets a cut of the cash. If you want to blame someone for the Rock not being around enough - blame McMahon..

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

Well unfortunately for them (except for Austin), they might never get that kind of response. I'm sure they felt the same way when gimpy old Hogan dropped a leg and the crowd gave him a standing ovation for the next 10 minutes. But hey, those guys are the PINNACLE of charisma. Just as people should should strive to learn from Chris Benoit or Eddie Guerrero about how to be a great wrestler, they should always be trying to bend the ears of the charisma kings. Just being resentful helps nobody.

VERY VERY good point.